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Fall River land deal could spell end for a casino in Middleboro |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 15 May 2010 |
Fall River land deal could spell end for a casino in Middleboro
Tribe that signed pact with Middleboro is negotiating to buy Fall River land for casino
By Alice C. Elwell
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
Posted May 14, 2010
MIDDLEBORO — The town’s casino deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe may be dead, now that tribal leaders are negotiating to buy a portion of land in Fall River.
State Sen. Joan M. Menard, D-Fall River, confirmed that talks are under way to sell the tribe a portion of the SouthCoast Bio Park along Route 24.
“I’m very disappointed, but it doesn’t surprise me,” said Middleboro Town Manager Charles J. Cristello. “Where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Tribal leaders would not comment on the Fall River negotiations, the status of the land in Middleboro or whether they plan to amend their application before the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
While Middleboro officials would not go so far as to say the plans are dead, the tribe’s land-purchase talks are the strongest sign yet that its leaders have no intention of honoring a 2007 agreement to build its casino in town.
Middleboro residents voted overwhelmingly to host the casino in July 2007. Approximately 3,700 residents attended the historic outdoor town meeting.
Reneging on the deal “undermines the credibility of the tribe,” state Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, said.
Gov. Deval Patrick and Gregory Bialecki, the state’s chief of housing and economic development, were not involved in the negotiations, according to Bialecki’s spokesman.
Middleboro casino proponents have long suspected that Patrick opposed a casino in town.
Menard is pushing to bring the tribe to Fall River in an effort to combat the city’s 18 percent unemployment rate, the highest in the state.
“We need jobs now,” she said.
Menard described a hybrid plan to open a commercial complex that would roll over into a tribal casino, if and when the land is taken into trust.
Under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, recognized tribes are allowed to game on tribal lands at whatever level is allowed by state law. Under the federal provisions, tribal lands are exempt from local and state laws and are considered sovereign.
Menard said she wants the tribe to make a quick decision because construction for a University of Massachusetts project has been put on hold.
“They’ve (UMass) got the money to go forward, they are not going to wait forever. We’ve got to get our act together.”
Pacheco said he has not been included in the negotiations with Fall River, nor was John F. Healey, Freetown’s interim town administrator.
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/state_news/x1773731933/Fall-River-land-deal-could-spell-end-for-a-casino-in-Middleboro |
