Hollister
– Three days after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors
unanimously opposed a Miwok casino near Hollister, the city council
says it will wait for more information before showing its hand.
Hollister – Three days after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously opposed a Miwok casino near Hollister, the city council says it will wait for more information before showing its hand.
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, about eight residents urged the council to sign a resolution opposing the proposed casino. The San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution opposing the casino earlier that day.
“Yes, it’s true that we have not taken a stance. And as the mayor of this fair city, I cannot make a decision until I have more information,” Mayor Pauline Valdivia said. “We need to look at this as far as what benefits it’s going to bring to the community, if any.”
Valdivia said she’d like to see a detailed business plan, an economic analysis, and a proposal of how the casino’s investors intend to mitigate negative impacts.
“Believe me, I have my reservations about this … (but) this community really needs jobs, and it’s unfortunate that a casino had to come in here instead of something else.”
The proposed casino would be the result of a partnership between the five-member California Valley Miwok tribe and investment group Game Won. The two groups want to build a resort/casino on 200-plus acres off Highway 156 across from the Hollister airport. The casino could be similar in size to Yolo County’s Cache Creek Casino, which is over 74,000 square feet with 2,200 slot machines.
The project was originally proposed at U.S. 101 and Highway 25, and a number of Gilroyans, including Joe Giacalone and Chris Vanni, are investors.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will not negotiate gaming compacts with tribes outside of their indigenous areas without overwhelming support from the locals. The Miwoks have not yet proven their ancestral ties to San Benito County, and the Board of Supervisors passed its resolution to demonstrate to the governor that there is little local support for the project.
But California Valley Miwok Project Manager Gary Ramos said immediately following Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting the investors’ next stop would be the Hollister and San Juan Bautista City Councils. Ramos also attended the council meeting Tuesday night, and as the lone voice of support for the casino present, asked the council not to make a hasty decision without all the facts.
The majority of the council members seemed to agree with Ramos’ assertion that the council did not yet have all the information it needed.
District 4 Councilman Doug Emerson did add to his so far neutral stance that he would like to “push the envelope” and get the project’s investors to bring forward the documents they’ve promised, such as an economic impact report and a detailed business plan, Emerson said.
“On one hand I’ve got the wait-and-see attitude, but on the other hand I’m a little impatient,” he said.
Still, the council members kept their poker faces.
“We haven’t really had any formal presentation yet,” said Dist. 1 Councilman Brad Pike. “But right now, my list (of benefits the Miwoks would have to bring) would be very high in content. We need to turn this community around as a community; we’re not going to let anyone come in and do it for us.”
District 2 Councilman Robert Scattini said he believes the majority of his constituents want the casino, saying he has received letter after letter from residents of his 74 percent Hispanic district. His residents want jobs, he said, and if it came down to a council vote he’d be representing his district. Still, he said, this doesn’t mean he’s for the casino, nor does it mean he’s against it.
“I think we should afford them (the tribe and its investors) the opportunity to tell their story. We should at least give them the professional courtesy of listening to them,” Scattini said. “What I’m leaning towards right now is, if it’s going to be so controversial, put it up to a vote and let the people decide. I really don’t know what the outcome would be.”
In an e-mail Thursday, Gary Ramos replied, “None of the details regarding the proposed resort destination casino have been released, so there would be nothing for the public to vote on.”
