In late October the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a Supplemental Budget bill which included $200,000 for the renovations of the Old Indian Meeting House. Thanks to House Ways & Means Chairman Robert A. DeLeo and State Rep. Matt Patrick this bill passed with a unanimous vote.

The Supplemental Budget bill was then sent to the Senate. Thanks to the continuing support of Senator Therese Murray and the help of Senator Robert O’Leary the Senate also included the $200,000 in their version of the Supplemental Budget bill.

The Budget now goes to Conference Committee and they will report their findings by the end of December. Because the language concerning the $200,000 for the Old Indian Meeting House remained the same in the House as well as the Senate’s version it is guaranteed to be in the final document.

Once the Final Budget comes out of the Conference Committee it is then sent to the Governor who can either accept or veto the whole document or veto certain line items within the budget.

The Council has worked hard with both the House and the Senate on obtaining these funds and we are confident that we have conveyed how important the Meeting House and this restoration project is to the Mashpee Tribe and the Town of Mashpee.