Neighbors unite to have a say before casino plan a done deal
Determined not to be left out of the loop in the planning of the proposed Middleborough casino, officials from neighboring towns and area planning agencies will meet with state officials tomorrow.
Representatives from the Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts, comprising officials from 17 communities and two Southeastern Massachusetts planning agencies, will meet in Boston with Daniel O'Connell, the state secretary of housing and economic development, who has been advising Governor Deval Patrick on the casino issue. At a task force meeting Thursday, held to prepare for tomorrow's session, Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley described the casino issue as a "Trojan horse" which is being embraced by some as an easy source of revenue, even though very little study on impacts has been done.
What task force members hope to get tomorrow is a commitment, at the state level, that a final decision on gambling won't be made until all ramifications are thoroughly studied.
"We have to hammer home that every one of the concerns on our list needs study," said Plymouth Selectman Kenneth Tavares. "It's an easy decision to say this is going to bring in X number of dollars. What we have to emphasize is, What are the impacts? Are you really getting this money or is it going to be a wash? I don't want the governor to render a decision just based on dollars."
Deliberation at the state level could begin in earnest in the next few weeks, based on comments from Patrick, who said he would most likely make his decision on legalized gambling after Labor Day.
Topping the regional task force's list of concerns is traffic, which will be outlined for O'Connell tomorrow by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development's traffic specialist, James Hadfield. Crowley plans to add his concern that "bumper-to-bumper traffic will affect emergency response times, " at least in nearby Taunton. Evacuation routes, planned in case of an accident at the Plymouth nuclear power plant, could also become clogged.
Acushnet Selectman David Wojnar will discuss housing impacts, since his town has a great deal of open land that could be densely developed.
Old Colony Planning Council representative Pat Ciaramella is set to provide information about housing as well.
Ciaramella said Plymouth, Brockton, New Bedford, and Fall River will probably be most affected by the demand for housing.
"Our towns have each spent a minimum of $50,000 to do long-range planning, and now we might as well throw those plans in the recycling bin and start from scratch," Wojnar said.
Other issues for discussion tomorrow include impacts to school systems, public safety departments, and water supplies across Southeastern Massachusetts.
Lakeville's selectmen chairwoman, Nancy Yeatts, the driving force behind the formation of the Regional Task Force on Casino Impacts, will discuss the stress that drawing an additional million gallons a day for the Middleborough casino could cause on the aquifer and how any lowering of the ground water level could affect homeowners in neighboring Carver and Plympton who rely on wells.
Yeatts will also mention concerns over dumping 750,000 gallons of additional wastewater each day into the Taunton and Nemasket rivers.
"We want to be proactive, not reactive," Crowley said.
"Until now, everything the governor has done has been very deliberate. All we're asking is for him to do the same thing here."
Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com. 