Pauma tribe's deadline for 76 funding pact extended

The County of San Diego amended its agreement with the Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians to extend the deadline by which the Pauma band must enter into an agreement with the California Department of Transportation for improvements to State Route 76.

The 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Sept. 14 extends the deadline from Aug. 31, 2011, to June 30, 2015. The $13.5 million covered in the extension is part of a $38 million overall contribution which includes $25.5 million for operational improvements between the Pala Casino and Valley Center Road; while the original 2008 agreement covered $11.5 million of priority operational improvements and $500,000 for project development it also designated an additional $13.5 million of operational improvements to be determined by the tribe and Caltrans while stipulating that if an agreement for the use of that $13.5 million had not been reached by the deadline the tribe would no longer be required to pay for the improvements.

“All other provisions in the agreement remain. There was no change,” said Teresa Brownyard, the County of San Diego’s tribal liaison officer.

On Aug. 6, 2008, the county supervisors approved an agreement with the Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians which would provide $38 million for improvements to State Route 76 east of Interstate 15. The agreement called for the tribe to contribute $25.5 million for operational improvements to Highway 76 between the Pala Casino and Valley Center Road, $6.5 million for improvements to the intersection of Pauma Reservation Road and Highway 76 (some of that includes work on Pauma Reservation Road itself), and $6 million for improvements to the interchange of Interstate 15 and SR76.

The agreement also covers wastewater, law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service, and gambling addiction treatment.

The Pauma and Yuima Reservation entered into a tribal-state gaming compact with the State of California in September 1999, and an amendment to that compact was approved in 2004. The amendment requires that prior to the commencement of an expansion project the Pauma tribe must negotiate with the County of San Diego and enter into an agreement to provide environmental mitigation for off-reservation impacts and to compensate the county for public safety and gambling addition costs.

Pauma’s casino expansion plans include a 19-story hotel with 400 rooms, a 102,372 square foot casino which includes 73,583 square feet of gaming area, 56,500 square feet of food and other retail facilities, 16,842 square feet for resort facilities including a spa and pool as well as a garden and a bar, a 19,383 square foot indoor multipurpose events center, 120,547 square feet of administrative and service facilities, a six-level parking garage with 1,500 spaces, 2,500 surface parking spaces, up to three new groundwater wells, a 500,000 gallon water reservoir, expansion of the existing wastewater treatment plant, and a third sediment retention basin.

In addition to the contribution to the county and Caltrans for traffic impacts, the Pauma tribe also agreed to seek ways to expand availability of van and bus services for casino guests and to reduce traffic volumes by encouraging ridesharing and carpooling. A Tribal Transportation Management Association, in conjunction with other tribes, will create and administer trip reduction strategies.

Pauma’s $25.5 million contribution to Caltrans will provide the full cost necessary for operational improvements to SR76 between Pala Casino and Valley Center Road. The improvements will include curve realignment just west of Pauma Reservation Road, improvements to the intersection of Cole Grade Road and SR76, and additional operational improvements which may include passing lanes, shoulder widening, curve realignment, and intersection improvements.

The $6.5 million for the improvements to Pauma Reservation Road and the intersection of Pauma Reservation Road and SR76 will include intersection signalization and widening of all three approaches to the intersection. The work on Pauma Reservation Road will include widening and drainage improvements.

The $6 million for the interchange improvements at I-15 and SR76 will be paid to Caltrans.

The agreement with the county also calls for the Pauma tribe to provide an adequate level of on-site security during all hours of operation. The tribe will pay the county $400,000 annually to cover the anticipated additional workload for the Sheriff’s Department and an additional $40,000 annually to cover additional workload expected for other Public Safety Group departments such as the District Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Probation Department, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Medical Examiner.

The agreement also required the Pauma tribe to construct and operate a new fire department on the reservation including a full-time fire chief, a Type 1 engine based at the station on a continuous basis, a Type 3 engine, four professional firefighters, and two paramedics cross-trained as firefighters. The tribe, either through augmentation of the reservation department or through an agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, will also provide on a continuous basis four additional firefighters and at least one additional Type 1 engine, heavy rescue engine, ladder truck, or light and air unit. The tribe’s stipulated contributions also included $10,000 for the county’s regional light/air unit which assists emergency responders in large facilities and high-rise structures and includes self-contained breathing apparatus and emergency lighting capability.

The Pauma tribe will also provide the county with $200,000 annually for gambling addition treatment programs, and the tribe will extend its responsible gaming programs to the expanded casino.

The wastewater treatment plant expansion will enable the plant to meet tertiary treatment standards and assure sufficient wet weather effluent disposal and storage capability. Wastewater effluent will be disposed of through on-reservation leach fields, percolation ponds, and beneficial re-use for irrigation and landscaping.

In addition to constructing the new stormwater detention basin, stormwater controls will be implemented during construction as well as for runoff from new parking and roof areas. The location of groundwater wells which will supply water to the casino will be restricted to avoid impacts to off-reservation wells.

In May 2008, the Pauma tribe certified a Tribal Environmental Impact Report for the expansion project after the National Indian Gaming Commission issued a Finding of No Significant Impact.

The county approved a similar compact with the Pala Band of Mission Indians in August 2007, and in May 2010 the county approved an extension for the date by which the Pala tribe must enter into an agreement with Caltrans from June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2015. “This is the same thing but for Pauma,” Brownyard said.

Since the increased traffic associated with the expansion will not occur until then, the tribe and county staff recommended extension of the agreement expiration date. When the agreement between Pauma and Caltrans is adopted, the agreement will include a description of operational improvements which will be performed along with the schedule for project development and construction payments.

“It only kicks in if they move forward with their plans to expand,” Brownyard said.

“We’re just pleased that we have a good relationship with the Pauma band and we were able to extend the provision,” Brownyard said.

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