Q&A with Victoria Bond
The Globe asked advocates from both sides to present their cases. This is a Q&A with Victoria Bond, who is for the casino.
Q: What are the potential positives, as well as negatives, of having a casino in Middleborough?
A: A resort in Middleborough will create, at no cost to taxpayers, upgraded gas and electric, and water and sewage systems, resulting in lower rates and ensuring our ability to pursue further commercial growth. Route 44 will be widened and connected to [Interstate] 495, alleviating the problems at the rotary. Monies received will resolve our structural deficit, stabilize the tax rate, create 15,000 new jobs, and feed other businesses (supplies and services for the resort).
It will spur commercial development like SouthPointe [business park] and the College Town project at St. Luke's [former hospital site], adding to our tax base and strengthening our downtown. To mitigate any potential increase in crime, our Police and Fire departments will be increased, and a town-operated ambulance will be created, replacing an existing expense with approximately $900,000 in annual revenue.
The resort will be subject to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission's rules and regulations. Vigilant enforcement and innovative programs can be implemented to deal with drunken-wdriving concerns. The schools will be fully funded. We will benefit from cultural and ethnic diversity and have world-class entertainment, dining, golf, shopping, a water park, and museums.
Q: What do you envision happening if the casino gets voter approval?
A: If the resort gets approval, we, as a community, will find ourselves in an economic position never before realized in this town. There are long-term residents leaving now. When the resort comes, some may choose to leave because of it. Some will come, drawn by the amenities the resort will offer. The more we improve town services and stabilize our tax rate, the more property values increase.
Q: What will happen if the casino gets voted down? How will the town survive financially?
A: If it is voted down, there will be further cuts in services. Since the town has no significant industry, it will survive by spending next year's money this year and by selling off assets. I think families with school-age children can look forward to paying for more than just the JV and freshman sports. The Council on Aging will struggle to provide service to the elderly. Our town pool will likely go the way of Lakeville's and close. Our library will eventually be decertified. Foreclosures will continue to rise. Our only chance to combat this is by raising taxes. For residents on a fixed income, this will be what drives them out of town.
Q: How do you think a casino will change the character of town? Or will it change it?
A: Approximately 1,000 acres in a 70-square-mile town (approximately 46,000 acres) will change, but that is a change to our landscape, not our town's character. Our Fourth of July parade, the carnival downtown, the same guys talking politics every morning at the coffee shop, people saying "hi" to one another and worrying about their neighbors -- that is the rural character of this town. It lives in the people, not the landscape. No industry can change that.
Q: Do you think the casino will impact neighboring towns?
A: I think that the traffic on Route 44 will be temporarily impacted during the construction phase of the 495 connector. The inconvenience will be short-lived and ultimately worthwhile. That arm of Route 44 being widened and hooked directly to 495 will make travel ultimately easier and quicker. In effect, it will create a loop, joining 495, 95, and 24 to Route 3, making all points in the South Shore more accessible.
Q: Does Middleborough have any responsibility to help with impacts that might occur in neighboring towns?
A: Middleborough's responsibility is to Middleborough. When other towns have adopted certain industries that impacted Middleborough (e.g., the Bridgewater prison), Middleborough has suffered the impacts without compensation. Just ask the folks in south Middleborough what impact Seamass [waste-to-energy plant in Rochester], a project fought by Middleborough, has had on their neighborhood, but we receive no financial mitigation for it.
Any alleged impacts are supposed to be compensated by the state. The surrounding towns have the right to petition the state for their share of impact payments.
To read expanded answers, visit casino-friend.com. Victoria Bond is a Middleborough resident and business owner. She is a member of Many Voices of Middleborough, a procasino group. 