Middleboro in talks with Tribe
I’ve been hearing rumblings about the tribe talking to the town and this article confirms it:
Middleboro and the Mashpee Wampanoag are in talks to dissolve the casino deal they made in 2007, Middleboro Town Manager Charles Cristello said Thursday.
A source with knowledge of the renewed talks said it was tribe lobbyist Emmet Hayes, a former state representative from Whitman, who met with town leaders to negotiate on behalf of the Mashpee Wampanoag.
Emmet Hayes …. call me. We’ll do lunch
Middleboro put years of effort into the casino project. We expended uncounted man hours and incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Town leadership and department heads wasted thousands and thousands of hours on this project – who knows what opportunities were lost while we focused on the casino. Beyond calculation is the chaos and animosity that this rushed and poorly conceived project caused in town.
Once again Middleboro finds itself driving the bus. The Mashpee are at a delicate point in their serial casino quest. I think we are currently reading: Inevitable Casino: Part IV – The Taunton Resort Project
Four years after the Inevitable Middleboro Casino was supposed to open, our hapless heros embark on an even more exciting low-rent project
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Middleboro should be compensated for its troubles and file a lawsuit immediately if a resolution is not reached. Our contract with the tribe is still valid. The Middleboro IGA has no provisions for ending the contract in a one-sided manner the way the tribe did. Since we have suffered damage, the time to seek legal recourse is now – while the tribe is starting their Taunton endeavor.
Proper compensation to me would be
- Ownership of the land turned over to Middleboro
- Immediate payment of $50M dollars
- 1% in perpetuity of any casino the tribe ever builds or $10M/year
One thing I agreed with is Town Manager Cristellos assessment about the desire of Middleboro to host a casino:
One thing is certain, Middleboro is no longer interested in being a host community for a casino, Cristello said. “I think at this point they’ve made too many enemies in Middleboro by the way they treated the town,” he said of the tribe.
And the last thing I want to comment on is tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell’s comment:
But in an interview with the Cape Cod Times Wednesday, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said the tribe has “fulfilled every expectation” in Middleboro.
“Fufilled every expectation”?!??? Come on Cedric – it’s one thing to put a positive spin on things but that’s just batshit crazy.
Themocracy
That would depend on what your expectations were. They have fulfilled mine
When is the Taunton casino due ? 18 months?? LMAO.
You beat me to it – I was about to say the same thing ….
18 mos. after the end of time. To get that land back as open space would be nice. Open space= no services and no cost to the town. No casino.
The good news is (even though we didn’t know it in 2007 but certainly do now), we were dealing with the dumbest, most chaotic tribe in the country, east of the Cherokees. We now have the best of both worlds if we can capitalize on it. Get boatloads of money into town with no casino. Now that is what I call reparations..
OH yes, can I say this again… The Finance Committee was the ONLY Board, Committee and public service group in town that adamantly voted against this contract AND the casino. Now if we had the choice of voting to get the money with NO casino, like the situation is now, we may have voted differently…
LMAO
Mark and I discussed this the other night. We are at the 3.5 anniversary of the 18 month announcement.
I love how this sounds like Middleboro. We gotta get this done quick. There is a deadline, July 31st. Now the Governor is looking to start Compact negotiations as soon as they set a vote. Even though it is illegal for him to do so, prior to taking the land into trust. It boggles the mind that nobody will even start to look at the costs and apply real numbers ( except for our glorious FINCOM).
I love the idea that this is going to revitalize Taunton. How many times do you think Atlantic City was told that this would revitalize their city?
Come on RichY let’s give due credit to casino effects on Atlantic City. “It was a slum beside the sea before casinos and now its slum beside the sea with casinos”.
Looks like Chief Wild Eagle is leading the Hekawis down another silly path!
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. A friend of 15 yrs. was married to a mashpee, and said in all their years of marriage his spouse never mentioned the word “tribe” once. It’s a pity but you get what you deserve. They don’t, and never did deserve a casino. Take your recognition and be happy.
I have great sympathy for the residents of Taunton.
I don’t think anyone, pro or Anti, would wish what happened in our Town on anyone else.
I googled ‘Mash-pee Tribe’ the other day and got the children’s story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.
I think Middleboro still has a shot. The Village Market still has that back room with the Keno board. Put in a few slots and have the Six Shillings play on weekends. ‘Bout all they can afford if Six Shillings are willing to take an IOU.
Do the residents of Taunton realize that they must vote for an agreement or the casino will come anyway and they won’t get any money?
Do those who vote against an agreement realize they are racists?