Shasta County Board of Supervisors to discuss Win-River Casino and Resort relocating
REDDING, Calif. — The Shasta County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss the future of Redding Rancheria's proposed relocation of the Win-River Casino and Resort during Tuesday's supervisor's meeting.
In 2019, the board unanimously voted against the relocation, formally sending a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs stating the impacts associated with the relocation could not be mitigated to the county's satisfaction.
But now, nearly three years later, they will discuss rescinding their letter of opposition, and not everyone is on board.
Steven Williams, president of Shasta County Residents for Positive Community Development, told KRCR a big concern is the casino's burden on the local economy.
"Casinos in general, do place an economic burden on the county," said Williams. "We provide sheriff services, sometimes police dispatch when the sheriffs are unavailable, we provide mental health for gambling, addiction, drug and alcohol addiction. And there's just a myriad of issues that go along hand in glove with gaming and alcohol and casinos in general. At this point, the tribe has no intergovernmental agency agreement with the county. In the last 25 years, they've never paid a dime toward these costs. They make some community donations in general, but because they have no agreement in place, they're not really covering their costs. When we talk about going to a new location that is nearly three times the size of their existing location, it's easy to contemplate that the new location might proportionally bring a bigger burden."
Williams added that their group is not opposed to Indian gaming or the casino at their current location off of Interstate 5; they would just like more research conducted before relocating.
"There's nothing that's changed in four years. Their environmental impact hasn't been updated, the development on South Bonnyview and that area where they propose access has only gotten more congested with the development of Costco and other developments, and there's nothing that's changed about their original application...If they're going to try to relocate, they need to go through a correct process, an updated environmental impact report, they need to seek public hearings and public comment, and get input from everybody."
The board can either vote to write a letter withdrawing the previous letter of opposition, express general support for the project, or remain neutral on the project.
The meeting takes place Tues., Apr. 18, at 9 a.m. at the Shasta County board chambers.
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