Construction plans unveiled for Taunton’s first casino
By Ana Bottary
abottary@abc6.com
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe unveiled final design and construction plans on Monday for First Light Resort & Casino, Taunton’s first casino.
The auditorium at City Hall was packed as design plans for the destination casino were revealed. Though, while many were thrilled, a pending lawsuit is still lingering.
Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye says the full-scale casino, which is a collaboration between the city and the Mashpee Wompanoag Tribe, has hit four milestones which have brought them to this point.
"…A successful intergovernmental agreement between the city of Taunton in the Mashpee Wampanaug Tribe, a successful compact negotiated with the Mashpee Wampanaug tribe in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, an overwhelming positive referendum vote from the citizens of Taunton moving this project forward, and more recently, a positive Land and Trust decision to make this project possible," said Hoye.
Senator Marc Pacheco says the final approval on getting land into trust was the step that has made the casino a reality.
The casino will provide more than 2,600 permanent jobs. While it all seems like a "go," there is still a lawsuit filed by a group of Taunton property owners in Federal Court challenging the state of the land.
"Preserving Taunton’s Future," a non-profit raising money for the lawsuit, tells ABC6 they cannot challenge the tribe, but they are challenging the federal government.
The group wants the land under state jurisdiction with state and local taxation. However, one of the attorneys representing the tribes stepped up to address the issue during the meeting, saying, "Stating it plainly as I can–know that the federal lawsuit pending in Boston will not stop this project."
The group says April 14th is the deadline for the Department of Interior to respond to the Taunton property owners complaint.
The tribe hopes to have phase one of the project, which includes full gambling and food venues, by summer 2017.
© WLNE-TV 2016
