Town weighs casino proposal

Middleborough officials expect hundreds of residents to jam into the town's high school tonight for a public meeting on a controversial draft agreement between the town and the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe on building a $1 billion casino.

The meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., will feature a presentation by Jonathan D. Witten, lawyer for the town's Board of Selectmen, on a 13-page agreement he negotiated with the tribe.

The deal calls for the tribe and its development partners to pay the town $7 million a year as the host community for a casino that is expected to draw millions of visitors a year.

Some opponents of a casino, which would be the first in the state, say they will implore the board to postpone a vote on the agreement for further study.

"This is a monumental thing happening to the town, and our fear is that an agreement will be voted and signed before residents can be heard," said Jacqueline Tolosko, president of the group Casinofacts.org, which contends that a casino will be detrimental for the town and for the state.

Selectman Patrick Rogers said yesterday that he favors extending the review of the agreement for as long as necessary before formally voting on it.

"We understand the tribe wants an answer on the agreement, but we are going to do our due diligence until we all get comfortable with what we are doing here," he said.

On Monday, Town Manager Jack Healey lauded the agreement, saying it would provide enough money to take the town out of its financial straits.

Healey said $7 million is almost 11 percent of Middleborough's current annual budget and double the amount it receives in commercial and industrial property taxes.

"This is a great deal, a huge deal," Healey said.

Scott Ferson, a spokesman for the Wampanoags, said the tribe is keeping its options open for another location if Middleborough balks. New Bedford has aggressively courted the tribe to build there.