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Aerial view of Tolay Lake, near Petaluma.
By BRETT WILKISON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are set to donate $500,000 to Sonoma County as part of an agreement to support a long-term plan for Tolay Lake Regional Park and secure an advisory role in the park’s development.
The 3,426-acre park east of Petaluma is seen as a important Native American cultural and historic site in the county.
It was purchased in 2005 and 2007 with $31 million in public funds and private donations, but public access has been limited through a permit program.
A master plan that would enable full public use and guide long-term development has been delayed by funding shortfalls.
Earlier this year, county Regional Parks director Caryl Hart approached Graton Rancheria officials to ask for help paying for the plan.
Given the site’s importance to tribes, Hart said, “my feeling was that it would be a great collaboration.”
The tribe’s $500,000, along with $300,000 from the state Coastal Conservancy, is expected to fully cover the planning work. Selection of a consultant to oversee that process, including public hearings and workshops, is expected within the next few months.
Supervisors are set to vote Aug. 9 on the agreement with the Graton Rancheria. It would make the tribe a “cooperating agency,” meaning that the county “will use the expertise and input of the Graton Tribe to the maximum extent possible, but the County is the lead agency for this project,” according to the proposal. The deal would be in place until completion of the final environmental documents for the park.
Hart said the agreement comes with no strings attached to the tribe’s other projects in the area, including its proposed casino in Rohnert Park.
“This is unconnected to anything else they’re doing in the county,” Hart said.
The deal comes just weeks after Greg Sarris, chairman of the Graton Rancheria, urged state officials to look to tribal casinos as a key source of park funding.
Speaking at a special hearing of the state Assembly parks committee in Santa Rosa in June, Sarris vowed the Graton tribe would contribute $2 million to $5 million a year for 20 years to state and regional parks.
That offer appeared to be contingent upon a compact with the governor to allow gaming at the tribe’s proposed casino.
Sarris and Lorelle Ross, the tribe’s vice-chairwoman, did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.
Tribal contributions to local government are not new. Since 2004, under an agreement with the city of Rohnert Park, the Graton Rancheria has given the city nearly $3 million to support public safety services. Facing a stall in its casino plans, the tribe chose not make its regular $500,000 contribution last year, an opt-out provision built into the agreement. The city’s budget does not count on a donation from the tribe this year.
Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who represents most of Rohnert Park, said the county’s agreement with the tribe, including the donation for Tolay Lake, would not undermine the county’s stance in negotiations over the proposed casino, including discussions about the cost of public services.
“We wouldn’t even be discussing this right now” if that weren’t the case, Zane said. “This is a voluntary donation. It has absolutely no bearing or relationship with the potential impacts of the casino development.”
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Sleepless on Stony Point is spot on. Senator Boxer’s son stood to gain a pile of dough brokering the (now aborted) sale of the Lakeville land to the tribe. His mother applied all the grease that was needed on the skids.
Paragon on virtue that she is.
Fiscal Conservative totally nails it. $31M of taxpayer funds to secure this “park” and we, the taxpaying public, have very little access to it. Only an interim day use program, for a fee of course, has been established.
This gift from FIGR, of Station Casino’s money, will likely cause even less of the total land area of the park be made available for public use. I fully expect vast stretches of the land to be cordoned off as “historically and culturally sensitive”.
Great value for $31M spent… a park that almost no one will want to go to. The utter failure of the ongoing land grabs of the Open Space District, which has co-opted the Regional Park District on this deal.
What a waste.
Lynn Woolsey indroduced the bill regarding FIGR’s federal recognition with a stipulation that the tribe NOT build a casino, which Greg Sarris readily agreed to abide by. Little Babsy Boxer is the one who removed that language when the bill came up for a vote- Lynn was off taking a nap as usual… Babsy Boxer’s son was brokering the land deal for FIGR. Lynn is lame, but she had help with this one.
@ Graeme Wellington
Good point!
And what about the Imperial Wizard himself? Their exalted Speaker of the House.
He would be back in Searchlight swimming in his favorite Whore House Pool today if not for MGM Grand, Harrah’s, Boyd Gaming and on & on.
If people want to gamble, LET THEM!
If the Indians want to sell to the Las Vegas Casinos what last little bit of their souls we didn’t take from them, LET THEM!
How come you guys hate the Casinos but still love and vote for Lynn Woolsey all the time. The only law she ever passed in her entire Congressional career was the one that made the Indian casinos legal. Voters of Sonoma County: IT’S YOUR FAULT.
$31,000,000.000 in public funds and the public can not acess this park?
I beg to differ,I say open the gates or pay us back or $31M.
With just a little more axel grease from the mob they may have a master plan in place that would allow us to take a senic tour of the taxpayer owned land.
In my opinion this whole story sounds like a sham on the hardworking taxpaying people who expect better than this.
From the air it looks like a perfect place for an all-terrain mud bog park.
$10.00 at the gate and global warming mud slinging action for the whole family. Find artifacts? trade em’ in at the Casino for poker chips.
Chief Masterson disbanded the special enforcement unit in Rohnert Park, so RP does not get money from the tribe to fund something that doesn’t exist anymore. RP broke the agreement, not the tribe.
And the supposed “mobsters” funding the casino have long since busted out Station Casinos and a bankruptcy judge is the tribe’s source of funds now or some trustee of the creditors. Since Hudson and I disagree on this, the world may not as bad off as I was starting to think.
It is ironic that the people who originally occupied this land are reduced to making deals with Las Vegas casino people.
Problem is, the people of CA and many other states prefer to atone for genocide with casino rights.
I don’t approve. I would give any reasonable amount of money to build housing, businesses, healthcare or anything else the Native Americans need.
I don’t approve of casinos or the politics related to casinos.
Anyone with me?
This is very disappointing news. On the surface, at first, one thinks – oh, money for a park. But, the source and giving it to the Tolay Lake Park, which could sit around forever and just be open space – no one really cares about what’s to do or be done there – is really too bad. It’s like adding dirty money. It is an extremely bad precedent to set and accept. While I respect the new Regional Parks Director’s energy and efforts to try and do things for parks and park planning, I can’t imagine any park anywhere outside the 2nd District being offered and then given this unwise donation or contribution. So they want to give some money. Toss it to the South County. Would we hear about this in North Santa Rosa or North Sonoma County or West Sonoma County. Definitely not. It’s not a good idea and the money should not be accepted. So what if park planning waits. There’s nothing wrong with that and the land is protected anyway with some trails and lots of open space. Most people in South Sonoma Co. really do not care if anything more ever happens at this location or not.
Are the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria current on what they promised to pay the Department of Public Safety in the City of Rohnert Park?
@Commonsense – I don’t know this for certain, but I believe that the Native Americans in this area had different summer and winter camps, so isn’t it possible that they were in this area during the wet season?
it would be interesting if the PD published a story about who exactly is giving this money and how much they’ve already given to various local media organizations and causes.
This is a true local issue that people are talking about. Is there a reason we don’t see more articles like that?
Another bribe? I am still puzzled why any particular class is provided with special treatment. Why should Indian Tribes be allowed to build casinos on soil in California. The intent of allowing land for their use was to allow them the ability to protect their cultures and heritage. Nowhere did it mean that they could open a bunch of Las Vegas gambling casinos and bring into California what we have deemed to be illegal. So what’s next- allow them to have brothels and child-sex industry- because they have a their own land to do whatever they heck they want to do. No to the Casinos!
This is a misleading story. Sarris’ tribe has no money of its own. Sarris’ tribe is NOT donating any money to anyone for anything. The money is coming from Vegas mobsters who want to mute opposition to a casino. If the PD actually wanted to inform the public, instead of control the public, it would say who really is putting up the money.
Any Native American artifacts at tolay were likely planted. Where the Native Americans really were was almost due west at what is now Oolompali State Park. Items there were carbon dated to between 5,000 and 10,000 years old. Oolompali has year-round water, an abundance of trees and plenty of wildlife. tolay has none of those. Where would you prefer to live?
tolay is just as bad of a white elephant money pit as the SMART train. Enough already.
Greasin’ the ole skids again… Instead of running around trying to convince the community that the tribe (or rather, Station Casinos) isn’t throwing their money around in exchange for “considerations”, why don’t they take their money and buy a piece of land in a more appropriate location for their casino? We’d quit fighting them, and they’d probably actually get it built without so many people hating them for it. Duh.
It’s been eight years Greg- We’re not giving up. You’d have your casino by now if you would’ve bought that other piece of land near the Sonoma/Marin line… Tsk tsk
There’s the Graton Rancheria buying goodwill with money it hasn’t even earned yet.
Supervisor Zane’s assertion of no bearing is either terribly naive or just par for the course.