COARSEGOLD, Calif.,
Nov. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- The Chukchansi Tribe and the Madera County Board of Supervisors are nearing
the completion of an MOU that is intended to resolve all remaining
public safety issues between the Tribe and the County and enable
the Chukchansi Gold Coast Resort & Casino to reopen during the
upcoming holiday season.
On Wednesday, November
25th the Madera
County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting to
consider the MOU and is poised to ratify it.
The original contract between the Tribe and County was
negotiated and signed in 2007 and enumerated the Tribe's
obligations to fund certain county services pertaining to the
safety and security of the casino and its patrons. The tribe
was to pay for certain aspects of fire protection and law
enforcement provided by the county. Since the closure of the casino
in October 2014, the Board of
Supervisors has sought back payments from the Tribe to compensate
for missed years of disbursements and to help pay for increased
safety and security in and around the casino.
To that end, the Tribe and the County have agreed that the
County will provide an officer on site for the first six months of
operation paid for by the Casino. This officer will be in
addition to the full-time officer that casino already pays for to
be permanently in the general area of CGCRC (within 20 minutes of
the casino).
The Madera County Board of
Supervisors is eager to see the Tribe reopen CGCRC because of
closure and its 1,300 layoffs (many of whom are residents of
Madera County) has significantly
impacted the economy of the County. In addition to 1,300 unemployed
households, CGCRC's closure has had a chain-reaction impact on
Madera County's revenues, limiting
the County's ability to provide necessary and critical
services.
"We are anticipating the long awaited conclusion to the
negotiations with the tribe and ratification of the MOU," said
Board of Supervisors Chairman David
Rogers. "This is another step forward in their journey to
restart their operations, which is in the best interests of the
tribe and the county."
"We have worked tirelessly with the Tribe and the County to
reach a fair and equitable arrangement," said Christian Goode COO
of CGCRC. "We commend Chairman Rogers and Madera County, for being sensitive to the
needs of the tribe and for recognizing how important we take the
safety and security of the casino."
The meeting of the Board of Supervisors will take place on
November 25, 2015 and they are
expected to ratify the MOU at that time. Once in place, the
tribe will begin preparing in earnest to get the casino reopened
before the end of 2015.
Meeting details:
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Meeting start: 8:30am
Location: Madera County Government Center (200 West Fourth Street,
Madera)
MEDIA CONTACT
Eric
Fleming
Madera County Chief Administrative
Officer
(559) 675-7703
Christian Goode
Chief Operating Officer, Chukchansi Gold Coast Resort and
Casino
(716) 799-2851
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/picayune-rancheria-of-chukchansi-indians-tribe-through-its-wholly-owned-tribal-enterprise-chukchansi-economic-development-authority-ceda-and-madera-county-board-of-supervisors-near-agreement-on-memorandum-of-understanding-300184288.html
SOURCE Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino