City Council on the Casino: "At This Point, We Have to Deal With It"

In its final environmental impact statement, the Federated Inidans of the Graton Rancheria said it's lofty project — a hotel, resort and casino on a 254-acre parcel west of Rohnert Park — will create 2,500 jobs and have an annual payroll of $67 million jobs. Building the project will create 750 jobs, the tribe said.

Local residents, business owners and elected officials are split — some say the local and state government need the revenue the project will bring in, while others fret the impact on the environment, public safety and the character of Rohnert Park. 

According to environmental reports, the compact and figures from today's Press Democrat, the $433 million project includes up to 3,000 slot machines, card and table games such as roulette and blackjack. A hotel is planned, with 200 rooms, more than 300,000 square feet of entertainment and casino space, including a nightclub. There's also a spa and eating facilities, including a steakhouse. Three bars are planned, with more than 1,600 seats, as well as indoor and outdoor parking to accommodate nearly 6,000 vehicles.

"If built to completion, it would become Sonoma County's largest private employer and one if its most costly developments," the Press Democrat article stated.

The compact states that the 1,300-member tribe aims to "foster a good neighbor relationship," with Sonoma County, Rohnert Park and the state.

Part of that means money. In addition to paying the city of Rohnert Park an estimated $200 million over 20 years, the tribe is required to pay the state for winnings on machines and into a state mitigation fund.

For example, if the casino has a net winnings in the first year of $370 million, the tribe would pay the state gaming agency $5 million, according to figures in the compact.

The casino west of U.S. Highway 101 between Wilfred Avenue and Stony Point Road led to a failed effort in August 2004 to recall two of the four Rohnert Park City Council members who voted to approve a $200 million memorandum of understanding with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

Mayor Jake Mackenzie, who is the only member of the current City Council, who was also on the council during the recall elections, said the casino negotiations took place initially in "closed sessions" — one reason for the heated vocal opposition here.

Mackenzie was the sole dissenting vote against the casino, mainly becasue of the way the memorandum of understanding was negotiated, he said — quickly and in the backroom.

"The city was divided," Mackenzie said. "The temperature was at boiling point. There was police presence at meetings, we were warned to be ready to leave at a moment's notice if real violence broke out."

The City Council today says it's still too early to speculate on what will happen when the casino is built. Will it breathe economic vitality — money and more people — to a city that's lost more than 2,000 people over a 10-year period? Will there be an obscene uptick in traffic and crime? Will the city's natural resources be in peril?

All are questions the community will continue to mull over the coming years.

"I don't have a moral distaste for gambling," Mackenzie said. Whatever happens, he said, "we have an agreement, and the agreement stands."

Councilwoman Gina Belforte said with any large entertainment industry, there is likely going to be pluses and minuses.

"The benefit is that it's going to bring money and people into the city," Belforte said. "I’m not sure if those people will drive much economic development here, but I’m not sure of that that what everybody worries about — traffic, impact on the envronment and gambling issues — will come."

She said it's important to vet the community's concerns and monitor the evolution of the casino.

Joe Callinan and Amy Ahanotu, both on the City Coucnil, agreed with Belforte, that the deal is now out of the city's hands.

"At this point, we have to deal with it and accept it," Callinan said. "And we have to get everything out of it that we can for the citizens of Rohnert Park."

-Bay City News contributed to this report. Read the full story from the Press Democrat here

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