An intergovernmental agreement between California’s Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi-Yokut Tribe and Kings County Board of Supervisors calls for an expanded Tachi Palace Casino Resort with the tribe funding infrastructure projects, including a new county fire station.
The expanded casino resort on the existing footprint of the original, will be built near Fresno. The tribe will build the fire station and also help with staffing costs, equipment purchasing and other costs. The tribe will also contribute toward police, fire protection, wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal. It will also fund traffic improvements to the intersection in front of the casino while encouraging customers to use mass transit and ride-sharing to get there.
Doug Verboom, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, hailed the agreement, “From supporting law enforcement and fire services to improving the environment and the economic development that supports our area, we believe this agreement is a win-win for Kings County and the Tribe.”
The tribe add space for 1,000 additional Class III slots; will build a 35,000 square foot, 2,500 seat event and bingo center, a 200-room hotel tower, an expansion of the existing gas station that will include a 24 pump (half gas, half diesel) convenience store, 60 Class II slot machines, and a car wash. The tribe will also build housing for 200 families.
The intergovernmental agreement preempts a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding—it runs in tandem with the new tribal state gaming compact with California.
