MIDDLEBOROUGH - An anonymous person or group is pressuring Middleborough selectmen to ask voters, one more time, how they feel about a casino in town.
Selectmen - miffed at the pressure - say they have no intention of putting a casino question on the spring election ballot.
The issue of a second vote stems from last May, when selectmen, at the urging of casino opponents, voted to place a nonbinding referendum question on the next available ballot - which, as it turns out, would be the April election.
But selectmen made that promise before the historic Special Town Meeting last July, when voters overwhelmingly approved a multimillion-dollar casino deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Selectmen say the Town Meeting vote made the ballot question unnecessary.
Yet, as the anonymous letter points out, the original agreement to a ballot vote was never rescinded.
The letter was sent a week ago to selectmen, the town clerk, the School Committee, the Finance Committee, the Planning Board, and the media.
There was no return address or signature. The only identification was boldface lettering at the top that stated "Wampanoag Casino Resort Supporters of Cape Cod."
"We think this is a critical time for the voters of the Town of Middleboro to show their continued support for the proposed casino resort," the letter states. "We believe a broad-based election vote that reinforces the Special Town Meeting vote would be a shot in the arm for the Mashpee Wampanoag's hopes. . . . The tribe and the investors will be able to demonstrate firm local support in their federal hearings and the project can move ahead sooner rather than later."
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is considering an application from the Mashpee Wampanoag to place the proposed casino site in Middleborough in federal trust, making it sovereign tribal land.
Selectmen were bothered by the anonymous nature of the letter.
"As long as I've been on the board, the selectmen have never reacted to anything sent anonymously," said Selectman Wayne Perkins.
Selectman Adam Bond, who helped negotiate the casino deal with the tribe, said voters had already spoken on the casino issue. "I don't know why a referendum would make sense at the moment," he said, calling the idea "redundant."
Selectman Patrick Rogers, who strongly supported a referendum when it was discussed last May, said "the pulse of the town" needed to be taken at that point.
"Once we went to Town Meeting, it was voted," Rogers said Monday. "Town Meeting rules."
Amy Lambiaso, a spokeswoman for the Wampanoag, said the tribe had nothing to do with the letter, and local groups on either side of the casino issue said they were not involved.
Hal Brown, founder of a pro-casino group called CasinoFriends, said he has no idea who sent the letters, but "I know it wasn't me." He got copies at his home, he said, noting that the wording made it unclear whether the senders were for or against the casino.
Richard Young, president of the anti-casino group Casinofacts, told selectmen on Monday that his group had nothing to do with the letters.
Both groups said they are not interested in a ballot vote at this point.
Selectmen on Monday also took up the casino plan with state Representative Thomas Calter, who has been outspoken in his opposition.
Calter cited traffic problems, housing needs, rising costs in education, increased crime, and water consumption among his biggest concerns with the proposed casino. He also questioned the quality of the jobs a casino resort would generate, and whether they would include benefits such as health coverage.
The $7 million annual payment in the town's agreement with the tribe, along with yearly percentage increases, would not be enough to offset the negative impacts of the development, he said. Calter added that he is pro-gaming, but prefers the governor's plan because he believes it contains better safeguards. The governor's proposal calls for three casinos in different locations, with licenses being awarded through a bid process. The state would maintain oversight of the operations. Calter noted the package contains several other state requirements.
Selectmen debated the issue briefly with Calter, but in the end agreed to disagree.
"Obviously, Tom Calter and myself are on opposite sides of the spectrum on what the casino could potentially be, but I think the door of communication is now open, and that's a positive," said Perkins after the meeting.
Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.
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