Middleboro wants Wampanoag tribe pressured into settlement

Middleboro wants Wampanoag tribe pressured into settlement
Middleboro asks state, feds to enforce casino agreement
By Alice Elwell
Enterprise correspondent
Posted Apr 13, 2012

MIDDLEBORO —
Selectmen are asking state and federal officials to help pressure the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to negotiate a settlement with the town over the failed casino project.

Selectmen Chairman Alfred P. Rullo Jr. said the town is looking for a combination of land and money as a settlement, but negotiations with the tribe are at a standstill.

“All I care about is that the Mashpee Wampanoag settle old business with Middleboro before moving on to new business,” Rullo said.

He declined to name the monetary figure the town is seeking, but admitted the land in question is the 125 acres the tribe bought at auction through its investor for $1.765 million in 2007.

“We want the land,” said Selectman Ben W. Quelle. “I’m not talking about buying it back. We just want the land back.”

On Wednesday, State Rep. Keiko M. Orrall, R-Lakeville, agreed to advocate on behalf of Middleboro and ask state and federal legislators and Gov. Deval L. Patrick to pressure the tribe into settling with Middleboro before they open a casino at another location.

Selectmen reason the town deserves a settlement from the tribe because Middleboro has focused its economic development around a tribal casino since 2007.

Since then the town lobbied in support of the tribe and planned future development around a casino. In 2010, newly elected Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell notified the town the casino deal was dead, but selectmen maintain the deal is still in place until a settlement is reached.

“It needs to be dealt with before moving forward,” Orrall said.

Former Selectman Adam M. Bond said the town’s support gave the tribe clout at the state and federal level.

“You got a windfall – our support – but you didn’t pay for it,” he said.

Rullo agreed.

“The town got this tribe in the game. That’s worth something,” he said.

Bond suggested selectmen go for the tribe’s Achilles’ heel, the land into trust application, and enlist federal legislators to lobby against it until the Mashpee settle up with the town.

On Monday, state Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, agreed to ask the governor to meet with town officials regarding the concerns they have with the tribe.

Pacheco made a surprise appearance at the selectmen’s regular Monday meeting and discussed the Mashpee problem for over an hour, a move resident Michael Solimini said violated the open meeting law. Solimini has since filed a complaint with the town clerk, saying the matter was not on the agenda.

Rullo said the board did not anticipate Pacheco’s attendance, and Solimini’s complaint will be addressed at the April 23 meeting.


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