It might be difficult to believe anyone could negotiate an Agreement more flawed than Middleboro, but the Fall River RDA has succeeded.
Of particular note, setting aside numerous legal questions that need to be resolved, is that Middleboro retained counsel that specializes in Tribal Gaming Law. Not so Fall River!
Of particular note is that a Management Agreement the Tribe has with their investors requires approval by NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission), a process that takes 5-7 years. A recent response received from NIGC indicates there is no record of submission by the Tribe.
The Fall River RDA sold land in a Commercial Business Park for less than the cost of a house lot! Pretty impressive businessmen!
Redevelopment Authority approves sale of 45 acres to Mashpees
FALL RIVER — The Redevelopment Authority voted 3-1 Tuesday to sell 45 acres of a 300-acre parcel off Route 24 for an envisioned casino resort to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for $4.5 million, with an option to buy the remainder by mid-2012.
The deal is expected to be signed this week, with a $225,000 deposit and the balance paid at closing, scheduled for Nov. 16.
Like the prior deal the Authority approved but never signed, the tribe would hold an option to buy the remaining acreage for a total of $21 million.
Chairman William Kenney opposed the deal over concerns the tribe would not “unilaterally waive” sovereign nation status over prospective state and federal environmental laws.
“This is our last, best chance to decide what happens to the land today,” Kenney said.
When the votes were cast, Kenney said “reluctantly, no,” apparently agonizing over the decision.
The sale paves the way for the Authority to purchase property for a biomanufacturing test facility the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is eying in Fall River, officials said.
“We will do everything we can to make both a reality,” said Mayor Will Flanagan, who is awaiting the official notification from UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormick.
“This purchase and sale ties up the entire parcel,” said Kenneth Fiola Jr., head of the Fall River Office of Economic Development.
“I look at this as a jobs bill to create a significant number of jobs,” Fiola said.
He projected 4,500 full-time jobs at casino completion, available to a people with a range of skill levels and education. Another 1,000 jobs would be created during construction.
He noted the city’s 13 percent unemployment rate and that the Mashpees “are not looking for any type of (tax) incentives.”
Fiola, flanked by Flanagan, who’s sought the casino deal since he was elected a year ago, answered questions after a quick Authority vote and an adjourned meeting in the FROED office.
Fiola said the complex purchase agreement needs to be signed by a limited liability corporation for the tribe and its investors, Arkana Ltd., a Malaysian subsidiary of the Genting Group that financed the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.
The pact includes provisions for the authority to repurchase the land for the same $4.5 million after July 31, 2012, by selling off land parcels over several years if the Mashpees are unable to obtain a casino gaming license.
That could happen if the state legalizes gambling after it failed to reach a compromise on the terms between the legislative and executive branches this summer. Otherwise, the tribe began seeking an alternative avenue this summer for gaming through the federal government.
The tribe amended its application seeking to acquire this land tract in federal trust through a June 30 amended application to the U.S. Department of Interior, Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of Indian affairs, wrote U.S. Rep. Barney Frank in a Sept. 29 letter.
“I support the city of Fall River’s desire to be included in the tribe’s amended land trust application,” Frank wrote Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in an August letter Flanagan supplied.
Frank wrote that he opposed the original trust application for land in Middleboro because of an ongoing dispute and because “the tribe has changed its plans.”
Flanagan said the city’s “hands are not tied” through this agreement if the Mashpees are unable to build a casino resort on land the Correia administration had committed for a biomanufacturing park with state funding support.
Flanagan answered questions on how city voters will weigh in on the building of the proposed $500 million casino resort that also would feature hotels, shopping centers, entertainment and other amenities.
As the agreement proceeds, a referendum vote will be incorporated into a compact with the city or the state, depending upon how gaming would be approved on the site, Flanagan said.
“If gaming comes to fruition, there will be a ballot vote,” he said, requiring a majority approval of city voters.
He said if the tribe succeeds in obtaining the land into trust, “I’ve gone on record saying I would have a referendum and the City Council has gone on record” saying there would be a vote held.
Flanagan said he would await the timing of legislation to dictate when such a vote would be held. The agreement calls for the tribe to reimburse the city up to $35,000 for holding a referendum vote.
Fiola said the Mashpees would require a gaming license to build a casino. According to Authority member Ronald Rheaume, they can only build a casino “at the level that is allowed in Massachusetts.”
Gaming “against the house” is prohibited, Flanagan said, which makes Class II gambling like bingo legal.
While city officials await legalization of a Class III casino like the Mashpees propose, Flanagan said during the questioning “with modern technology you can’t tell the difference between Class II and Class III.”
The three Authority members voting in favor of the revised agreement were Flanagan’s three appointments this year: Dylan Ferreira, Thomas Martin Sr. and Rheaume, who voted for the original agreement on a 3-2 vote in July.
Kenney opposed it both times, and Ann Keene was not present for the third consecutive RA meeting.
After receiving the revised agreement Friday night and discussing it for an hour in closed session Tuesday with RA consulting lawyers, Corporation Counsel Steven Torres and Fiola, only Kenney offered expansive comments.
Ferreira, who made the motion, did not offer any comment. Martin said, “I think it’s a well-written document. I think we should proceed.” Minutes earlier, during a recess, he said he did not know if there would be a board vote.
“I feel that it’s in the best interests of the Redevelopment Authority to move forward with these documents and enter into an agreement with the Mashpee Wampanoags,” Rheaume said.
Flanagan said he thought the tribal council would be voting today on the agreement.
The dissenter
“My vote is complicated,” Kenney said.
Kenney heralded certain provisions of the contract such as required compliance of Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act regulations that might require an amended MEPA filing by the tribe.
He praised Flanagan and Fiola, in particular, for his “knowledge” and competence,” and the mayor for his courage.
But clearly Kenney, a city lawyer, has misgivings. “I’m not convinced we should do this without a complete agreement on waiving sovereign immunity,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Kenney said he’s received no explanation on why the tribe would not agree to waive that so all environmental and other state and federal laws would be applicable without the status as an Indian tribe being applied.
He said the tribe would not provide an explanation for that position.
Kenney also spoke about the long-negotiated agreement with various environmental groups that resulted in the state selling this property next to the State Forest to the city through the Authority in a land swap.
“This land, the history of the land, we’ve negotiated for a long time,” Kenney said. “It’s subject to certain restrictions, and they’re gone.”
One restriction was that there is no casino gambling, a restriction the state or federal government would need to remove prior to a license being awarded.
Of particular note, setting aside numerous legal questions that need to be resolved, is that Middleboro retained counsel that specializes in Tribal Gaming Law. Not so Fall River!
Of particular note is that a Management Agreement the Tribe has with their investors requires approval by NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission), a process that takes 5-7 years. A recent response received from NIGC indicates there is no record of submission by the Tribe.
The Fall River RDA sold land in a Commercial Business Park for less than the cost of a house lot! Pretty impressive businessmen!
Redevelopment Authority approves sale of 45 acres to Mashpees
FALL RIVER — The Redevelopment Authority voted 3-1 Tuesday to sell 45 acres of a 300-acre parcel off Route 24 for an envisioned casino resort to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for $4.5 million, with an option to buy the remainder by mid-2012.
The deal is expected to be signed this week, with a $225,000 deposit and the balance paid at closing, scheduled for Nov. 16.
Like the prior deal the Authority approved but never signed, the tribe would hold an option to buy the remaining acreage for a total of $21 million.
Chairman William Kenney opposed the deal over concerns the tribe would not “unilaterally waive” sovereign nation status over prospective state and federal environmental laws.
“This is our last, best chance to decide what happens to the land today,” Kenney said.
When the votes were cast, Kenney said “reluctantly, no,” apparently agonizing over the decision.
The sale paves the way for the Authority to purchase property for a biomanufacturing test facility the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is eying in Fall River, officials said.
“We will do everything we can to make both a reality,” said Mayor Will Flanagan, who is awaiting the official notification from UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormick.
“This purchase and sale ties up the entire parcel,” said Kenneth Fiola Jr., head of the Fall River Office of Economic Development.
“I look at this as a jobs bill to create a significant number of jobs,” Fiola said.
He projected 4,500 full-time jobs at casino completion, available to a people with a range of skill levels and education. Another 1,000 jobs would be created during construction.
He noted the city’s 13 percent unemployment rate and that the Mashpees “are not looking for any type of (tax) incentives.”
Fiola, flanked by Flanagan, who’s sought the casino deal since he was elected a year ago, answered questions after a quick Authority vote and an adjourned meeting in the FROED office.
Fiola said the complex purchase agreement needs to be signed by a limited liability corporation for the tribe and its investors, Arkana Ltd., a Malaysian subsidiary of the Genting Group that financed the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.
The pact includes provisions for the authority to repurchase the land for the same $4.5 million after July 31, 2012, by selling off land parcels over several years if the Mashpees are unable to obtain a casino gaming license.
That could happen if the state legalizes gambling after it failed to reach a compromise on the terms between the legislative and executive branches this summer. Otherwise, the tribe began seeking an alternative avenue this summer for gaming through the federal government.
The tribe amended its application seeking to acquire this land tract in federal trust through a June 30 amended application to the U.S. Department of Interior, Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of Indian affairs, wrote U.S. Rep. Barney Frank in a Sept. 29 letter.
“I support the city of Fall River’s desire to be included in the tribe’s amended land trust application,” Frank wrote Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in an August letter Flanagan supplied.
Frank wrote that he opposed the original trust application for land in Middleboro because of an ongoing dispute and because “the tribe has changed its plans.”
Flanagan said the city’s “hands are not tied” through this agreement if the Mashpees are unable to build a casino resort on land the Correia administration had committed for a biomanufacturing park with state funding support.
Flanagan answered questions on how city voters will weigh in on the building of the proposed $500 million casino resort that also would feature hotels, shopping centers, entertainment and other amenities.
As the agreement proceeds, a referendum vote will be incorporated into a compact with the city or the state, depending upon how gaming would be approved on the site, Flanagan said.
“If gaming comes to fruition, there will be a ballot vote,” he said, requiring a majority approval of city voters.
He said if the tribe succeeds in obtaining the land into trust, “I’ve gone on record saying I would have a referendum and the City Council has gone on record” saying there would be a vote held.
Flanagan said he would await the timing of legislation to dictate when such a vote would be held. The agreement calls for the tribe to reimburse the city up to $35,000 for holding a referendum vote.
Fiola said the Mashpees would require a gaming license to build a casino. According to Authority member Ronald Rheaume, they can only build a casino “at the level that is allowed in Massachusetts.”
Gaming “against the house” is prohibited, Flanagan said, which makes Class II gambling like bingo legal.
While city officials await legalization of a Class III casino like the Mashpees propose, Flanagan said during the questioning “with modern technology you can’t tell the difference between Class II and Class III.”
The three Authority members voting in favor of the revised agreement were Flanagan’s three appointments this year: Dylan Ferreira, Thomas Martin Sr. and Rheaume, who voted for the original agreement on a 3-2 vote in July.
Kenney opposed it both times, and Ann Keene was not present for the third consecutive RA meeting.
After receiving the revised agreement Friday night and discussing it for an hour in closed session Tuesday with RA consulting lawyers, Corporation Counsel Steven Torres and Fiola, only Kenney offered expansive comments.
Ferreira, who made the motion, did not offer any comment. Martin said, “I think it’s a well-written document. I think we should proceed.” Minutes earlier, during a recess, he said he did not know if there would be a board vote.
“I feel that it’s in the best interests of the Redevelopment Authority to move forward with these documents and enter into an agreement with the Mashpee Wampanoags,” Rheaume said.
Flanagan said he thought the tribal council would be voting today on the agreement.
The dissenter
“My vote is complicated,” Kenney said.
Kenney heralded certain provisions of the contract such as required compliance of Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act regulations that might require an amended MEPA filing by the tribe.
He praised Flanagan and Fiola, in particular, for his “knowledge” and competence,” and the mayor for his courage.
But clearly Kenney, a city lawyer, has misgivings. “I’m not convinced we should do this without a complete agreement on waiving sovereign immunity,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Kenney said he’s received no explanation on why the tribe would not agree to waive that so all environmental and other state and federal laws would be applicable without the status as an Indian tribe being applied.
He said the tribe would not provide an explanation for that position.
Kenney also spoke about the long-negotiated agreement with various environmental groups that resulted in the state selling this property next to the State Forest to the city through the Authority in a land swap.
“This land, the history of the land, we’ve negotiated for a long time,” Kenney said. “It’s subject to certain restrictions, and they’re gone.”
One restriction was that there is no casino gambling, a restriction the state or federal government would need to remove prior to a license being awarded.
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