09/11/2000 SELECT BOARD Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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10 Selectman Cahalane: I think that everyone should get to say their own. My own feeling is, there is pressure, unbelievable. I'll tell you that's why I asked Mr. Marsters... to start off the discussions. All of a sudden, I find out we have spent $25,000 in legal fees to a law firm who I have never even said hello to. I think, my feelings are right now, is that the BIA should be, and the town should just divorce itself from the issue until all of a sudden....there is a lawsuit... I just can't believe we have a$50,000 facilitator article on the town meeting warrant on top of the $25,000 we have already spent. Let's wait until it needs to be done. I just can't believe that in this day and age that we can't sit down and come up, with just a few people and say, here's what I want and here's what I don't want. I feel that the Tribal Council and the Selectmen this past year are like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. We've both made...mistakes, because I think we thought we had to do the next move. Maybe, we should all just sit back and see what comes out of this. Selectman Green: First I'd like to say there has been suspicion of bad faith on both sides through all of the discussions that have gone on so far. The atmosphere right now seems to be non-conducive of any type of negotiations. What I did see on the letter from Tribal Council is James Vaccaro as one of the suggested facilitators. I thought, okay, it looks like a good... point for us. There have been a lot of miss- statements. There has been several here tonight. First of all, tax wise, no Wampanoag person would not be paying taxes unless they determine that they want to turn over their private properties to the Tribal Council, Incorporated. That would mean that you give up all rights, the path if you have chosen. You give up all rights to that property. You give that property to the Board of Directors of the Tribal Council. I don't see a lot of Wampanoag people doing that. I thought there may be some who are having trouble with their land, might consider doing that as a way out. Secondly, as far as Supreme Court, Supreme Court refused to hear it was never brought to the Supreme Court. That was a miss- statement also. As Mr. Benway probably knows, on that same day the Wampanoag Tribe was not determined to be a Tribe, in that same federal court ruling they determined to your Tribe and awarded money to the National Seashore. All these issues are just; there is a bunch of smoke out there. I saw, sitting down, the Board of Selectmen and the Tribe to discuss the issues to bring the Town's perspectives into it, to bring the people together to talk about what they would want to happen here, how they would want it to go, not so, a few people would come in and control our Town and run our Town, and so that our whole community would work together and establish what we want. I mean, if we go through the