Changes We Will Not Like

 For the love of money Foxwoods-Milford has instituted what amounts to a financial takeover of our town, Milford.  Never has such a full-court press of promised riches and rewards been foisted upon us in my thirty years of residency.  We are to be impressed with the mere fact that Foxwoods-Milford has taken of their valuable time and effort to bestow upon Milford this honor.  In a recent public forum one of our local residents offered a heart felt “thank you” to Foxwoods for their very consideration of Milford, while others have so proclaimed their appreciation in local media outlets.   

Seriously, this situation must be viewed for what it truly is, an insidious invasion of our hometown by a corporation that has no interest or concern for the feelings and well-being of Milford and its taxpaying citizens.  Beyond whatever benefit can derived to provide for the success of a casino we, the residents, will realize nothing.  Downtown businesses will not be revitalized, the traffic situation will not be improved and the critical water supply will not magically be enhanced.  Simple proof of this fact resides in Foxwoods’ major effort to superimpose their resort casino plan on the Milford landscape, exploiting our already limited resources.  In truth they should have developed an appropriate land site far away from a residential area.  Development of their own site could then be tailored to their specific needs exclusive of residential impact.  This, however, would have been far more costly than the few millions of dollars offered to Milford in mitigation coverage, any success of which we are expected to gamble on. 

The bottom line is this; we are being forced into a destabilizing set of circumstances that all the promises in the world will not mitigate.  We will be a casino town, existing for the purpose of providing for whatever the casino requires and expects and, simply put, this is what the promised 20 million dollars is buying.  Our local government will truly experience “the tail wagging the dog”.

Just follow the money…