Click to play at Crystal Palace Online Casino
/News/

Middleboro and Mashpee Tribe Restart Casino Negotiations

On July 13, 2007, the negotiations about a casino facility between Middleboro and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe restarted. Previously, the talks broke down between the 2 sides when Middleboro demanded hundreds of millions of dollars compared to what the tribe had initially offered the town.

The 2 parties talked for about 4 hours to begin creating a compromise agreement stating how much the tribe should give Middleboro to agree to host a gambling casino facility like the Mohegan Sun located on Route 44. Selectman, Adam Bond, said that the negotiations between the 2 sides was civil and that the whole meeting was friendly.

The casino proposal has become a very sensitive issue for Middleboro and any agreement between the Mashpee Tribe and Middleboro will have to undergo a vote at the town meeting on July 28, 2007.

Adam Bond said that the negotiators have gained some ground on several important issues. For instance, the issue of Mashpee Chairman Glenn Marshall's charges of encroachment on Indian sovereign rights was resolved.

Marshall previously stated that Middleboro's counteroffer to the Mashpee tribe was very hostile and trespassed on the rights of the tribe.

The Mashpee Tribe initially offered Middleboro 1% of the casino's profits and other types of payments aside from taxes while the casino is still being built as well as yearly payments of $7 million.

Middleboro then made a counteroffer to the Mashpee Tribe, asking for not 1% but 2% of the casino's profits and taxes on the property, aside from the $7 million offered by the Mashpee tribe.

Middleboro's offer also asked for $220 million for infrastructure and traffic renovations. The tribe's supported have different options on about 350 acres of land located on Route 44 in Middleboro and are now currently negotiating with a family trust about acquiring the 202 acres adjacent to the property.

Tribe spokesperson, Scott Ferson, said that the negotiations could have been affected by the counterproposal made by Middleboro and what will be the response to Marshall's reaction. Both Bond and Ferson are hopeful that an agreement will be reached before the July 28, 2007 meeting where the residents will decide on the merits of the proposal.

In addition, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is considering New Bedford as a possible casino site. Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston also encouraged the tribe to look at the Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston. Menino is in favor of State Treasurer Tim Cahill's plan to sell the rights to the casino to a private developer.

 

Monday, August 06 , 2007
Gerald Kernighan