Foxborough: When NO! never means NO!

The is no mention of the SEC investigation into Mr. Wynn's violation of the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) that will take years to investigate and decide.

Casino forum draws protest
By Frank Mortimer

Over the Open Meeting Law protests of the town manager, selectmen chairman Larry Harrington engaged in an unscheduled discussion of the casino topic at Tuesday night's board meeting and alone decided to schedule another large-scale casino forum as soon as possible.

But selectman Mark Sullivan says he will not attend what he sees as a cheer-and-boo session that can achieve little of substance because Wynn Resorts, which is touting its $1 billion resort casino concept for Route 1, has yet to submit a formal proposal to the town.

"I'm not attending the meeting. I'm not attending another pep rally. There's no proposal on the table," Sullivan said Wednesday. "I'm not going to another meeting at the high school and be screamed at and heckled by the masses."

Sullivan, who joined the 3 to 2 majority vote on Dec. 27 against hosting a casino in Foxboro, on Wednesday also gave his strongest statement to date against any casino coming to Foxboro on his watch.

"You can ask me now, you can ask me six months from now, and it's still going to be no," Sullivan said. He said he will "never" vote for a casino in Foxboro. "It ain't happening."

Sullivan stressed, however, that residents will cast pivotal votes this May: by re-electing Lorraine Brue and electing Virginia Coppola -- staunch foes of expanded gambling in Foxboro -- or by re-electing Larry Harrington and electing his supporter, Martha Slattery, both of whom say residents should let Wynn present his full plan.

"The (May 7) election is the thing that is going to change or keep the status quo," Sullivan said.

All four candidates for the town's top board have returned their signed candidates papers to the town clerk's office.

Noting that the casino matter was not on the board's agenda Tuesday night, town manager Kevin Paicos urged Harrington to immediately cease his commentary on casino-related letters and casino meeting planning.

Paicos said Harrington's effort to go into the casino topic without proper agenda notice to residents goes "vastly beyond" the bounds of the Open Meeting Law.

Harrington exercised his right as chairman to set the meeting date without a vote from his board colleagues.

He said he is scheduling the special selectmen's meeting to discuss recent letters by Stephanie Crimmins, a leader of NoFoxboroCasino, and by Marc Todd, who says the town should appoint an "independent negotiating team," with Wynn Resorts leader Steve Wynn and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft paying the legal, consulting and negotiations tab.

Todd's three-page letter and Coppola's rebuttal of Harrington's actions will appear this week in the on-line edition of The Foxboro Reporter.

"Marc (Todd) suggested that we accept the fact that a proposal is surely coming our way and people want to hear it but that we protect the town by starting now to evaluate the potential impact of such a proposal through outside experts and ask Mr. Wynn to agree to pay for those experts," Harrington said Wednesday.

Todd was present in the audience Tuesday night and Harrington invited him to speak. After Paicos insisted the matter was not on the agenda and the board was risking an Open Meeting Law violation, Todd was not permitted to speak.

"In the last few weeks, Mr. Kraft and Mr. Wynn have literally wined and dined us in an attempt to get their own way and push forward a project that would alter the Town of Foxboro and the surrounding communities forever," Coppola wrote.

"The people of Foxboro will decide the future of the Town, not Mr. Wynn and Mr. Kraft. They are trying to steamroll the Town because they think that we are all rubes let's not prove it to them by giving in to everything that they want and following their game plan."

Because school auditoriums are not available for next Tuesday, And as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Harrington and Paicos were still in discussions about when or whether to have the meeting.

Selectman Lorraine Brue said she does see merit in re-opening the casino topic in a selectmen's meeting: to give selectmen a change to hear more from town counsel Paul DeRensis on the casino review process.

Sullivan said he believes Harrington was just trying to be fair to all sides when pushing for an auditorium-scale session.

Harrington says as much, too.

"My personal view continues to be that everyone should listen to the proposal, if it is ever submitted, evaluate the impact to the town, evaluate the mitigation costs and then decide if they want it or don't want it, and then we all move on," Harrington said. "It is hard for most people to form an opinion without all the facts."