Easton officials worry about impact of Taunton casino

By Susan Parkou Weinstein Wicked Local Easton
Posted Aug 17, 2012

EASTON — Local officials say the town will be adversely affected by a $500 million resort casino in Taunton without enjoying its financial benefits.

Acting Town Planner Stephanie Danielson said her biggest concern was casino-bound vehicles clogging Easton roads when Route 24 is backed up.

“They never really did a regional impact of the increase of 20,000 vehicles a day and possibly of more inebriated drivers,” she told selectmen this week.

Danielson said she voiced her concerns in the draft environmental impact report on the project.

Traffic studies have mostly focused on addressing casino-related issues at the routes 140 and 44 [ should read: Route 24, not 44] interchanges.   [That is totally correct!]

In July, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a Taunton casino compact with the Mashpee Wampanoags, calling for the tribe to give 21.5 percent of future gaming revenue to the state.

Supporters say the casino will be an economic and employment boon to the area, while opponents say there’s not an adequate impact mitigation plan for nearby communities.

This totally misrepresents the issue! This is not a discussion about being for or against Predatory Gambling.

Because the grossly flawed legislation forced a hasty process on the City of Taunton, inadequate time was allowed to consider many issues, among them the regional traffic impacts which are significant.

The roads currently servicing this area are GRIDLOCKED! FACT!

Currently, the roads are inadequately patrolled, resulting in numerous alcohol-related accidents and fatalities.

Beacon Hill lacked the spine to refuse FREE ALCOHOL which is not universal.  

Drunken Driving has increased everywhere FREE ALCOHOL has been allowed, including Connecticut.

This hasty process failed to include requisite taxpayer-funded road improvements that will cost hundreds of millions. 

Under a state-licensed casino, neighboring communities could receive funds to alleviate the impacts. In a tribal agreement, funds are not guaranteed.


Those funds are estimated to be ONLY $7 million per year. How many public safety personnel will that pay for? Surrounding communities already cash-strapped will require additional police officers, police cruisers, EMTs, ambulances......





The town would also see added traffic if slot machines were approved for Raynham Park, just south of Easton along Route 138. George Carney, owner of the track, has said he is applying for the one slots parlor license in the gaming law.

The Mashpee need federal approval to put the land into trust for the Taunton casino. That process could take years.

Read more: http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x1055169303/Easton-officials-worry-about-impact-of-Taunton-casino#ixzz240i3Lfct 

Of Drunk Drivers --

From: Casinos + Drunk Driving = Not Good
Traffic has gotten worse, particularly in the evening, and drunken-driving arrests have surged. In Norwich, which is within 8 miles of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, such arrests doubled after 1992, a 2009 study found.

Mayor of Ledyard: "I've become very cynical ..."
In Ledyard, at one point, the tribes agreed to pay for a "loop patrol" around Foxwoods, Lynch said. Because of that patrol, the following was discovered:

In 1994, 3,500 tickets were written, 55 drunk driving arrests made. In 1995 4,200 tickets were written, with 50 drunk driving arrests. In 1997, 2,000 tickets written, 57 drunk driving arrests. The tribe then cut funding for the program.

In 1999, 332 tickets were issues with 20 drunk driving arrests. In 2001, 477 tickets with 40 drunk driving arrests.

Lynch said the same amount of offenders are out there now that were there in the mid 1990s. There's not as much money for enforcement, so the number of tickets and arrests decreased.

From: Beacon Hill Ignores Alcohol Policies
American Gaming Association: Casino Alcohol Policies
Here are the facts about the industry's alcohol policies:

◦Not all casinos provide free alcohol to their customers. Of the 22 states with commercial casino gaming, casinos in only 13—Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia—are permitted to offer free alcohol to their patrons.


From: Increased DUIs surrounding Bethlehem Slot Barn

DUI arrests have increased since the casino's opening, he said, "I'm assuming, because the casino serves free alcohol."


How ironic that Mrs. Nowakowski in the letter below chose Easton!

Foxboro, why risk it all?

YOUR LETTERS: Florida transplant chose Easton over Foxboro because of casino uncertainty

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2012 6:21 AM EDT

To the editor: Foxboro, why risk it all?

Foxboro, what don't you currently have that makes you willing to risk it all? I would say, nothing!

Just last year, I moved to Massachusetts from Florida with my husband and children. I have some close friends living in Foxboro and had heard a lot of good things about its schools and sense of community. Our first choice, and plan, was to buy a home in Foxboro and raise our family here because it seemed like the perfect little New England town where our children would be happy and grow up among friends. But after hearing about the proposed casino, with regret, I just stopped considering Foxboro. For people like me, buying a house means choosing a home for my family, and it is a lifetime investment.

The first concerns that came to mind were: Do I want to live in a casino town that never sleeps; deals with more drunk drivers than other towns; has 24/7 traffic issues; has a higher crime rate and depends on uncertain mitigation payments to provide town services? I also wondered how a casino development would affect the future property value of my house. In today's market there are plenty of homes available in other towns, so why would I want to buy a home in Foxboro, and put my investment at risk? Having a casino in town may or may not turn out well.

My other concern was about schools since I have two children who will start school next year. I read and heard from my friends that Foxboro schools provide an excellent education and many families with children choose Foxboro because of its school system. The school system is strong not only because it is well-managed, but also because of dedicated professionals and strong community leaders who support the schools. The schools are something Foxboro is proud of and frankly, I was really excited about.

As I followed casino news, several of the school related questions I asked myself were: Will the schools be able to provide a secure and stable environment for my children under these new circumstances? Will there be an influx of new children into the school system? Will that change the number of students per class and student-teacher ratio? Will schools be able to handle these pressures without disrupting the current school system? How effectively and expediently will the schools be able to implement corrective measures in response to these issues? Most importantly, will the issues arising from having a casino in town divert schools and teachers' attention from what really matters, which is educating my children?

I realized that if a casino is in fact built in Foxboro, no one can answer these questions today, or in the near future. It will take time to learn and understand the true impact on the town caused by a casino project, even if certain initial measures are put in place through a mitigation plan. It will take even more years to find the right balance, if at all. In the meantime my family and my children will have to live through these uncertain times without the knowledge that everything will work out as it should. Unfortunately, this is a risk I simply cannot afford to take.

At the end of the day I realized that my dream of moving to Foxboro, living near my friends and raising our children together was not going to become reality, because of the possibility of a Foxboro casino development. I just wish that this proposal never came to Foxboro and the town is just left the way it is, as there is nothing really missing. You know what I mean, it is why you and my friends choose to call Foxboro home.

Sylwia Nowakowski

N. Easton