On alcohol and traffic

 

I think the Casino Study Committee (CSC) looked into this. I don't see whether it makes a difference whether one is given free alcohol or not makes a difference in the responsibility of a bar owner to make sure nobody is served to the point of being observably drunk. Obviously a hard core alcoholic can mask this, so any place many people are served alcohol will result in more people driving drunk.  As for traffic, why would anything change for the worse in local traffic patterns except during rush hour when traffic is already heavy on 495? If anything improvements at the rotary will mitigate this, and eliminating lights on 44 will improve traffic flow from north to center Middleboro.
 

On town infrastructure
 

I don't think this was Wayne's point. People had suggested Middleboro would need to pay for upgrades and I think he was clarifying that this was not true. As for the last sentence, I doubt the casino will grow exponentially, it will be built as a mega-resort from the start. But it will probably grow to some extent. Where has it been said that the tribe wouldn't pay for any additional town infrastructure needed for this?
 

On the claim that the casino will begin small

Again, where does Belanger get the information that the casino will start out relatively small. It makes no sense that they do this. And once again, where does this notion of the town paying for new infrastructure after the casino is built come from?
 

On compulsive gambling
 

Just what was the gambling introduced in Iowa? Was it lottery or casino? The 1:100 problem gambling statistic seems low nationally. 1:20 is more what I read. The number doubling within 50 miles of a new casino has been researched, but still represents a small portion among those who gamble for fun and who are not compulsive gamblers. Another statistic that has been ignored to a great extent is that there are degrees of compulsive gambling While someone may gamble away more of their savings than is prudent, it doesn't mean they end up feeding their families dry dog food.
 

On crime

On the serious issues of an increase in crime: the police chief of Middleboro has an entirely different opinion. Also, when a felony occurs on casino grounds tribal police with the same training as local police will be there to respond very rapidly.
 

More on crime

The issue of the increase in flat crime rate increase is a red herring meant to scare residents, and indeed some have been convinced a casino will bring crimes like house breaking.
 

On the Mashpee Wampanoag skyscraper

There's the 40 story building again. Skyscrapers are meant for cities where space is at a premium and there's no place to build but up. Chairman Marshall has said he envisions the casino building itself to appear as one approaches it through the woods (like I'm told Moheghan Sun does) rather than something that can be seen for miles away.
 

On schools and rural character
 

Part of the payments to the town will go to the schools and assure a proper student to teacher ratio. Is there any other way to assure that our schools are adequately funded?

And what is the logical leap that gets Balanger from saying Perkins complains about the town already losing its rural character to a ringing endorsement of CasinoFact's concerns about losing the rural character of Middleboro. Perkins states a fact, Middleboro is losing some of its rural character.

Many have been effected by this including me as up until two years ago we lived in the only house on the dirt section of Tispaquin Street. Now there are three $560,000 homes next to and across the street from us where there used to be woods.

On Balanger's claim he knows the tribe couldn't find other rural sites.
 

I don't know who knows for an absolute fact that the tribe couldn't find an appropriate 500-1000 acres in a nearby town, but I rather doubt it is Mark Belanger.

Belanger addresses something he has no way of knowing. I assume some members of the tribe will move to Middleboro because, one, they will work at the casino and want to have a short commute, and two, it is a great town to live in, and three, it is their ancestral homeland.

Once the casino opens some employees may move here to be closer to work, but others will merely commute from where they live.
 

On the town's record on negotiating raises to town employees

Belanger says to Perkins that "with your track record on town raises, this money (the $7 million) will disappear quicker than an ice cube in a frying pan." But I'd like to get an answer as to his statement that at Middleboro's current rate of growth  our budget will have increased by $6.6 million, and hear from him how he knows that the town won't be able to restrict spending especially on salaries and benefits so this doesn't happen like it did in past years.
 

Jobs
 

Belanger makes a number of comments explaining regional economics and the consequences of jobs created by casino construction and later operation on the town and region. I have no expertise at all in this area, but he writes as if he does. However, he does have an agenda and I would hope to hear from unbiased experts on this subject.
 

On a tribal land trust
 

In response to Perkins saying that the tribe can locate here with or without the town's coming to a formal agreement for revenue enhancement to the town, Belanger asks whether "you guys all take some class that tells you all to keep repeating that same fallacy." He states as his fact that a "cursory study of the IGRA and the trust process, you would know that they will not get that land put into trust without our cooperation." He says it is the "end of story" and I'd like to hear from an unbiased expert whether this is the case.

Addressing the claim that if the land isn't used for a casino it could be used for housing development, Belanger who  apparently knows what the tribe's investors will "give a penny for" says they will only put a casino there... but he doesn't address the fact that they already invested in the land and aren't about to sell it back for what they paid for it if they can make a profit. Again, as an non-economist but exercising common sense, doesn't it seem like they'd want to get some profit out of it and could do so by turning it into a housing development?
 

Housing on the site

On the same subject, Belanger notes that indeed they could sell it to a developer but says that they'd have to play by our rules like all developers. Of course, we all know that, but it is still more housing and more draining on our schools and tax base.
 

The tribe just isn't offering enough money to offset the evils of a casino

Belanger confuses me, because sometimes he seems to be lamenting the evils of a casino but then comes up with something like "again with the magic kettle of bottomless money. The deals we've seen so far will do no such thing."

So what is it, a casino no matter how much they money they provide for Middleboro's long-term  fiscal viability is evil? Or if the money is right, all those arguments against the casino go out the window?
 

On Wayne Perkins needing a calculator

In response to Perkins listing various ways money from the tribe could be spent Belanger supports my contention that its more about money than morals with him when he writes "Mr. Perkins, you are in desperate need of a calculator or spreadsheet so you can readjust your expectation of how far 7 million will go."