Only one of the three incoming supervisors says he is adamantly
opposed to the proposed casino, while the other two have their
doubts but are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Hollister – Only one of the three incoming supervisors says he is adamantly opposed to the proposed casino, while the other two have their doubts but are taking a wait-and-see approach.
That means there is no clear majority supporting or opposing the casino when the new board is seated in January and there may not be for at least another month when the California Valley Miwok tribe hopes to release an economic impact report.
The five-member Miwok tribe has teamed up with investment company Game Won to propose a casino on 209 acres off of Highway 25 near the Santa Clara County border. The proposed casino would be similar in size to Yolo County’s Cache Creek Casino, which is 66,000 square-feet with 1,762 slot machines.
Until the report detailing the economic impact of the casino is released, Dist. 1 Supervisor-elect Don Marcus has taken a tentative stance against it.
“With this particular project… with the location on Highway 25, and with limited information on the specifics of the project, this isn’t something I support,” Marcus said.
But before the findings in the economic impact report come out, Marcus won’t say how or if the they will affect his stance.
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, where a resolution was passed to establish a regional planning forum to investigate the impacts of a casino, Marcus said he supported the resolution but didn’t want to see it give way to an out-and-out anti-casino forum.
“I support this resolution as it is, but I would hate to come out for or against something that is still evolving,” Marcus said Tuesday.
Casino Project Manager Gary Ramos was pleased with the resolution.
“We really appreciate our chance to get our side out and we really appreciate Supervisor’s Loe’s resolution, and the opportunity to get the community involved,” he said.
Dist. 5 Supervisor-elect Jaime De La Cruz’s casino stance is slightly less clear. De La Cruz said he did have doubts about the casino, but wouldn’t say if he supported it or not.
“I do have a couple of concerns, one that they’re exempt from local authority and rules. The other issue is what kind of jobs they’re going to be providing for our local residents. Are they going to be $5.50-an-hour jobs with no health insurance? That’s something we need to find out,” he said.
Ramos said Friday that the casino could eventually create as many as 1,700 to 2,000 jobs. San Benito County residents will get preference for the jobs at the casino, he said. Usually tribal members have first preference for casino work, but because there are only five Miwok tribal members and unemployment is high in San Benito County, they want to locals preference, he said.
Ramos said the investors are meeting with the union to discuss jobs. It’s tough to put out a lot of employment information right now, but he noted that a lot of people who make minimum wage will get tips. A dealer can make $60,000 to $80,00 a year, Ramos said.
De La Cruz also said he was worried about what effects a casino might have on families in the area. But still, he doesn’t yet have a stance on the issue.
“I want to wait and see these reports (that the Miwoks are preparing). I want to have all the information before I make a decision,” he said.
The tribe recently hired an analyst to conduct an economic impact report, which Miwok lawyer Phil Thompson has said will illustrate the economic benefits a casino would have on the community. Ramos also has said the tribe plans to kick in money to improve Hwy. 25 and that the tribe will give San Benito County 10 percent of the money it gives the state, and Hollister will get 10 percent of that.
But Dist. 2 Supervisor-elect Anthony Botelho said he has a strong stand on the casino issue and will be bringing it with him when he is seated in January.
“My position on the casino is very clear: I remain opposed to it,” said Botelho.
Botelho said he publicly opposes the casino for several reasons; some logistical, some moral. For one, he is worried about Highway 25’s ability to handle the increased traffic a casino along its shoulder would bring, he said.
Botelho, a San Juan Bautista orchardist, also said the proposed site near the Santa Clara County line is an environmentally sensitive area that doesn’t need a project of this size.
“I think casinos ultimately create more problems than what they cure. The social impact in a small county where we’re already having difficulty servicing the needs of our residents would be too big,” Botelho said.
Botelho said he is curious to see hard proof of economic benefits in the report, but would not likely change his stance.
“I would have to really study it (the report). I’m very interested in seeing those reports. But morally and ethically, I’d prefer not to have a casino on the Central Coast,” he said.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
