The Slap Dash planning for the next Mashpee Wampanoag Folly in Taunton failed to include taxpayer funded infrastructure improvements [among numerous other things].
Just when you think the bill to the Commonwealth can't get much higher than the Suffolk Downs Follies, all you hear is Cha Ching! Cha Ching!
Big Dig anyone?
In another case of the blind leading the blind, it comes as no surprise to anyone that Senator Pacheco, long known for his unwillingness to listen, should be in the midst of yet another fiscal fiasco.
And where was Senator Pacheco the evening of the BIA Hearing? At a fund-raiser around the corner.
The drawings released of the next phase of the Mashpee Wampanoags Follies fail to indicate close proximity to homes, schools, a church and the narrow roads.
Mashpee Wampanoag tribe addresses concerns
TAUNTON – Traffic, water supply, effects on a nearby river, archaeology, and proximity to an elementary school are among the concerns that were raised by several dozen people at a public hearing held on the Mashpee Wampanoag's proposal for an Indian casino in the city.
Wednesday night's meeting at Taunton High School kicks off review of the proposal under the National Environmental Policy Act and will determine the range of environmental issues to be considered and what needs to be done to mitigate them, said Chet McGhee, regional environmental scientist for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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The tribe's environmental engineer David Hewett from Episilon Associates was on stage to hear the public comments and outlined the various stages of the process where the public's input will be heard.
The BIA is reviewing the tribe's application to have the federal government take 146 acres in Taunton and an additional 170 acres in Mashpee into trust for an initial reservation.
The tribe is proposing to build a $500 million casino with three hotels, restaurants, retail shops and a water park in the Liberty and Union Industrial Park.
Tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said the tribe has a strong tradition of protecting natural resources.
“We will consider initiatives and incorporate specific measures into the project to maximize energy conservation and energy efficiencies in all buildings, utilize materials and equipment that will maximize reuse and conservation, integrate creative landscape designs to maximize open space, water conservation and reuse while minimizing overall building footprints,” Cromwell said.
“Sustainable design and development principles will be a central focus for the tribe as we develop this project.”
City leaders also spoke in favor of the project, but the bulk of the night's comments came from casino critics and stretched more than four hours.
Members of the Pocasset Wampanoag tribal council, also known as the Pokanoket, renewed their objection to the Mashpee tribe seeking a casino in what they say is their ancestral land.
The Pocasset tribe is a state-recognized tribe but has not yet been recognized by the federal government.
William Gray, a Pocasset member, said historic maps clearly show the Mashpee don't have ties to the land.
“You have those maps,” he said. “You need to check that and do the right thing.”
Faries “Dreaming Bear” Gray, a member of the Massachusett tribe, also criticized the Mashpee Wampanoag's invasion of Pokanoket territory.
“They don't care about the environment,” he said. “They care about money.”
But the Mashpee tribe got some support from a sister tribe. Bill “Little Flying Feet” Allen, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) gaming corporation, spoke out in favor of the Mashpee application.
He said the Aquinnah and Mashpee are the only federally recognized tribes with aboriginal rights to Southeastern Massachusetts.
“We acknowledge and support their right to game,” he said.
One of the requirements of applying to take land into trust is to show historical and cultural ties to the property. The Mashpee tribe has not publicly disclosed how it plans to show those ties, but in his remarks Cromwell said the tribe has a “long shared history with the city of Taunton.”
The Mashpee Wampanoags haven't figured out that secrecy fails.
The Mashpee Wampanoags haven't figured out that secrecy fails.
Wednesday's hearing also attracted tribe opponents from Middleboro, where the Mashpee Wampanoag had a previous agreement to build a casino.
Middleboro Selectman Alfred Rullo Jr. said the Taunton project will have “devastating impact” on traffic in surrounding towns, and Selectman Allin Frawley said the project will have an adverse effect on the Taunton River.
James Mulcahy, who lives near the proposed casino, asked the tribe be required to mitigate light pollution caused by the casino and protect birds by limiting the amount of glass used on the buildings that might result in bird strikes.
Laura Wixon urged the protection of vernal pools and rare and endangered species. “It is wrong to destroy this habitat,” she said.
Tribe lobbyist William Delahunt, a former congressman, watched part of the proceedings from the back of the auditorium.
The BIA will hold a similar hearing at 6 tonight at Mashpee High School on the tribe's application to take 170 acres in the town into federal trust for housing and government buildings.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120621/NEWS/120629965
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