County rejects its own offer to Buena Vista Band

Wednesday, March 12, 2008  

Supervisors in Amador County, California, once again deadlocked on a casino agreement with the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians.

At a meeting yesterday, the board rejected a deal that the county proposed just last week. Chairman Richard Forster in fact said he would vote for it "in a minute" but reversed himself -- stating that he was surprised that the tribe accepted the counter-offer.

"We all saw Supervisor Forster's comments in the press that he intended to vote for the agreement. We are not sure what happened between then and now to change his mind," tribal CEO John Tang said in a statement quoted by The Stockton Record.

The new deal would have allowed the county to continue its lawsuit against the Interior Department. The county says the tribe was not properly recognized and that its rancheria cannot be used for gaming.

The tribe will now head into arbitration with the county to resolve the issue. The tribe's gaming compact requires the tribe to address impacts of the casino on the local community.

The tribe had offered to pay $18 million up front, plus about $8 million a year, to the county.

Get the Story:
Board rejects casino proposal (The Stockton Record 3/12)
Amador board deadlocks on casino as official changes his mind (The Sacramento Bee 3/12)
pwlat
Supervisors rebuff their own counter offer, set stage for arbitration (The Amador Ledger-Dispatch 3/11)
Amador County rejects deal with tribe that seeks casino (AP 3/11)