Towns to form anti-casino coalition
Milford residents picketed the streets in front of Milford Town Hall prior to a Selectmen's meeting earlier this year that featured a presentation for a potential casino project.
HOLLISTON —
Facing a classic David versus Goliath scenario, several small towns opposed to having a casino in the neighborhood are seeking strength in numbers – about 58,000 residents worth.
More than a dozen officials from Medway, Holliston, Ashland and Hopkinton met Wednesday night at Holliston Town Hall to discuss drafting an inter-municipal agreement for confronting the proposed Milford casino.
Town administrators and several selectmen from each of the four towns took a firm stance against the casino and agreed to form the Metrowest Anti-Casino Coalition
If the agreement is solidified, the towns will pool money for expenses like impact studies or attorneys to assist in the battle against or mitigation of the $1 billion resort-casino proposed by FCX LLC at the intersection of I-495 and Rte. 16.
"We recognize that this development will have a much bigger footprint than one individual town," said Holliston selectmen Chairman Jay Marsden.
While Holliston and Hopkinton have already joined forces, Medway and Ashland officials plan to review it before meeting again in May.
"It’s easy to roll over one town. It’s much harder to roll over us as towns collectively," Hopkinton selectmen Chairman Benjamin Palleiko said. "Collectively, we’re all going to be better if we do this together. We share the costs. We share the burdens."
Foxwoods on April 8 outlined for Milford selectmen plans for the 300,000-square-foot casino, but officials were disappointed at the proposal's lack of details, given the tight timeframe from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that calls for a community vote in October.
Medway Selectman Dennis Crowley questioned whether joining the coalition and supplying money would be "chasing a red herring," since he does not believe the Milford proposal with go forward.
"What are the chances that it’s going to happen in Milford? We have water problems. We have sewer problems. We have no transportation at all, and there’s no political strength," Crowley said.
While Hopkinton and Holliston officials acknowledged that the proposal may never come to fruition, the threat of a casino and its potential problems warrant the funding.
"My problem is as we sit in these chairs, we’re all responsible if we don’t take action," Palleiko said.
"We can’t afford to sit back and, no pun intended, roll the dice."
The proposal recently raised more concern for officials when Foxwoods joined the proposal, and David Nunes, the original applicant, alerted Milford that he would no longer be active in any negotiations with the town on behalf of the casino proposal.
Despite still holding the largest share in the partnership, Nunes said he has been "stripped of his authority and title," according to a letter he sent Milford Town Administrator Richard Villani earlier this month.
Medway officials agreed to put forth $25,000 of the $40,000 annual Town Meeting on May 13 will consider allocating for casino expenses.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1973693669/Towns-to-form-anti-casino-coalition#ixzz2Rnqvarmm
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