Tribal head faces critics of expansion
By Chuck Schultz/Senior Staff Writer
February 14, 2007
As critics blamed the Chumash Casino for increased traffic, crime and other social ills, a tribal leader said Tuesday's debate before Santa Barbara County supervisors was unnecessary because “we are no longer negotiating with the state” for thousands more slot machines.
“A simple phone call would have made this so easy,” Tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians told the supervisors at the start of a heated, 135-minute hearing in Santa Maria.
“We will, from time to time, have conversations (with the state) about expanding, because that's our right,” Armenta added. “As we, in the future go into negotiations, we will notify the county and will meet with the county regarding” any revised compact for which the tribe seeks state approval.
Supervisors, however, are considering sending a strongly worded letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking that no gaming expansion be allowed for the Chumash Casino without county officials either being consulted or “participating in any negotiations.” The proposed letter will be discussed further by the board next week.
“This is a huge issue for the Santa Ynez Valley,” noted Supervisor Brooks Firestone, whose 3rd District includes that area.
The latest controversy related to the casino on Highway 246, which expanded several years ago to include a hotel and up to 2,000 slot machines, stems from the tribe's request to the governor last fall: for 5,000 machines and a 10-year extension of its 1999 compact, due to expire in 2020.
“We're talking about the significance of more than doubling the (gaming) activity there,” Firestone noted.
According to Armenta, though, the Chumash were initially involved but then withdrew from negotiations with the governor that ultimately resulted in new compacts for five other California tribes. Those agreements, some allowing up to 7,500 slot machines, are now pending before the state Legislature.
Kathryn Bowen of Santa Ynez argued such “negotiations are irrelevant” because a clause in the local tribe's existing compact would, she said, allow it to ask for whatever the other tribes negotiated. Chumash representatives have disputed that assertion.
Nearly two dozen speakers, many of them Santa Ynez Valley residents who opposed the casino's previous expansion, contended the facility is fueling crime and helping feed the growing problem of “pathological gambling.”
Studies show “gambling does three things in every community” where gaming facilities are located, said Rob Walter, a Santa Ynez attorney and church pastor. “It increases crime, it increases bankruptcies and it increases divorces.”
The casino is the valley's ?-pound guerilla,” said Solvang City Councilman Jim Richardson. “We don't want to see a 1,600-pound guerilla. Five thousand more slot machines means 250 percent more problems for us.”
Since 2000, the Santa Ynez tribe has also contributed more than $6 million from casino profits for community services ranging from enhanced police and fire protection to road improvements. Two speakers noted such benefits.
“I've seen the positive aspects of the casino,” said George Alvarez or Guadalupe “It employs a lot of people.”
With nearly 1,500 workers, the casino may be the largest private employer in Santa BarbaraCounty, officials said.
“I think the tribe cares about the community,” Carpinteria City Councilman Joe Armendariz told the board. “We just need to not be so combative” towards it.
Supervisor Salud Carbajal questioned the process leading up to Tuesday's hearing.
“It feels like, based on some concern from the public, we have paraded the tribe before us to ask them what they're up to,” he remarked. “It doesn't feel right.”
Representatives of several citizen groups urged the board to ask the state to halt any gaming expansions until the impact of those gambling facilities on surrounding communities are thoroughly studied. The majority of supervisors' didn't appear inclined to make such a sweeping request, although supervisors Joni Gray and Janet Wolf suggested a detailed costs-benefits analysis of the Chumash Casino.
Statistics presented by County Executive Officer Mike Brown - blasted by several speakers as woefully inadequate - showed emergency calls related to the casino, received by county fire and sheriff's personnel, have increased dramatically over the past six years. In 2000, the Sheriff's Department received 96 calls for service at the casino, compared to 450 last year, Brown's figures show. Fire Department calls for service numbered 117 in 2000 and 256 last year.