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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Crowd turns out for Milford casino discussion

A reminder --

Crowd turns out for Milford casino discussion
By Kendall Hatch/Daily News staff
GateHouse News Service

ASHLAND — About 75 people squeezed into the Ashland Library last night to talk about the effects a resort-style casino would have in the area.

Moderator and Framingham Selectman Dennis Giombetti said the forum was not a discussion of the merits of gambling, but rather an attempt to start the process of alerting state legislators to the concerns of local officials and residents before they start a debate on expanded gambling.

With Milford officials already beginning to lay groundwork for the proposed Crossroads Resort casino, local town officials are hoping to make their concerns known early on.

On Tuesday, the Milford Planning Board began preliminary talks on creating a zoning district in town that could accommodate the resort.

State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, chairwoman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, told the crowd of local town officials, state legislators, representatives from area planning committees and members of the public that legislators would be receptive to the needs of surrounding communities.

"I think this is a very complex and difficult issue and I do want to at least assure you that I want to be a partner with all of you - hearing what you have to say and hearing what your thoughts are," she said. "Collaboration, cooperation and coordination are the keys to almost everything we do."

She said she believes the House of Representatives is currently working on a gambling bill that will most likely come out in February or March.

The forum panelists - Edward Harrison, chairman of the Western Massachusetts Casino Task Force, and Kathleen Conley Norbut, president of United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts, urged local officials to start on the municipal level and figure out what effects would be seen in their towns.

Harrison, a former Monson selectman, and Norbut, a current Monson selectman, have been researching the effects of casinos for a few years, since Mohegan Sun was looking at a potential location in Palmer, Mass.

"We really need to be driving this from the local level up versus what has happened in so many other states," said Norbut. "It's a matter of somebody taking the lead or a community taking the lead."

Harrison presented a list of 23 recommendations the task force sent to legislators last summer.

The list included:

Urging lawmakers to perform a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of slot parlors and resort-style casinos


Establishing regional trust funds so towns surrounding the host town would receive financial assistance if a casino put strains on their public safety, public works, or other departments
Appointing local representatives to any gaming commissions or oversight committees.

The forum, organized by the MetroWest Growth Management Committee at the request of the Ashland selectmen and town manager, was also sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Southwest Advisory Planning Committee and the 495/MetroWest Partnership.

Harrison encouraged local officials to use the task force's list of recommendations as a template and see how the items on the list, such as education, zoning, infrastructure and housing, would be affected in their towns.

"I think the categories we have identified are pretty universal to every region but I think it matters how you weigh them," he said, adding that officials should get to work as soon as possible.

"We only have one bite at the apple. When the legislation passes - if it passes - that's it," he said. "Partner with your local planning commissions, develop a list of concerns and share those recommendations."

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