Town meeting will be at schools

Middleborough officials have selected the town's middle and high schools, which can hold a total of about 4,500 people, as the sites for a July 28 special town meeting in which the fate of a proposed casino will be decided.

To accommodate the droves of people expected , satellite parking lots will be set up and a shuttle bus service will ferry people to the schools.

Some residents are wondering whether even 4,500 seats will be enough. But Marsha Brunelle, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said at a meeting yesterday that it was the best officials could offer.

"We don't have a whole lot of alternatives here," she said.

Until yesterday, the high school athletic field had been the preferred venue because it could accommodate all of the town's 12,000 registered voters. But it was eliminated as a possible meeting site by selectmen at the meeting due to lack of accessibility for the disabled and the potential for bad weather to disrupt proceedings.

Plans call for the middle and high schools to be connected by an audiovisual link. Officials are scrambling to get the equipment set up in time, hoping to get some help with technical issues from Massasoit Community College or a local company that specializes in staging large events.

Negotiations between the town and the tribe, which are expected to begin this week, must be completed by July 23 to meet the selectmen's timetable. Board members have promised the public the proposed deal would be available for review at least five days before town meeting.

Selectmen said the meeting would be postponed and new arrangements would be made if too many people showed up.

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com