An anti-casino group calling itself Protect Elk Grove has targeted Elk Grove, California Mayor Gary Davis with flyers sent to mailboxes that attack his alleged support of the 0 million casino proposed by the Wilton Rancheria.
The flyer suggests that the casino would increase criminal activity such as prostitution and drunk driving. It also implies that it will destroy local businesses.
The flyer calls for residents to, “Call the Mayor and tell him to stop cozying up the to the tribe. Demand the he take action to PROTECT Elk Grove. Tell the mayor to use his power to STOP a Vegas-style casino from being built in Elk Grove.”
The Juaneño Band of Mission Indians of Wilton Rancheria recently applied to put land into trust in Elk Grove for a casino.
The casino would be built on 35 acres now owned by the Howard Hughes Corporation’s unfinished Outlet Collection mall. The tribe would build it in partnership with Boyd Gaming, based in Las Vegas.
It is planned to have 2,000 slot machines, 84 table games, a 12-story hotel with more than 300 rooms, a spa, pool, restaurants, and a 30,000 square foot convention space.
Mayor Davis has so far not taken a public stand on the casino, other to say that he supports the idea in general terms. He made that statement at a public information meeting the tribe held for the community on July 6.
At the meeting Davis, who is running for reelection in November said, “At this point, I am not taking a position.”
During the meeting Wilton Rancheria Chairman Hitchcock told the crowd, “Three to five years is a good estimate to put shovels in the ground.” The chairman said the casino could be open in five years, but conceded, “most likely we will have some lawsuits that we will have to settle.” The possible legal challenges might come from neighboring tribes trying to stop a competing casino from opening, such as Jackson Rancheria, Thunder Valley, and Red Hawk.
After the meeting Hitchcock told the Elk Grove News, “We just held a very successful meeting with the Elk Grove community with more than 400 people there, most of whom were very supportive and see the value of the project for their community.” He added, “We answered questions and addressed concerns, and now we are moving ahead with the process.”
Hitchcock says the tribe is eager to make Elk Grove its home. He told Elk Grove News, “After we’ve been three years into this EIS process – the Environmental Impact Statement – and as we’re coming toward the end, we had to look at all the variables.”
He added, “And when you look at Elk Grove, the infrastructure that’s already ready to go for the traffic, the overcrossing is done, water and waste water lines are pulled right directly to the project.” He noted that the property was already ready for commercial development, and wouldn’t involve changing the zoning.
During the meeting Hitchcock presented a PowerPoint overview, showing slides and artist’s renditions of the hotel. He also told some of the tribe’s history and took questions at the end. He discussed the agreements that the tribe hopes to make with the city to provide services to the casino, and the annual payments that the tribe would make in return.
He noted that the tribe doesn’t intend to “replace” the mail, but to be on the Phase 2 portion of the property, and connect to the outlet mall.
Hitchcock predicts, “The resort and casino project will bring over 2,000 full-time jobs. Our tribe has a high unemployment rate, but if we gave every single unemployed tribal member a job at the casino facility, that’s not even 10 percent of the amount of jobs that are available.”
