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Huge casino project wasn’t planned, says ex-Tribal chair
COARSEGOLD — The scope of the gaming casino the Chukchansi nation has in mind here far exceeds what was being considered earlier, a former tribal council chair says — and she says the expansion appears to be at the expense of social programs for the tribe.
Plans for the controversial casino and hotel complex were explained publicly two weeks ago, and while an estimated cost has not been disclosed, the project appears to be a major undertaking.
“It is a lot more than we were talking about,” says Daisy Liedkie, ousted as chair of the Tribal Council last June after she was disenrolled — illegally, she claims — from membership in the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians.
Mrs. Liedkie, 80, says she and those serving on the Tribal Council a year ago, had been working with Cascade Entertainment Group, headquartered in the Marin County community of Tiburon, about a casino along Picayune Road [417], off Yosemite Highway [41].
“I was tribal chair and part of the Tribal Council when Cascade first approached the tribe,” remembers Mrs. Liedkie. “We worked with Cascade for several months developing a plan.”
Those discussions, as Mrs. Liedkie recalls, provided a much more modest approach to gaming. “We envisioned a small card and bingo parlor, with maybe a youth center for the kids,” she says.
She fears that the current Tribal Council is thinking too big — perhaps overly influenced by Cascade. Included is a huge casino, four restaurants, a four- or five-story hotel, and a recreational vehicle park.
“If I was an investor with millions of dollars to invest, then I would certainly want my project to be a big one,” adds Mrs. Liedkie.
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Midway project a definite ‘go’
This much is certain: the Pashayan Midway development is moving right along.
It is moving right along despite objections voiced in Oakhurst to the project’s including two or three fast-food restaurants.
It is moving right along despite the likelihood the project will somehow interfere with expansion goals for the Oakhurst Branch Library.
Except for Charles (Chip) Pashayan Jr., who is developing the property he and his sister, Suzanne, own in the center of Oakhurst, no one seems to like the idea of moving Civic Circle Drive and installing the town’s fifth traffic signal.
But in the end, it may be that the Pashayan suggestion of swapping the land that includes the present Civic Circle Drive route for a path through the middle of his property is about the only viable “decision point.”
The Pashayan development is on property that is zoned for commercial establishments, which means there is no restriction on the number of fast-food restaurants, or any other conforming use.
While there are worries about the availability of water and the limited capacity of Oakhurst’s wastewater treatment facility, the Pashayan property has what appears to be sufficient answers there.
So, while county Planning Director Leonard Garoupa spoke of several “decision points” before Carl’s Jr. or whatever begins flipping hamburgers, it is all pretty much a done-deal.
This became clear Thursday as Mr. Pashayan outlined his plans for more than 80 area residents and two-thirds of the nine-member Oakhurst Community Action Council.
The council was the forum because it has the responsibility of advising county government on the “decision points” mentioned by Mr. Garoupa.
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