U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro yesterday ruled the town of Foxboro "must allow" reps from The Kraft Group to publicly address the Board of Selectmen, according to Mark Arsenault of the BOSTON GLOBE. In a meeting that "drew a capacity crowd at town hall," The Kraft Group Dir of Project Administration Ted Fire "criticized town officials last night for blocking company representatives from speaking two weeks ago." In a "brief but forceful statement," Fire also "insisted the town is wrong to say it controls two billboards on Kraft land, and he referred to the town’s proposal to settle the dispute by eminent domain as 'an ill-conceived solution to a fatally flawed process.'" The "protracted argument over the billboards has damaged" the 27-year relationship between town government and the Kraft organization, just as Patriots Owner Bob Kraft is asking Foxboro to consider approving a $1B casino resort proposed by Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn on land Kraft owns near Gillette Stadium. Univ. of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis Dir Clyde Barrow said that Wynn and Kraft "appeared together to introduce the casino project last December, and in the minds of local voters the two billionaires are inseparable." The disputed billboards date to an '07 agreement "between Kraft and the town that led to the construction of the Patriot Place retail mall." The original agreement "expires in May." Town leaders are "seeking to put the billboard management contract out to public bid" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/28).
