09/19/2023 MASHPEE INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE Minutes

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Mashpee Inclusion and Diversity Committee 16 Great Neck Road North Mashpee, MA 02649 members buried there, the Tribe still honors and respects residents, but they are losing members to substance abuse at a rapid rate. The Tribe is running out of space. Brian Weeden is hopeful that will pass. There has not been a campaign on those efforts, they have only gone before Conservation. The Town Charter does state conservation has first entity or first rights to refusal then if they want to sell the land it would need to sell at the current appraised value or less, and would have to describe why less. Given the feedback from the Conservation Commission this parcel for the cemetery is awkward and they don’t see the town utilizing this property at the corner of Rt.28 and Meetinghouse Road. Talia Landry is the Petitioner for the other Article, she is the Program Manager for the Education Department for the Tribe. This article is to construct a traditional Wampanoag village and transfer 12 acres of land to the Tribe by Attaquin Park/Mashpee Pond. The village is currently housed on Sampsons Mill Road by the Maushop Stables by Willowbend. The constructed wetu are not permanent, but that village would move to the 12 acre parcel. That land has a lot of extensive history and archeological studies, it was the center of town and was a village that the Indian Education Program worked on. The village was destroyed during the Mashpee Nine. Ms. Landry’s intent is to reassemble the village back on the 12 acres and return the land back to the Tribe. The parcel for the cemetery appraises at $300,000. The parcel for the pond is not just one parcel, its three parcels, 2 on Rt. 130 between the sign from Dunkin’s to the Naukabout and one abutting Mashpee Wakeby and is worth $1.5Million. There is some resistance about the town being able to utilize the land, and residents who pay for stickers also ties into the town’s revenue. They would work on transferring of lands down the road through negotiations and good faith efforts, it will need a 2/3 vote. Mr. Weeden stated Ms. Landry could amend the Article on the Town Meeting floor. There was a meeting scheduled with the Town Manager and Select Board Chair Mr. Cotton, but that meeting never happened. FinCom did not recommend the 12 acres, there was a split vote of either 3-2 or 4-2. The cemetery expansion was majority in favor with one opposing. The Select Board recommended 3-1, 1 abstention from Mr. O’Hara on cemetery and Mr. Cotton was absent. Mr. Weeden and Ms. Colombo both voted in favor of 12 acres, Ms. Sherman and Mr. O’Hara did not. Ms. Sherman said it was a big ask with water quality being a very serious issue at the moment. The burden is on tax payers to give up an asset. Who would have jurisdiction? What would happen to gate attendants controlled by the Recreation Department? There are other moving parts and we are working towards a common goal. Mr. Kupferman asked if Ms. Landry discussed access issues to the beach. 3