Anyone who pretends surprise should have listened to what opponents were saying.
Tribe surprises Taunton with mall stake
A brouhaha over exactly what land the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is eyeing in Taunton has prompted an amendment to the deal reached between the tribe and the city.
City officials were surprised to find the tribe, which is pursuing a $500 million casino at the Liberty and Union Industrial Park, had included 100 acres where Silver City Galleria mall is located in its compact with Gov. Deval Patrick.
The Taunton City Council voted Tuesday to amend its host agreement with the tribe so that if the Wampanoag seek to build a casino outside the industrial park's 146 acres, they must agree to compensate the city more than the $8 million per year outlined in the agreement.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council will take up the same amendment at its meeting tonight.
"I can comfortably say the council and the mayor were caught by surprise to find out that some of the property (in the compact) had changed," City Councilor David Pottier said Wednesday. "In our hearings last year, we continually asked about the mall property and were told it wasn't in play."
Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said having the mall land in the compact was initially a surprise.
"Once we discovered that language was contained in the compact, we contacted the governor's office and the tribe and came to this amenable solution," he said.
Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, said Wednesday the tribe is not in negotiations with the mall's owner, nor does it have any ownership interest in the property at this time. It's included in the compact in case that changes in the future, he said.
"The mall is definitely a piece that fits into our overall destination resort community, the destination resort experience for the customer," he said.
The tribe's architectural design plans and its environmental-impact process are focused on the land in the industrial park, Cromwell said. "That's where our investment is, and that's where we are moving forward," he said.
The mall property is not included in the application to have land taken into trust in Taunton for the casino, Cromwell said.
If the tribe did ever shift its attention to the mall, Hoye said he wouldn't mind as long as the city is fairly compensated.
"I think from a strategic standpoint and a traffic standpoint, it would be better suited at the mall," he said. "You have the water/sewer infrastructure already in place."
Along with approving the amendment, the city council is also requesting a copy of the tribe's application to have land taken into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior and has asked Cromwell to attend a meeting with the council by the end of April to discuss progress on the casino project, Pottier said.
Despite the hiccup over the mall property, Cromwell and Hoye said the tribe and city remain strong partners.
Meanwhile, the tribe and potential commercial developers in Region C are still waiting for a decision by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on whether it will open Southeastern Massachusetts to commercial bidders.
The commission held a meeting at Bristol Community College last Thursday where it heard conflicting testimony from the tribe, potential developers and area legislators about the likelihood of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs approving the tribe's land application.
Though the commission has a meeting scheduled for today, discussion of Region C is not on the agenda. Commissioners may briefly discuss when to put that on a future agenda, Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the commission, said in an email.
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