The big news around Rohnert Park these days is the coming of a casino that's said to bring millions of dollars of revenue for the city and schools in Rohnert Park.
But now an allegation has sprung up that the agreement -- a memorandum of understanding that addresses the impacts of the casino on the city -- between Federation Indian of Graton Rancheria (FIGR) and the city is invalid.
Stop the Casino 101 Coalition said that all construction needs to be stopped and they have filed a court complaint alleging that the gambling compact awarded to the tribe behind the casino is invalid because it is contingent on an agreement that doesn't exist between the city and the tribe.
According to this story in the Press Democrat, the tribe originally had planned the construction of the casino on lands that overlap with the current 254-acre Wilfred Avenue reservation. But the actual location of where construction recently began is not where they tribe stipulated it would be in an existing agreement with the city.
The group that's against the casino said because the location is off, the MOU is invalid and the construction is being done illegally.
In the Press Democrat's story, city officials said are planning to address this issue, at a future time. However, Stop the Casino 101 Coalition is demanding an injunction against the construction of the casino until the matter can be sorted out.
According to a Stop the Casino 101 press release:
The issue of the invalid MOU was raised in the Second Amended Complaint in Stop the Casino 101 Coalition v. Governor Jerry Brown that was filed July 31. Attorney for the Plaintiffs Michael Healy sent a letter and a copy of the Press Democrat article to Deputy Attorney General Bill Williams today advising them of this admission by the City.
In his letter, Mr., Healy says, "The lack of an effective MOU between the City of Rohnert Park also means that the Compact is not yet in effect and that the current construction activity is illegal. Please advise at your earliest opportunity what steps your client intends to take to halt this illegal activity, so as to avoid the necessity of further law and motion practice.""
"We are calling upon the Governor's office to do what they are required to do, and shut down casino construction now, " said Pastor Chip Worthington, founder of Stop the Casino 101 Coalition (STC101), one of the Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the state gambling compact passed in May. "No agreement means no compact means no casino."
"The City knew they had no agreement, the FIGR knew they had no agreement and the Governor's office knew there was no agreement, but they let the compact go forward anyway, and just hoped no one would notice," he said. "Well, we noticed."
"This is unconscionable behavior. The future of our community is at risk, and our government officials are acting like Las Vegas mobsters. From top to bottom, this is a betrayal of the voters' trust."
STC101 has already requested an injunction to stop casino construction in its Second Amended Complaint, but a date for the hearing has not yet been set.
Now we place the question up to the readers of Rohnert Park Patch. Does Stop the Casino 101 have a point? Or are they just delaying the inevitable? Do you support a casino in Rohnert Park?
Tell us in the comments.
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You can't say the Indians have every right to do what they want with their land and then complain when they do it. IM sure a lot of people (including me) would enjoy the prospect of a job opportunity and the city could certainly use the revenue. Every day we watch as tons of $$$ drives right thru RP on it's way to River Rock. What's wrong with enticing that $$$ to be spent here instead?
Futhermore, as this gets closer, residents will realise what a #2, It is important to delay the project as much as possible in the hopes that some sensible political leaders come to the forefront and stop this environmental disaster from ruining our treasured Sonoma County. No, the RP City Council are not mobsters. But several are looking ahead to thier own self interestes when the Casino begins to run this town. Robert Aherne
The RP tribal casino is inevitable with the signing of the tribal/state compact. All the minor delays is only money in the pockets of attorneys. Yes, the casino will create hundreds of temporary construction jobs, but my concern is for more LOCAL long term jobs. All California tribal casinos that have opened in the past have promised thousands of jobs, but how many have actually gone to the local community/state residence? There must be a commitment from the Graton Rancheria and Station Casinos to hire the majority of front line casino employees and middle management from the Bay Area and California state residence workers first. There are enough Northern California local residences that have casino/resort experience that Graton/Station have no justifiable reason not to place a commitment of their promised 2500 casino jobs go to the local Bay Area market applicants and not to out of state/non-local applicants.
Now some of you may think this project is payback for past sins and that is understanable - except it is not. This whole thing is about very questionable money flowing into the pockets of Station Casinos of Las Vegas, the junk bond financers, the Sacramento politicians who force this on us and the likes of lobbists like Doug Boxer. Robert Aherne
The pros of this attraction far outweigh the negatives.
In the letter, Gonzalez states that he finds the headline to be "offensive and terribly insulting to the the hardworking elected and appointed officials...of Rohnert Park." Mr. Gonzalez, you were appointed to a public position by a board of elected representatives. Part of your JOB is to undergo public scrutiny, It was the Stop The Casino 101 Coalition that made that statement; the Rohnert Park Patch published it, clearly identified as such a statement, as a legitimate news item. ANY effort to squelch public discussion of news amounts to an attempt by government authority to exercise censorship. Such control by government at any level,would have been more appropriate in the former Soviet Union. The Patch is not Pravda (another local media outlet is far more in the hip pocket of City government, and we do NOT need another one) and should not be subject to such control, nor should it be "encouraged" to adhere to the City's idea of "acceptable journalistic standard," as the letter states. What is news reportage but a statement of what has happened, as closely to the actual words, facts and actions as possible, not vetted by those in authority who would squelch dissenting views? Shame on you, Mr. Gonzalez.
Your lack of knowledge is, to say the least, astounding! This whole valley was indian land before it was stolen from them by the europians! If one doesn't know the history of the early Californians then it is best to keep one's mouth shut and listen to those who know whats happening. At least the 101 folks know the truth of what happened.