In an interesting change of heart, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors has narrowly elected to retract their opposition to the relocation of the Win-River Casino and Event Center to a larger property owned by the Redding Rancheria tribe near Interstate 5.
In addition to the reversal, the board will also submit a letter of endorsement to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), who will ultimately decide the fate of the proposal.
The vote passed by a 3-2 majority, after the board had vehemently opposed the relocation when it was originally proposed back in 2019. At that time, the board informed the BIA that county dissatisfaction would make the relocation untenable. The majority of the opposition for both proposals came from residents from Chum Creek Bottom, an agricultural sector that has long opposed new developments in the area.
In the end, the board chose to endorse the move rather than re-oppose it or remain neutral, which were the other two possibilities for the vote. The newly proposed site is located on Strawberry Fields, not far from the South Bonnyview Road exit on I-5.
Tracy Edwards, CEO of Redding Rancheria, said that the tribe was very pleased at the opportunity to “sit down and work through all of the issues with the county.”
Edwards also noted that the board’s original decision to oppose the move was “probably premature” due to the fact that those conversations hadn’t happened yet.
One voice that has been particularly opposed to the board’s decision is that of Steve Williams—Williams is the president of Shasta County Residents for Positive Community Development, a local organization with concerns about the potential ramifications of the relocation.
After news of the vote was announced, Williams told local media that he was “disappointed that the board of supervisors voted the way they did,” and that it was too soon for the board to make a ruling given that the federal government has not yet been involved in proceedings.
Williams made sure to mention that he and the organization are not opposed to the casino’s operations on their current property, and are not opposed to Indian gaming as a whole. Rather, they felt that more research needs to be done before the move is made official.
The potential economic burden of the casino, including increased police services and mental health and addiction counseling, are a sticking point for local residents and agencies given the fact that the tribe have yet to sign any intergovernmental agreement with local authorities over the last two-plus decades. The new, larger location would almost certainly require more resources.
