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Middleboro sends letter critical of Mashpee tribe to federal bureau |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 |
Middleboro sends letter critical of Mashpee tribe to federal bureau
By Alice C. Elwell
Enterprise Correspondent
Posted Jul 13, 2010
MIDDLEBORO — A letter from the Board of Selectmen is on its way to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, warning it to proceed with caution on the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s required application to put land into trust so the tribe can move forward with a casino.
Selectmen on Monday unanimously supported sending the letter, which details their mistrust of the tribe now that it has pulled out of a proposed casino in Middleboro in favor of one in Fall River.
The board made the draft letter public on Friday, and at its weekly meeting there was only one public comment.
Casino opponent Allin Frawley said the letter raised a good point, “They can’t be trusted to build a casino here.”
In May, the town received a formal letter from Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell announcing his intention to kill the 2007 deal with the town that called for a resort casino to be built on about 400 acres in Middleboro.
Cromwell has said he will amend the application to take land into trust to include the Fall River site, but selectmen say he is piggy-backing a new deal on the town’s good will.
“It is nothing short of legal chicanery for the tribe to now attempt to expand its initial reservation request to include land for a casino in Fall River, which would directly compete with an already contracted project in Middleboro,” the letter says.
That July 2007 vote approved a host agreement that would provide $250 million in infrastructure improvements for the tribal casino.
“Of concern is how this tribe, which has informed the town that it does not intend to honor the IGA (intergovernmental agreement) and all plans to pursue the casino development provided for in that agreement, can meet the requirements and responsibility for developing and operating a casino elsewhere,” the letter says.
Prior to the meeting, the tribe declined to comment on the selectmen’s letter.
Frawley said it had been almost two months since the board threatened to invoke the dispute resolution provisions in the casino contract between the tribe and town. “I was wondering when we’re going to do it?” he said.
Selectman Marsha L. Brunelle declined to comment.
Frawley also asked if the tribe had made the July 1 $250,000 payment that was promised in the contract for casino planning. Brunelle said the tribe had not paid and was in violation of the contract.
http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/x104356142/Middleboro-sends-letter-critical-of-tribe-to-government |
