10.14.2025 Fall River City Council

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pain.

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City Council public will come to order.

Clerk will call the role.

Council Scadin here.

Dion here.

Hart here.

Kilby here.

Pereira here.

Ponty here.

Raposo here.

Tiff here.

President Chimera here.

Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public hearing. May transmit this meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unconceived by those present are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Motion to open the public hearing.

Second.

Motion to open the public hearing has remained seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries. Item number one, Lincoln Street Development LLC, 60 Gite Street, unit 6 for the removal of curbing as follows. At 439 Pine Street, existing opening is 16 ft. Curb to be removed at 16 feet. There is no curb to be added. Combined opening proposed after alteration is 32 feet. The existing parcel of service by 16 foot curb opening. The applicant proposes to construct a second 16 ft opening to

allow for a new exit only driveway. The total opening for the location will be 32 feet. The sign site plan review has been successfully completed. Are there any proponents to this public hearing?

Any proponents?

Seeing none, are there any opponents to this public hearing? Any opponents?

Seeing none, we'll move on to item number two. Ryan Wardell, 312 Mohawk Drive, Westport, Massachusetts, 02790 for the removal of curbing as follows. At 312 Mohawk Drive, the existing opening is 24 ft. Curb to be removed is 34 feet. Curb to be added, there's no curb to be added. Combined opening proposed after alteration is 58 feet. The existing parcel is serviced by a 24 foot curb opening. The applicant

proposes to extend that opening by an additional 13 ft and to construct a second 21 ft opening to allow for a circular driveway. The total opening for the location will be 58 ft. Are there any proponents to this public hearing?

Any proponents?

Seeing none, are there any opponents to this public hearing? Any opponents?

Yes.

You want to come down? Please state your name and reason that you're an opponent of this hearing.

Hi.

Hi. Uh Jeremy Yetman, I'm in the butter and I'm actually not opposed to the circular driveway per se. It's the amount of overall pavement that this is and the amount of square footage of driveway and uh also for the purposes that it's being used for. I want to know what the long-term plan for his company is. Right now, it's being used for a truck, multiple trucks, an excavator, bobcat

trailers, dumpsters. So, I don't want to see that going on for a long time. And I feel like um allowing a large paved area will encourage that business to stay in that location and not get a permanent location somewhere else.

K4 C.

Yeah. Just just to add to maybe alleviate some of your worries. It seemed like you're worried. Um this will get referred I'm I'm sure to uh public works and transportation. It'll be a further hearing. you'll be invited and get vent it'll get vented in that committee.

So this is only for the curb cut correct this is only for what it's in front of us right now. So it's usually when someone is has a issue of concern like you do butter um then we'll refer to a subcommittee for further hearing. Thank you Mr.

President C2. Yeah, I'm the chair of the public works um committee. So, we'll make arrangements with the with the um secretary to set up a date and time that suits everybody so that we can have the discussion.

Okay.

You'll be invited to that meeting so you can have any questions you have answered. Just so you know, clarify.

Just make sure that they have a way to get in touch with you and yes, council seat 5. Council Pra, I did get a couple of calls from neighbors in the Mohawk um area. Uh, and the concern was more of running a business out of there. And if this curb cut was to allow um for business and that it was done before an application was filed, um maybe the person didn't

know they had to file an application. So that's why if it gets referred, it's just on the curb cut. The other issues, there's other avenues to deal with.

Okay.

But thank you for sharing your concerns.

Okay.

Thank you very much. if you could just give your information to the clerk if they don't already have it and they'll contact you for the next meeting.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just email me.

Council items 3 through 11 are all motion to take items 3 through 11 together. Second motion takes items 3 through 11 has together has made and seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion carries. I'll I'll read out the items, the locations. Um, it's for joint pole locations. Item number three is Current Road for one new jointly owned pole location.

Item number four is Current Road for one new jointly owned pole location.

Item number five is Rick Rick Road for one new jointly owned pole location.

Item number six is Whipple Street, one new jointly owned pole location. Item number seven is Stewart Street, one new jointly owned pole location and anchor.

Item number eight is Brighton Avenue, one new jointly pole location.

Item number nine, there are three. One is on Seventh Street for one jointly pole relocation.

One's on Bedford Street for one jointly owned P relocation. Eighth Street has one jointly owned P relocation as well.

Then item number 10 is another Rickenback road, two new pole locations.

And item 11 is current road for two new pole locations.

Are there any proponents to these pole locations? Please come down.

Mr.

State your name and what company you represent and why you're a proponent of this these polls.

Good evening, President Chimera, city council members. My name is Aaron Roy representing National Grid on these um uh nine pole location hearings. Um the first I'm going to go a little out of order here um the way I had it from the email. Um the first one, Whipple Street.

Um that is one new jointly owned pole 16-1.

This pole I I'll start a little summary on this one. Um there's a backyard pole located behind uh 379 Whipple Street. um that came over in the July 4th storm. Um the existing conductor that goes from the road to the backyard is currently over the garage at 367 Whipple Street.

Um this new pole will allow us to keep the uh the conductor over the property line and not over the garage.

Uh the next one um is Brighton A new pole location proposed pole 30-50. Uh this is a customer job um for um certaint 601 Brighton F. Um this is for proposed EV charges for the new bus fleet. Um this pole will be uh used as a riser pole for the underground primary to the new transformer on their property.

Uh the third one, uh Stewart Street. Um another um storm related, uh poll that it's actually located in the backyard of 429 Stewart Street. Um on Stewart Street, there are currently no poles located on the road themselves, uh at least in this section. Um they're all currently backyard uh poles, pole lines with services that cut through the backyards. Uh there's actually no access

to get to this pole that came over. So we proposed I spoke to both um both customers at 429 and 411 Stewart. Um this new pole would be located on the sidewalk between both properties that would allow them to feed the services overhead with with us having access to um to the overhead conductor and the poles themselves.

Um the fourth one uh being three locations uh but all part of the same project. Uh this one's Bedford Street, 7th Street, and 8th Street. This is all part of the new uh apartment building um at 295 Bedford Street. Uh two of the pole locations um one on Bedford Street and uh 7th Street. Those pole existing pole locations are located um in the new driveway, the proposed driveway entrances for the parking lot. Uh so

we'll be relocating those approximately 10 ft out of the way. And the third location on 8th Street, that's um system improvement on on National Grids End to allow the uh the overhead primary to dead end at the corner of the building.

So the primary is not too close to the building once it's uh all said and done.

Um the next five are all part of the same project. This is um the new cold pack storage that's located at 1151 Innovation Way. um for the amount of power they're looking for.

Um we have to run a entirely new feeder out of Sykes substation. Um and all the poles um two on current and then actually four on current and I believe it's three on Rianbach. Um these are all part of a new overhead reconductor to allow um a new circuit to be run to feed that cold pack storage. Um 1151 I believe it's separated into three or four lots and the amount of um power they're

looking for um allowed them to to run a new um circuit out of the substation for them to feed us there. So pretty that sums it up.

Thank you very much Roy.

Are there any opponents to this public hearing? Any opponents? Can you please come down to the table, speak into the microphone, and just tell us why you opponents to this? Please tell us which one in particular.

We should under that vote.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Hello.

Good evening.

My name is David Aruda. I own the property on 349 347 Whipple Street about the pole that's laying against my garage.

I like to have it fixed. They went over there that they didn't do nothing about.

It's laying on the garage.

I didn't hear him.

Whipple Street. Yes.

I I'm sorry, sir. What did you say? You live on Whipple Street. What? I didn't hear what you said.

Telephone pole.

Telephone pole is laying on my garage.

It broke.

So they're going to fix it. They're going to That's why this is here before us.

Are they fixing it or they're removing it?

Yeah. If you don't mind, he's going to come down just exactly what he's going to do.

I live on 357 Whipple and the thing is is that pole is leaning and that pole if it falls if they don't fix it, it's going to fall right on top of my fence.

Okay.

Yeah. Just a quick question. If it's leaning and it's in danger of ruining her property, is there any reason why you can't fix it right away?

Um, it's a good question. Um, I think the gentleman to my right um can tell.

So, where this poll is located, there's no immediate access to this poll.

Yes, there is.

will make access through her driveway.

They can get back there to where to replace it.

There's another pole down the street where you can't get access to it.

Let me explain.

We just wanted to come down to explain what his intentions are.

Yeah.

You're going to replace it. Put a new pole there and take that one out.

So, let me ask. Is this the pole located behind the garage?

Uh 16. Behind the garage. Yes.

On 16.

Yeah. Right. There's two there's currently two poles that are right. So, one of them is located behind the fence and or between the fence and the garage.

Uh, that that's that's 16.

Okay.

16.

So, how we have it label? I mean, they're both 16 in ours. It's 116-30.

It doesn't matter. Uh, so one pole needs a crane to actually get to it because we're not able to to get to that poll itself. The other poll where we're currently waiting on this job to to pass the hearing before we we start the entire thing. Um, we're also trying to figure out the logistics of the crane, trying to get back there as well, cuz it's very tight on Whipple and the

driveways are very tight. Um, the pole I think you're you're talking about, uh, we'll be able to get back there with a backyard machine. I think we have enough access to get back. Yes. Which we'll be starting that very soon once once this is once it's complete. So, because there's a wire hanging from the pole into my house and that thing from the wind that just happened now, right?

It's leaning. So, every time it's wind, it's hitting my window. Could you have someone go by and check that wire, please? Absolutely.

Tomorrow.

Yep.

I don't know what kind of wire it is. I don't know if it's electric, if it's telephone. We'll look at it.

We'll reassess it. When we when we looked at the first time, we made sure it was safe at the moment. You know, uh we hand dug an anchor to make sure that pole wasn't coming over. Um but we'll we'll reassess it tomorrow.

Okay. Thank you. Could both of you at the table just give your name and address again for the record so the clerk can write it down?

No. Go ahead. Just give me They're all set. Just give your name and address to the clerk, please.

I also he doesn't have to say I want to ask a question.

Oh, okay.

When you council T4, Council Kobe address, council president asked you if you're going out there tomorrow.

Yes, sir.

Okay. Because it's your obligation to fix this.

Absolutely.

Absolutely. It's it's What? So, does this car carry current?

Electric current. What does it carry?

No, the wire that I'm assuming she's talking about, that's it's not an electric wire that's that's in our house. We made sure that everything was safe out there. Um, and there are a bunch of backyard wires and most of them are cable and telephone.

Okay. You have a duty and obligation to do and I don't know if there's a lack of communication how long they've been waiting but they took time out of their evening tonight to be here and I hope you're looking at this as council president said this will happen tomorrow. So thank you.

Yeah. I mean, I'm glad it's not electrical in yours, but even if it's cable and and telephone, I mean, that's still important to these people not to be have the services disrupted. So, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. Council seats three council.

Just real quickly, Aaron, can you um follow up with the council to let let us know that that's been that you went out there yesterday tomorrow and fixed whatever you had to fix.

Okay. Absolutely.

Just let the clerk just call the clerk's office.

Yeah, call the clerk. I'm sorry. Sure.

Thanks.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Are there any other opponents?

Seeing none, entertain a motion.

Motion to close the public hearing.

Close the public hearing has been made in second. All in favor?

Any opposed?

City council public is now closed.

City Council Comm. Clerk will call the role.

Council Scadin here.

Dion here.

Hart here.

Kilby here.

Barrera here.

Ponty here.

Raposo here.

Tiff here.

President Chimera here. Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video rec recording of this public hearing or may transmit this hearing through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and not deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Madam clerk, um we have item number two. I'm sorry.

First input time. First to sign up is a out of town resident. She's a Somerset resident, Jessica Mashado. Is a motion to wave the rules. So made second.

Motion wave is made. Second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Char have three minutes.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Thank you, Mr. President. Hi, my name is Jess Mashado. I'm an independent journalist and reporter. My business is based here in Fall River. Um, to date I've probably submitted a thousand public record records requests um throughout the state um including federal records requests. Um, but I'm here to talk about the ones that I most recently submitted here to the city of Fall River. Your city has a portal um

very similar to the portal um the city of Boston uses. They actually look identical. Um, an individual can create an account or a portal name and password and you submit all your public records requests through that portal. Two months ago, I submitted um three public records requests. Um one found that there was no records matching that request, but two um records requests um did have records.

So the first was all email communications between Mayor Kugan and his chief of staff Ann O'Neal Souza for the month of July from July 1st to July 31st. Um, and the second was all email communications between Mark Dion, Mike Dion and um, Mayor Kugan for the same time period. I submitted that request through your portal. I indicated in the portal that I wanted the response to be digital through the portal. Um, 10

business days is usually how long it takes. I have a lot of records requests out, so I didn't check it right away.

When I did go back and look, the message that I received was that there was no response from the requestee, which is myself. Um, I found that peculiar because nobody had messaged me. There were no other messages in here. So, I called your corporation council office.

I spoke with attorney for debt. Um, and the conversation was not pleasant. Um, it ultimately led to him hanging up on me, which I found to be extremely unprofessional. Um, but what I learned was that the responses to my email request uh were not sent digitally. Um, so he chose instead to have them printed out. um and then emailed me outside the portal to my personal email to tell me to come and

pick them up. The problem is he didn't use my proper email address. So, he used a different email address and then he sent a second message again to the wrong email address. It only took me coming and calling and asking where is this request um for him to tell me that the records were available for me to come and pick up. Now, I send out records requests all over the state. It's not

always within a driving distance.

Somehow uh Mr. Fet knew that I lived close by, printed them out for me. Um when I asked about the records requests, um why they were printed, he uh told me that he went to both an O'Neal Souza and Mr. Dion and asked them to print out the requests that I had asked. I asked about how we could authenticate that these were accurate. Um, and I was uh essentially told that nothing nefarious

had been going on and I shouldn't even assume that and that they asked for these records and that's what you were given. Come and pick them up. Got dressed, drove straight over, got two folders, opened them up. I can just tell you right now, I knew that that wasn't all of the emails. Um, just based on previous records requests, it seemed impossible. Um, I ended up asking to speak with someone in the mayor's

office. They connected me with your corporation council. He came over and sat and told me uh that this was done and printed out for me to save me the trouble of fees uh because it can get quite costly.

Three minutes. Can you try to wrap it up?

Second.

Motion to wave rules. Remain second. All in favor?

Thank you so much.

You have an additional three minutes.

Thank you. Um uh and corporation council informed me that you know this was in my best benefit that I was given them this way. I said that I would leave there and I was going to submit this request again through the portal a second time. uh which I did the very next day and I got my response today. Uh and I'm told that there are close to 1,600 emails. Uh not

the 28 or 29 that I received, but 1,600.

Um they're also asking for an additional 30 days. And they're asking to increase the price that they charge me. So normally they're going to uh charge $25 an hour to get this done. Uh they're asking for $60 an hour. So, my my general estimate, it's going to be over $1,000 for me to get these requests. Um, I'm here to just share this with you in the effort of transparency. Um, I'm not using these emails for personal

consumption. I'm a reporter. It's my job and I plan on uh sharing that information with the public. I should also mention um that the time that I was asking for is in regards to the month in the place where the Gabriel House fire took place. uh open and transparent communications between the mayor, his chief of staff and uh your city administration should be paramount. Um and these documents should be readily

available to me. I personally feel um that a city of this size just based on my experience uh understands how to produce um public records requests. I feel this was intentionally done to evade me getting these documents. Um, and I have never in my experience ever uh encountered um this in all of the places that I've submitted records requests. It's essentially unheard of.

Um certainly a dollar amount is something I've encountered, but I can certainly appeal that. But the way that this wasn't adhered to through the portal, um the corporation council kind of telling me that this was done to my benefit. Um and then furthermore, the way that um uh attorney for debt spoke with me, hung up with me, and then printed these out. We certainly can't expect um that you know an individual

could just give whatever email you know they wanted. I I use the example what if this individual what if a person came to the city and said hey you know this guy is sending me inappropriate emails and you know I don't think they're appropriate. Would you go to that person and ask him to just give you all his emails to that person? Obviously not.

You have an IT department. I don't know why it wasn't adhered to. But with that being said it looks as if I'm not going to be getting these emails until after the election. a coincidence that I don't find to be charming. Um, and I feel that your council needs to know about this experience. I don't know how many people submit public records requests. Um, but I can tell you I'm going to ramp it up

and I'm going to ask for a lot more. Um, and it's only, you know, beneficial to your, you know, city to get this right and figure it out and and start asking some questions as to why it took place like this. Just wanted to be clear. I have never experienced this before and I have submitted public records requests from the smallest of towns to the largest municipalities. Uh the city of

Bos Boston, I submit a records request, it goes through the portal. Um so this is pretty much uh uncharted territory for me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Stacy Center.

Subject matter at 995 Main Street and 252 I think 2535 Main Street.

Want to come down please?

Hi everyone.

Hi.

Hi. How are you?

Hi Stacy.

Good.

Um, the reason I came down here tonight is because when I go to 99 South Main Street and 253 South Main Street, which is a dollar phone, the doors are not handicap accessible. And sometimes I don't go down there by myself and I have a hard time opening the door. So if someone sees me, they open the door for me and if I leave, they usually open the door for me to leave. the same with 99

South Main Street cuz I go I go there every so often to uh bring my bills through the rent pay cuz they take care of my bills and the same exact thing if someone's not with me I have a hard time opening and closing the door and then it's hard for me to get in cuz the doors open the opposite way so that's really hard for me to get in and out. So, I was

just wondering if you if you could if you guys could talk to the owner and make it handicap accessessible, not for me, from for other people that have disability like in a wheelchairs or a scooter or whatever the case may be.

Yeah, I think we I think we can send the building inspector down here to take a peek.

Mr. President, 5,000 West per Stacy, you did say 99 South Main. What's the other address you gave?

2503 215 253 253 253 I I would suggest that perhaps the council can send a letter to the commission on disabilities because sometimes with businesses they may be able to help them on how to get the doors to swing the right way or what have you. You know what I mean?

Well, I talked to someone about 253 South Main Street. Well, both of them, right? And they were going to go by there the same day and look at them, but I never got hold of they never got they never called me back. And I gave them my cell phone number and so on so forth and they never got me they never got back to me. I tried to call them today and it

was after after hours by we can we can send a letter and I'm sure that both of these businesses businesses would want to accommodate you as well.

So, let's see.

I know. Um, thank you.

One more thing. Sure. I know 5253 South Main Street is an older building.

I know they he told me because it's historic, they might not be able to make the doors handicap accessible.

Okay. Well, we'll check. Thank you, Stacey.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

M Mr. President, can I make a motion on the uh previous speaker with regard to the public records request? Make a motion that uh we send a letter to the administration just asking for an explanation on what transpired with that particular public records request.

Second.

Second.

Motion being second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed?

Motion carries. Council C4. I'm not opposed to it, but I've got to tell you, we have a lot of subcommittees in on the council, but we don't have a subcommittee to deal with it stuff with like, you know, when she spoke about the portal and you can go on and just get things through the portal, etc. If that's not being done right, maybe we need to consider putting on to one of

the committees, you know, an internet an IT department to to look at what's going on with it. We can a suggestion for the future. It's a good suggestion. Cont.

Yeah, I don't disagree with you, but I think this goes beyond just it. I think it's just, you know, requests that be Listen, I I I put in requests um to the police department and I got half responses and I and I didn't necessarily push it, but the responses that I put in and what I requested was not and I know there's records. I I didn't receive what I

needed to receive. Um, and I'm and I'm a city council, so I can only imagine what the public submitting requests and not, you know, getting the information that's required or requested. I mean, at the end of the day, this is a public body.

Um emails uh telephone uh documentation, as long as it's it deals with city business is a public document.

It's a public, um, you know, full transparency should be provided. You know, obviously there are exemptions and as long as you know, things are being withheld because of exemptions and I'm okay with it. But I think to, you know, just kind of create this bureaucracy and this red tape and not provide the information that people are looking for.

I just whether you agree with the information that's being requested or not. I think if the documentation is there, it should be provided. That's just my my strength on that. I yield.

Thank you, council.

Change the fees.

Next to speak before Steve Nassive subject matter is the sewer connection.

Come on. This also need a motion to wave the rules is not a town.

Motion to wait. Motion to wave the rules made and second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Mr. Nassive, you have three minutes.

Good evening. Steve Nass, Berkeley, Massachusetts. I came back to ask for more time to speak because after listening to Paul at the last meeting, I wanted to just clarify a few things. I'm not picking on Paul, but some other things that happened since the last meeting. Just so we make it clear, you're talking about Paul Frillin.

We're talking I apologize. Paul just want to make it clear. I don't want people to say and my if you don't remember my name go far in this place.

Thank you, Joe. You're welcome.

Uh and if I rephrase, I'm pushing and we're trying to get a regional sewer district m you know with here in Fall River using the existing facility here. Uh Paul was telling you about a lot of different things, but we've sharpened it up that the only way it's going to work is a a regionalized sewer uh district. That's the only way it's going to work. Uh we've been working in Somerset, which is

another whole different angle. We're trying to get this thing out here in the public. Uh I talked to a stakeholder here in Fall River today. Probably going to be one of the largest private uh sewer customers in the future if if all the things in the in the uh works bear up and he didn't know about it. People don't know there's a quarter of a billion dollar issue uh here in Fall

River and Somerset is uh we're trying to get them on board so to speak. uh if they were to do their own system over there across the river right from this nice little uh stretch of you of of this redo on Deval Street, they want to put a sewer plant across uh the street across the river. Not exactly something you would want and not something that's economically feasible for that town. So, we're working over

there to hopefully stop that from happening basically. And the only way we're going to do that is show a bonafideed uh proformer so to speak on what is going to happen with a regionalized sewer plant. Uh Paul Furlin and I do speak with him a few times a week is working on exactly that. He's running the numbers. We've postulated that the sewer district would be the plant, the cso tunnel, and then the link coming

from Somerset would be an underground pipe hitting the uh cso tunnel at the at the end at Columbia Street. Those are the It just works out that way. Works out nicely. Somerset's 95% sewer, which is a good thing. uh they're only 95% sewer because they had a big customer over there that demanded sewers uh 50 years ago. That customer, as you know, is no longer there uh the power plant,

but they left 95% sewage, which is a good thing. Uh you're not going no one's going to go out and sew their town uh in 2025. So they have enough capacity going to be 18% of the flow that's going to add to Somerset, excuse me, into Fall River's existing plant. And now you've got an economy of scale. I know you guys uh uh were receptive to it, but uh my reason

to come back was that we're trying to get Somerset on board. We're going to show them this uh or Paul's going to show them. I'm I'm just uh I'm just, you know, trying to keep this thing in the public eye. He's going to show them what this uh proformer is going to look like.

I don't know other way to put it, but the raw numbers of what a sewer district would look like, the numbers for the uh the buildout, and the numbers, more importantly, the numbers going forward of what 30,000 customers would be put together.

Can you try to wrap it up, please?

Excuse me, Joe.

You're behind the three minutes. Could you try to wrap up?

Yes, I'm going to wrap it up. So, what I wanted to say was we're making some progress. Uh I know you guys have your things to do here tonight and they could be a little tedious, but this is a big big deal. It's going to affect us for a long time. And it's not an intermissible city agreement. What we're shooting for is the only solution that can work here, which is a regionalized sewer district.

and we have a lot of momentum going even from the last meeting. Uh I appreciate the time you've given me. I hope at some point when this uh there's really hard numbers and we have some type of feedback from uh the other side, we can get into a little more versus an open meeting with three minutes and get into the Thank you very much.

I'll make a motion to wave the rules. I I think it's important what you're talking about.

Is there a second?

Second.

Motion w made in second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Go ahead. have an additional three minutes, Mr. Steve.

Yeah.

So, what you have here, just to get just to ret track is Fall River is looking at 225 to $250 million to upgrade for what EPA's asking for at the sewer treatment plant at the T at the Tivotan border down there. Somerset 100 million. They only have 18,500 people. you people have maybe a hundred hundred thousand. That's over $300 million two towns are trying to spend. It makes no sense. It's It

just doesn't make sense. You've got to put this expenditure together. And again, there's slack in the line. I think Paul brought that up that you're not going to uh overdo the plant in Fall River by taking the 18% extra from Somerset. It's only going to be an economy of scale to drive the price down you. But he we at the time now it's going to be 30 22,500 customers here in

in Fall River. That's going to grow as you know with your new developments here and all these apartment buildings and and what's going to happen on the Ball Street and Somerset's about 7,000. Now you're at 30,000 customers to take this burden of the expense for the buildout.

There's no grant money. is going to have to be paid for and then more importantly absolutely more importantly going forward running this plant. Running it with more capacity they call the terminology is called throughput. The more you put through the plant the better it is. Nobody runs at 100%. You run close to 80 90% as you can and every gallon, every hundred cubic feet, however they measure it, that goes

through there goes through there at a lower rate for everybody and they're right and it it is very feasible. Uh the actual numbers are coming up and we hope we can get something done to get some dialogue. We have been having a problem getting dialogue out of Somerset.

They're a little, you know, there's just this I I don't know what it is. If if you if if you if it's good for Fall River somehow, it's a zero some game.

It's bad for some. I don't know why there's that mentality. There's something going on. Uh that's not shared by any of us. So I I realize that. But you beyond your additional three minutes though, I'm beyond my additional three minutes.

I'm going to wrap up. Thank you. It's a it's it's uh I don't know why it's been a big uh arm twisting, but we're going to keep twisting arms and we're finally very close to having this number and hopefully we get a good reception on both sides of the of the river and we hope we can come back to you guys with something that we can put in your hand

and say this is it with the district.

This is it. everybody run in their own way and then you people can have something uh to to chew on.

Thank you, Mr. Nass.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you. And don't forget what they say about some are set and some are not.

Item number two, entertain a motion to lift from the table. Motion so made.

Second.

Motion made and second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed?

Motion carries. Madam clerk, will you read the resolution, the original resolution we have before us in item number two in finance?

Yes.

Whereas city parks are in need of repair and whereas many baseball and football leagues are independent and do fundraising on their own. Now therefore be it resolved that the committee on finance convene with the administration to discuss the needs of city parks and the needs of leagues and be a further resolved at the administration and park board be invited to a future meeting of

the committee on finance to discuss how to improve our city parks, baseball and football fields as well as bring forward in conjunction with the baseball and football leagues any immediate capital needs for our city parks and be a further resolved that bids be obtained and a cost provided to the committee on finance for a strategic master plan for all parks that it be researched whether

open space and recreational grant funding is available for these improvements.

Thank you, Madam Clair. You want to come down, please? You can just undo that rope bar right there.

Thank you.

If you can just please state your name and what department you're with for the record so the cler could enter into the records.

Al Oliver, director of city operations.

DJ McDonald, park board.

Darren Maderas, interim parks director.

Mike Deion, director of community development and interim city administrator.

Thank you.

Someone just want to give us a brief overhaul of what's been what's been done since we last met.

This was tabled on February 14th, 2023.

in front of you um you have a five-page document um that will list uh all of the completed park projects that we've completed in the past um I want to say five or six years. Um I will not go through all of them but it's listed by park and then what kind of improvement was made in that park. Page four uh is investments by funding source. As you can see, we've put a little over $4.3

million into parks. Um, it breaks down the investments uh by block grant, park grant through the state, community preservation act, opera funding, the state grant, uh, another miscellaneous grant, and what the city has put in. Um, also on the last page, page five, uh, lists the current projects that we're currently doing, uh, right now, um, uh, in the, uh, in the park department. Um,

I really want to thank Darren Maderas and, uh, Alivera for helping me put these numbers together. I just wanted to give you, um, a synopsis of where we were at and what we were doing. Um just so you know when we do uh do park projects in the city um I know because of community development being included in them uh we follow uh the open space and recreation plan that was done um uh

2017 to 2024. Uh there's a new one that's being done and that one will be completed uh I would say very very very soon. Uh it was funded with opera funding. If you look at the open space and recreation plan, some of the goals talk about improvement of infrastructure sidewalks paths uh comfort stations, maintaining exist existing trees, and planting uh new trees in the city. It also talks about

um uh improvements that we would u make necessary improvements to the Kathy Assad Tot.

Um it also talks about uh improvements at Britain Park. uh continue to implement north north uh park plans um construct and improve sidewalks and walkways throughout uh our parks and also it goes as completing phase four of the quashan river trail. um in discussing and going over the numbers uh for this resolution. Um I don't know if you're aware if the council's aware um I've been aware for many years now. We

also have a um uh back in May of 2016 uh the Fall River completed the Fall River Parks and Cemeteries capital improvement plan. So I brought it with me tonight. Um it goes through and it talks about every park that the city has. Um, it has pictures of each park, pictures of uh um uh the uh fencing, playgrounds, um and it also gives you um by park if uh what's in the park and is

it fair, is it good? Um so I'm just doing Kathy Assad Tatlot as an example.

It'll talk about playgrounds, conditions of swings, which are uh poor poor affair, um benches, volleyball courts, fencing, landscaping. So, I just want to let you know that if we if we're going to do improvements in the parks with uh community development funding and uh park funding, park grants, we follow um our open space and recreation plan and also this great capital improvement

plan. So, um I just wanted to let you be aware of what we've been doing and if you have any questions, I know the uh people are here to answer and the park board's here also. Um go from there.

Thank you. Good job, Council Seat 6.

Council Ponti.

Thanks, Mr. President. Um, so I I I want to go through a couple questions from a a planning perspective. But before I do, I I've had conversations uh with the mayor on a need I think that the city really has um which I'm not sure if he shared this with you or not, Mr. Dion, but um I really think we need a centralized location for four Youth Soccer and For Falcons. Um, it's

concerning to me that if you're part of Four River Falcons, you bounce between Henry Lord. I don't know if they're still playing at Derphy and it or not on on when they have their games, but they're bouncing around. I know they don't I'm not sure if does Henry Lord have lights now?

I believe they do because I community development did put those lights up. So, so I I I just I I I would love I think Full River deserves for its youth sports like they have in, you know, in other municipalities a nice location for um both of those organizations that do so good for our youth in the city. With that being said, I drive by North Park on a regular basis. The old baseball

field, um the not the um little league, but the I call it the Babe Ruth baseball field, right? uh which you our office did phenomenal work with the sidewalks and everything around the park. It looks wonderful. However, that infield is now grass and I don't even think it is used anymore. I think that would be the ideal location for a Fall River Falcons and Forever Youth Soccer to have their home.

Um I'm not necessarily saying a turf field, but something like a behind Britain Park would where Britain Park is would be outstanding over there. uh bleachers. There's plenty of parking uh up around the hill. Um not really handicap accessible, but it's generally speaking a really good underutilized area of the city that I would like to elevate conversations with. So, I'm throwing that out there for an

initiative as we go into the future when it comes to our park. So, I want to just publicly state that. That's the first thing. Um the second thing is going back to this resolution from 2023, and I I guess that binder, Mr. Dion is the strategic master plan we would call it for the parks and the cemeteries combined.

That's what I would call it.

Okay. So, and I I appreciate that. So, I'm looking at two separate capital improvement plans that the city council had uh has um one that, you know, has this in front of it and then another one that has a picture of the trolley uh in front of it. And kind of going through the capital improvement plans for the fiscal years of FY26, I'm seeing a number of specific projects pertaining to parks, uh like Britain Park and

Columbus Park play equipment. I'm also looking at a number of other projects here and I want to know what the status of those are. Specifically, the Kennedy Park Overlook that uh in your capital improvement plan that we have, you we put $6 million associated with that in fiscal year 2025.

Um, and if I may very quickly, um, the Father Kelly Park lights as another one, uh, CPC gave $400,000 for those lights.

And I just I think an update on that would be appropriate. And I know you're writing this down, Mr. Alo, but I'm looking at we're looking at uh Maplewood Park lighting in the parking lot that was scheduled to be for $50,000 in fiscal year 2025. And I'll stop there.

And there's more. Brutland Park playground equipment that's scheduled for this year. Columbus Park equipment is scheduled for this year.

There's a lot of park projects that we have going on and um I'm wondering your your your where you're at with them.

Father Kelly, the lights are done.

Yes, those are those are done operational. That's okay.

That and the scoreboard.

Yeah, because I remember there was somebody that was down during citizens input. That's done. Okay, that's great.

So, when it comes to these capital improvement plans that we have, and I know Miss Arkkey is working on one right now. Where are we at with these projects that were presented to the city council within this last couple of years in terms of getting them done?

If you look, also Columbus Park is being done. The new playground at Columbus Park is going to be started very soon.

We just had the pre-conference hearing last week.

Okay.

Um I believe the lighting at Maplewood was done also.

The ball field was completed. Yes, Ballfield was completed.

All right. Let let's let I don't I don't mean to sound um I'd be long- winded here, but let's just very quickly tell me whether or not the Kennedy Park Overlook uh design was funded through CPA funding for $6 million, poor condition in your capital improvement plan for fiscal year 2025. Is that being done?

The design's been done, but um we have not gone to do the park yet.

How come?

Because it's going to take a lot. it's going to take $6 million and um so far there hasn't been really an appetite from by the administration uh to take on a project of that size. So you you will be getting in in the in the process and and um you will be getting a new capital improvement plan that will um um will will give you a a good clean update of where we are with the parks

and what we plan on funding in the future. Um, so the design work for Kennedy Park Overlook was the only funding mechanism that the city got from CPA.

Yes, I believe so.

Okay. So, that $6 million projects been put on hold for now.

Put on hold. Correct.

Okay. Thank you. Um, I want to know a little bit more about Father Kelly. Mr. McDonald indicated that that was done because that was money from CPC for $400,000 which you're a member of too, right, Mr. McDonald?

So, that was done and I appreci we appreciate the support there. But the lighting at the Maplewood Parking lot for what looks to be $50,000, that's where behind where the old church used to be, correct?

Yeah.

Did that get done yet?

I don't think so.

Okay. Britland Park equipment uh aging play structures pose a safety concern.

Uh FY26 for 150,000.

Britain Park.

No, that one hasn't been done either.

So, I know that you have in your report Britain Park $277,000.

Most of it was CDBG funding, which I guess we could probably talk about at a later date as to whether or not we will be as reliant on that going forward from some of the federal You won't be.

We won't be. Yeah, that's disappointing, but it is what it is. Um, you have new basketball courts, new fitness court, new pickle ball courts, and a comfort station. And then your and and then in your capital improvement plan that you gave us, it says, "An aging play structure poses a safety concern." Was that not done as part of these this project?

That playground was taken down.

So, it was aging, but it was taken down at Britain Park.

So, I don't I haven't been by Britain Park in a while. Is there a playground there?

There's no longer a playground.

Okay. So, was So, that $150,000 was wasn't to knock it down. That was to rebuild.

Correct. But it was it was in such a disarray and we replaced that in that uh general location with the fitness center with a new fitness court.

So, the FY226 $150,000 not line item but plan isn't going to happen. We're not going to rebuild the existing structures uh playground.

No.

Columbus Park Equipment. Another one. It says aging play structures poses a safety concern. Are we going to You mentioned that, Mr. Dion.

That's being done as as we speak. I I had the pre-conference last week.

When do you think the project will be done? When you say pre-conference, what remind me what that means?

It was about there was about eight weeks for the delivery of the materials. Um, I want to say probably in the next couple weeks that project will be started.

Okay. So, I don't want to be overly assertive when I make these comments, but I just want to say the whole point of capital improvement plans, Mr. Olivera, going forward, I hope, is to be factual as best as they can be. I know that's a it's a an idea. It's a budget. But we get these five-year forecasts and we have for so many years and they're not a necessarily followed. They were just

thrown together in the past and nobody was really following up. I named maybe of the seven or eight projects, two of them were getting done and none of them were done by the use of city funds. One was by CPC and one appears to be uh CDBG money for um um Columbus Park for Columbus Park. So, I'm hoping that when the administration is done their capital improvement plan that we're going to actually have a capital

improvement plan that we can rely on.

You will.

Okay. And even if it is something that we that is attainable in five years, if you have to budget that more going to four or five years, then that it is what it is. But I want to be able to look at these and and and reference this when we have these resolutions because people call us. People call you and they want to know what's going on with their parks. And when we have presentations by

the administration that sit here and tell us we're going to spend $264,000 on parks in FY 2025 and that doesn't happen, it's a little disingenuous. So, um, is there any other improvements being done to our parks besides I mean, obviously a lot of this is here, but let let's just make it clear.

Go on the last page, console, it'll show you of the ver of Yep. of the investment sources are all grant money. ARPA, you spent 531,000. CDB block grant money is 1.6 million. of city money spent of city money spent. It was it was about a $100,000 in the last I guess five years.

Is this four or five whatever three years, five years? Whatever within the last couple of years, notwithstanding the fact that $4.3 million is a lot of money in our parks. I'm just saying in the future we're going to be we're not going to be as reliant as you would probably admit to, Mr. Dion, from uh Community Preservation Act money. Maybe we will be, but Arbor is gone. State grants might still be there. What what

what I want to know is what the plan is for funding sources to maintain the quality of workmanship that we've done at our parks these last three or four years and these projects continue to elevate and and and remain consistent.

So your thoughts?

Yeah, I mean we we will still try to uh uh go to the community development block grant but like like I said it's that funding source is being cut. Um it's being cut dramatically. Um we will uh continue to apply for the state park grant. Um we'll rely on community preservation act. We can't rely anymore on oper. Um we'll go out there and search. We have the full-time grant writer searching for whatever grants we

can get out there. And you're correct.

The city's going to have to put some more money into into their park projects into maintenance and into funding it.

Okay. So, Maplewood, and I appreciate that it's it's been no, it's it's no uh um uh it's well known that, you know, the improvements that have gone on in our city parks have been community development oriented.

Oh, yeah.

There's been every park that we've done, I've been my hands have been in it. So, um yes, I mean, we'll continue. It's probably instead of multiple park projects every year, we'll maybe do one or two if we can. So, Maplewood Park, I want to know what the plan is for the lights in that parking lot. If there's any baseball field in the city of Fall River that is used on a more consistent

basis, it's Maplewood Park and that there is some woods down there that lead to I don't know what it does. I haven't been there since I was a kid, but uh are we going to do anything with getting lights there for them?

We will. We'll we we're going to start getting some quotes and start um getting those lights up and up and ready. But the maplewood lights uh on the ball field and walkways have been completed.

Yes.

Yeah, they've been completed. So, one of the other things that we've been really strong um at is the comfort stations. A lot of the comfort stations have been um not underutilized or not utilized, and we've been ramping up to try to get those up and up and ready for the leagues, for the uh for the uh the actual um the kids and the parents that go to these games. uh they haven't had a

chance to utilize the comfort stations.

They are now we are uh ramping up heavily on a couple other uh comfort stations. That's very important to the leagues as well.

Okay. So, I appreciate that, but I guess I'm I'm looking for some kind of a commitment.

Do we will we have it by the baseball season next year?

And do you have the funding sources available to pay the in-house? We've been doing a lot of work in-house with our staff and u Maplewood is ready to go. Um bysentennial uh I um Britain is ready to go.

Uh and we're working on right now Lafayette. So there will be some more comfort stations that we revive. Uh there'll be some activities, not just the ball fields, not just the leagues, anything that associates with the parks.

If there's a comfort station, we will revive those.

Okay. I I appreciate the conversation on the Maplewood Park aspect. I'm wondering when the lights are going to be down behind the baseball fields in the spring.

We'll look at those for the spring.

Absolutely.

Okay. So, you're sitting on $13,000 of idle money in our last quarterly update at Maplewood Park and you're sitting on $30,000 of unused capital idol money for Thomas Chew Park.

Um, and you had $24,000 in streets and highways department. Now, the only reason I mention that is because you're able to repurpose that idol money, which I've always been an advocate of doing, for like projects, right? So, why haven't we looked at Maplewood Park in Chup Park and repurposing some of that idle money that has already been authorized through loan authorizations going back to 2018?

I can't answer that one, counselor. I really can't. I was um we probably just put our resources in other locations that we felt were were much needed at that point.

So I guess is do do you know how much it's going to c cost because you gave us a capital improvement plan that said it was going to be $59,000 for the lights at Mapleward. I'm wondering is that what it's going to be or can we get it done for 43,000 and use the idle money and getting that project completed now? I will get I will get a qu a quote on that.

So, we haven't got quotes.

I have I have not. We've done an initial assessment to be able to get those uh that dollar amount. Um but since the last time we put the uh the plan together, I'll have to revive that and see what we have for uh for the cost at this point.

Mr. Dion, I'm not sure if you've had a chance to review this or not, but when we get these capital improvement plans and there's numbers attached to it, right? And I know you weren't the city administrator at the time, but you probably were involved in your your role as um CDA director, right? Where do these numbers come from? Are they just like thrown out from the sky and they put on an Excel sheet? And

we we if you don't mind, let me just I'm the one who put those numbers together.

So we we get professionals that give us those quotes, but those quotes are just verbal quotes. They they look at it, they get potential materials cost and labor cost, but now I have to bid those things out.

So it could be 50, it could be 60, it could be 45 once we actually bid that out.

But why do these projects take why does this take so long?

I'm just curious. Like we've known that Maplewood needs and I I'm I'm harping on this just because it's in front of me, right? We know that these projects need to get done. You've submitted capital improvement plans to the city council for years showing that we need to get these projects done. Why haven't we gone out to bid to get these projects done when you're sitting on $43,000 of unused

idle money in your budget in your budget which you are responsible for?

Correct. So, why is it take so long?

Money.

No, it's not a money issue. We're I I just identified $43,000 of idle money in our capital projects that you could spend tomorrow if you followed the RFP process and getting bids to put the lights at Maplewood Park. It's not a money problem. It's a execution problem.

So, I guess my question is why do these projects take so long to get through the bidding process?

It's just finding the time to get the work done. There's there's a multiple amount of things that we do throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout the month, throughout the summer. So th those are summer related projects and those are the things that we just I just have to spend more time and getting more project work done.

Is our purchasing department available to give us updates on a more consistent basis on what's going out to bid on some of these capital projects? Is that something that can be done? It doesn't necessarily need to fall on you to do.

Well, no. We we have to initiate on our end. We initiate purchasing does not does not do any of the procure. They only they only receive the quotes. They only assist us with the procurement process with the notifications to the central register. But something like that you're talking about those are quotes related projects.

All right. So when we get this next capital improvement plan, are you going to immediately start working on the bidding procedure through purchasing so that we could start executing on some of these projects? So, every project has to be designed, whether it's designed by myself or designed by an architect or the part of my team that will do that. Once we determine the potential costs, if it's less than a $50,000

project, then we can establish some quotes. But either way, something has to be described on on what work we're looking for and what type of potential materials. Those are the things that have to be put to the pencil and the paper so that we can get the quotes for and it's not just a matter of here's a project go get it done. There are things that have to be written have to be put

on paper and given to the contractor so they can go and bid on apples to apples.

If you just do a verbal on that then so the initial quote was a verbal to a contractor that said if you were to do this give me a potential cost. That's why it's on paper. Now we have to initiate the project again.

Okay. So, how many how many projects in our parks have you initiated in the last 6 months forbidding unless it's coming from Mike Dion's probably all the one all the ones that are on this list and that's just the parks. That's just the parks and that's that every single project associated with the city I have a hand in it per se. out of out of out of um I guess lack of understanding, when you use CDBG

money, are you still required to go through the same purchasing process as you would using $98,000 of city money?

Even more.

And what is the briefly? What why why is it more?

Um I have to go out a bid. I cannot go off a state biders list. So, a lot of a lot of um differences between community development and the city is they'll buy a playground or they'll they'll look at uh something on a bidder's list. Um HUD does not allow me to do that. I have to go out and get several bids, a minimum of two, hopefully three bids. So,

No,

back on.

check one two great.

Sounds like we're back on.

Yeah, we are going to wait. We're just going to wait for council ponte to come back. Um and then we'll start the meeting again. Okay.

See you later.

frustrated.

I think so. You all set?

City council reconvene. I just want to let people know at home that are listening. Um the the cable is if it's not up already, it will be up shortly.

The gentleman in the back told us that they'll have it up and running pretty soon, but they'll be able to hear us. So everything you say, people at home that are watching or on YouTube, we'll be able to hear what you're saying.

All right. So So you still have the floor.

Thank you. So to get through this, right, I just want to I want there to be a day where it's over and done with, where you're submitting capital improvement plans that are a bunch of nonsense, right? They're hope, but nothing happens. And I know you've committed to us that that's going to be those days are over. That's number one.

Number two, we have to fast track, I think, the process here because we've known since 2023 that Maplewood Park needs lights. We've known that Britain Park equipment needed to be redone.

We've known for a long time that some of the Britain park equipment country, if I may, does Maplewood Park have lights right now.

To be clear, I'm talking about the lights behind the baseball fields in the parking lot. I know the fields have lights, but that not the one near the parking lot doesn't have lights.

That's what you're talking about.

Yeah. Yeah. But what I'm talking about is the parking lot lights. I'm assuming that's lights for a parking lot or is it for the parking lot field? I don't really know. Quite frankly, it doesn't make a difference to me. What what makes a difference to me is there was a plan that was put in place to execute and it's like it's like long. It's monotonous and we don't get them done.

So, I'm really really looking the mayor has told me on more than one occasion that I'm going to be blown away by this capital improvement plan. And I can't wait to see this capital improvement plan to be blown away. And I'm hoping that we execute on these projects going into next fiscal year because I think our parks have made tremendous strides over the last four years. I I don't know

any other city that's invested $4.9 million in its parks, specifically through the community development agency funding. But we have a bigger pro pro problem in my opinion when we speak about our projects overall. it it takes too long to get stuff done.

Council, can I just can I just give you a little bit of insight what a capital plan really refers to in the public world? And I'm sure a few folks up here already know. Our goal is to put something on paper to show the the immediate need from the current year and then you just plan you forecast for the next five years or so. at some point depending on funding, depending on

urgency, depending on need, some of those items can scale to the following year. So that is that this that's nothing new to the to the world of of planning a capital plan. They do skew to the following year or the past year.

Now, that I believe should have been taken care of. That's my opinion. I will look into those to make sure that we take care of those parking lot lights if they are a concern today. If they're not to this point, I have not heard anything more from those lights or there's a concern. I mean, I have the uh folks from the parks here. They haven't heard that. I will make sure that I find out

tomorrow or tonight whether those lights are indeed a a safety issue.

I I I want to make it clear, Mr. Valera, I am not trying to to to to tell you that you're not doing a good job. What I'm tired of though is what fiscal year are we in right now?

What fiscal year are we in right now?

2025.

26.

26. This these projects were 2025 projects. And you just literally told me that you haven't even gone through the bidding process to start working on some of these projects. So, it's not necessarily a planning issue. It's an execution issue if you ask me on getting some of these projects done. That's what I think it is. Right. I I I literally asked you about Maplewood Park and I'm

using this as the only example. Not to belabor the point. You haven't even started working with the purchasing department on getting bids. That's the stuff I'm talking about has to be over.

Don't put things in capital improvement plans and we're not going to work on doing these projects. That's all I'm saying. Just tell me we're not going to do any projects in the parks in FY25 and 26. If we're going to do them, let's do them. But I'm looking at this and I can appreciate this these park projects.

This is great. But I'm looking at projects specifically that you put in your capital improvement plan that you haven't really started yet. That's what I want to see going forward if I can.

Just as one council, that's it. council as um executive director of community development. Um this year is the first time I've ever looked at a capital plan. Um I uh um never has one been brought to my attention, but I can tell you the next capital plan you have, the mayor is right, Mr. Obki's here. It'll knock your socks off.

Can't wait.

Um we're we're working on it right now.

Um I have some of the parks right right here.

Good. Um uh I agree with some of it, some of it I don't agree with it. Mr. uh Mr. Oliver and myself had had conversations this afternoon about things that I don't agree with that should be moved.

Um but going forward um we are going to take the capital needs assessment very very um uh it's very important document.

Uh it's it's uh uh um you want to see things done. I understand. I understand.

Um, you got to realize too throughout the process of doing improvements to the parks, we also um deviate sometimes from a capital plan. And I'll give you an example. Um, the volleyball courts at Kennedy Kennedy Park, okay? Um, we found out that the Ecuadorian people were playing uh volleyball at uh Pilaski Park that it was, you know, 100 200 people.

There was a parking problem down there.

Um, uh, it was nice that they were using the the the park, but it just wasn't set up. There was, uh, selling of food, uh, going on location and and it just wasn't fit right. So, we developed, you know, we took the Kennedy Park volleyball court, which was basically a dirt mound.

Um, uh, and we rehabbed that thing. And if you ever go down there today, it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

It's got um, removable nets. It's got nets that can go to Ecuadorian level.

it's got nets that can go down. Um that was a project that was not planned honestly.

Um the other pro the other uh uh problem is when you go out and you apply for a park grant, lighting is not sexy to the state. They want to see water water parks. They want to see splash pads.

They want to see things that um uh we deserve in in the parks. Um, so a lot of the park projects you see are park projects that are approved by the state.

Um, which is like the tenn uh the pickleball courts and the tennis courts and the new lighting down at Kennedy Park which is used by people from out outside. I think the mayor was telling me last week some lady that was from Providence using it, you know, on a Sunday. So there's a lot of things that go into parks. I understand you want us to follow the capital plan. I understand

it's a very important document and I'll tell you going forward we will we will uh uh follow the capital plan.

All right. My my my last thing for you is this. You have $43,000 of idle money in your capital plans. What are your plans to do with that?

Oh, we're going to go look at the lights tomorrow. I'm going to go look at them personally and if if it's something that we can do and write up real quick, we'll do it and we'll spend that money on those those plans.

Okay. I'm not sure if that's the highest priority in the park.

That's probably not the best priority though. I don't know what it is that but that's why a capital improvement but Mr.

Dion that's why a capital improvement plan that we can follow is so important not to just throwing money at things and putting it in spreadsheets I isn't effective so now my question to you and to Mr. Olivea, what is the biggest need in our parks right now?

The biggest need in our parks right now is probably repurposing those parks like we did with Dumont Field to make those uh um softball softball fields. I think you're exactly right that we should that baseball, pardon my suck, baseball is is not seen like when I was growing up where the fields were always full and people were there all the time and I drive by um North Park all the time and there that

field is way underutilized. Okay. So, yes, we got to look at repurposing. We we've talked many a times about an all-purpose field for for soccer, for football, for any related softball. Um uh you know, I think repurposing looking at our fields is is of the utmost important to see, you know, how we make them better for people to use them.

Okay, I yield for now. Thank you.

Thank you, council. Council in seat 8, Council Po, I'm sorry, seat seven.

Thank you. So, I guess I'm going to echo council Ponti's call on reimagining the fields and I and I think the question becomes for me and this is to the parks director, the parks uh chairman. If you look at the history of permits pulled in the city for leagues, do we have a sense of which ones are more utilized, ones are not utilized? And like take North Park for example, the American Little

League folded years ago and that field has continued to just stay the way it is.

If this that's an indication that that clearly is no longer needed, right? Or or we have a league of the two leagues that we have left for baseball, they practice it at once every three weeks, which is not really anything good because then you're you're putting in resources to cut the grass and you're you're passing the maintenance on to the leagues to maintain the fields.

Lafayette Park's perfect example. You can't see the infield anymore either.

It's grass because it's underutilized.

It's not being used anymore. So I mean I would love to see if we take the data that we have based on usage or not usage and say okay these are the five parks that we can say we can do something different to and to council panty's point is right you know having a home for four view soccer is important when I was a kid I played a dery and then

Derphy's field was done and then that that didn't happen anymore we move somewhere else and then move somewhere else I mean ideally in that capital improvement plan Diana we're talking about can we start to reimagine what these parks could be and honestly ly if they're not baseball fields, they're not soccer fields, if they're green space, then so be it. Let it be green space where people can enjoy

the green space and be and be done with it. But to have all these fields that are just kind of look like crap, to be honest, and underutilized, then we need to do something different with it. Um, let me ask about Kennedy Park. So, two parts. The comfort station at Kennedy Park has been a mess for years, still is. What are the current plans for that, if any?

We uh we did a um a feasibility study on that building. Uh we currently have some potential costs. They are pretty pretty excessive and we're in the evaluation stage at this point.

Okay. Because I think one of the complaints I usually get from people and and again budding a park six days a week that that I work our answer to comfort stations is a port. It has been for a number of years. That's not a criticism.

It's just a fact. Right. So you state in this plan here that you are redoing the one at Lafayette Park. I was a teenager when the last time that was used and that was 15 years ago when I played Lafayette baseball senior league, right?

And even then it wasn't that great. So I guess my bigger question is this. If you're going to improve the one at Kenned at at Lafayette, you're going to eventually maybe do the one at Kennedy.

You have a splash pad in the Flint that has a portaotti.

Kennedy Park's plan was last last I understood that the bottom of Kennedy was going to be a splash pad too. Is that going to happen? Is that still the plan or did that deviate to something else?

There was just talk. We were just talking about that. We have not finalized anything at this point.

But there was a a rendering done for what will be a splash pad. Is that not true?

I don't remember that.

Maybe.

I don't I haven't seen it.

There could be.

Okay. So what's the plan for the bottom of Kennedy? Because you Mr. D, I think you're right in the sense that the state looks at splash pads and things like that more than they do look at pools, right? So the we have one splash pad in the city which is highly used during the summer.

You have more than one splash pad.

I'm sorry, two.

You have one at Kapaloski Park. That's right.

You have one at True Field, I believe.

So what's the one at what's the one at Kennedy to serve that end of the city?

Is that going to be a possibility? We looked at we looked at because there was a pool there for many many many years and there was a station there like a a bathroom facility and stuff like that.

We looked at maybe turning that into a splash pad a a larger splash pad.

Problem is is it's the funding is is uh um we were probably looking at um somewhere close to 600 $700,000 for a splash pad.

Okay.

Then we thought about doing something with a dog park. um uh in that location.

Um but that was temporary.

That was temporary, but we haven't uh um had any more planning sessions on that.

Okay.

Possible.

So, I'll get back to the comfort stations. I I guess the the larger issue has been for the the places that are utilized, the lack of access to a bathroom. And I think if we're going to go down the road of fixing one or two, are we not going to open up the floodgates to do all of them at this point?

Well, that's our goal. That is our goal right now. Right now, those are the three that we just earmarked because they were not in crazy shape. Yeah.

That we could revive those in house.

Yes.

Yeah. I guess to me it's just it's crazy to think that we we can permit parks, we can let them be used, but that's not one of the things that that's not one of the things that's done first, not last.

I'm sorry, what was the question?

My my question, my statement was I guess we permit parks, we let them be used, but the comfort stations are not the first things that are addressed, they're the last things that are addressed, which to me is mindboggling.

For years, council for years.

For years. Oh, yeah. For years, for sure.

Th those comfort stations were revived years ago by the Diamond students.

Y um Glenn Hathaway, our current commissioner right now, was part of those uh renovations.

When we toured those, we we figured that this is something that we could do for a small amount of money and the public would definitely benefit from that.

Sure. So there are some more that we are looking at reviving.

These first three were our goal at this point.

Okay. So let's talk about the first three. What are the policies internally in the parks department to make sure they don't end up like the one at Lafayette Park did?

So not to cut you off, but I'm just going to give you some context again as a teenager when we had them at Lafayette Park, right? Um at the time it was passed on to the the league to deal with, to take care of, what have you.

And then if it was a maintenance issue, the city would deal with it. Well, 15 years ago, the city's answer to was put a padlock on it. That was the answer, right? So, what is the policy internally to ensure that they are maintained, they're taken care of, what have you.

And this may be more of a question to Mr. McDonald, but what do we what do we do? How are we dealing with that? Like, if if a league permits a park with a comfort station, is it still the policy of the parks department that it's on the the permittee to deal with it? So with the comfort station because it's so new y what we've done right now is the active leagues like Maplewood we've

allowed the commissioner or the the person in charge of that league to have access to that and distribute access as needed in the spring. Our goal is to make sure that we have some type of an automation system to access those those comfort stations. We are working diligently to attain the the right type of system and we're our goal is to make sure that we revive those by utilizing um access like fobs or or

keypad or QRC code. So there are many ways that we're looking at but that's our that's our goal.

We're getting away from keys is what you're telling me.

We're trying to Yeah. Okay.

Most pl most places are Yeah. No. No, that that's that's true.

Um, ask about Davis Park for a minute. So, when we last talked and I know there was a resolution in the committee I was chairing at the time about Davis Park and my large question that really just came out of that was they identified the playground at Davis Park, the apparatus to be way out of safety. It was just a disaster. Has that been removed from Davis Park?

Yes.

Yes.

Okay. So, what is in Davis Park right now other than grass?

Nothing.

Nothing. Nothing just we're not allowed to as far as I know.

Yeah, it's active recreational.

Correct. But other than that, is there any active permits for Davis Park?

No, we don't permit it at all.

It's just there.

Right.

We got we after the last time we spoke, um I think I was the only one that's at the table now that was here the last time.

Just to go over some of the turnover that's the parks department has gone through in the last couple years. Um, but we after that meeting, we reach out to EMS and there's no way to get access up there. So, you can't permit it out.

It's just to be used as a picnic place to go around. That's it.

Okay, cool. Um, but other than that, there's there's no other safety concerns, anything that needs to be removed at this point. It's all clear.

Correct. Okay.

All right. Um, last question at North Park. Um, with obviously Diamonds Field still being used, is it the plan right now that the baseball fields are going to be used by them?

North Lafayette, any idea?

I don't think so. Okay.

They we haven't permitted that out.

They've used soccer, but they haven't in the last couple years used it for baseball. I think they play at the Swansea YMCA.

Why is that? Yeah. Why why go all the way to Swansea when there's five unused baseball parks in Fall River? Any reason?

I I don't you'd have to ask.

Yeah, that's probably I don't the right person.

I mean, I know we've reached out to them. Yeah. And they preferred they prefer that access up to Swansea. Yeah.

Well, and they have used Britlin for soccer. So, occasionally like they're they have some practiceos, right?

That's what they've been doing all fall which is great. It's nice to see it used as you know uh goals and all that good stuff. But as far as the springtime, they haven't used the parks that we have to utilize.

I don't know. But we tried bringing them home.

Yeah, I understand. No, that's fine. I mean, the effort is what I'm looking for and the fact that we have all these um parks that again underutilized and do something with them. So, um but yeah, I I echo the uh the capital plan idea because and and I think you're right, Mr. Dion. I hope it's gonna blow blow our socks off here, but there's a there's a huge opportunity to do some

good work and I just hope we're being creative. I think that's my big thing like I think it's now time to start thinking outside of the box for some of these things that could be could be really revolutionary for us. Let's be in front of it instead of behind it. That's all I yield. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Vice President Per.

Well, my colleagues have said some of what I wanted to say, but not all. I'll let you know why Diamond doesn't want to use Fall River Fields. Because when we did the Sneaker McDonald monument, we had a Dery Diamond baseball game there.

And one of the criticisms was that the field was not laid out the way it should be and there wasn't distances between first base, second base, third base, what have you. If that field had been put up to par, you would have probably had Diamond there. And you're right. I mean, um, Mr. McDonald, who chairs the park board, knows a lot. I've watched meetings on TV and I've been to a few of

them. Um, they are using for soccer.

They do play at Britain Friday night.

Sometimes they have a game, they go to Travasos or they go to the Y in Swansea.

We do not have enough parks for the sports that people are playing. There is no more little twilight leagues where you had, you know, seven, eight years old. I don't know why. if it's they can't get the coaches, if they can't get the kids, I don't know. But all of those should be changed. And the number one thing, and I've talked to every single one of you about repurposing parks.

People want to play soccer.

There's no soccer fields. The Titans, nobody's got a feel for them, but they're keeping kids off the street.

When I went to Britain Park because my grandson plays soccer and I was at Britain, there was a couple of things there.

There's four basketball courts there.

To see people with their car headlights on facing the basketball courts so kids could play basketball.

I found that pretty disheartening because if those kids Don't they have midnight basketball?

basketball leagues in some places. Even if a kid was going to play there till 10:00, there's no houses around there.

The police station is in front. I've seen some of the officers get off work and come and and shoot a few hoops with kids that are there. Like, why can't we do that? Another thing, when you come in, you should go around all the cars and go out. So there should be a circle and there should be a spot for loading when people come with equipment that they can have a spot to load and unload.

We have handicap spots there. That is a small thing. And I don't care what anybody says about it's not always about money. It is about money. I remember councilman seat number one saying what do we have in a budget? Basically $2,000 per park to spend. Well, if you have $2,000 per park, you know, everything is expensive just to put new playground equipment.

Granted, you're going to get CD funding.

That's 165,000. You know, you look at this list of everything. I love the bathrooms because you're going to spend this money to fix bathrooms, but people can't use them. The Veterans Memorial Park. How many times have I said you only open that when there's an event there on Memorial Day or Veterans Day?

Can we come up with a system? Is there a card that people can get so you'd know who's swiping in, who's swiping out?

They do that in other parts of the country. But I can't tell you how many people have told me they love to walk down the boardwalk, but can't can't get in to use the bathroom. There's got to be a solution. We keep these bathrooms locked because of the 5% of people who would go in there and do something wrong, but not the 95% that would use it correctly. Do you need to put a camera

on the outside? Do you need to have somebody go by and check? But, you know, we are mowing the grass at all of the parks. They look very nice. They're they're taken care of, but we're taking care of them, and there's no purpose for them. It it just doesn't make sense to me. Father Kelly's, they got lights and we also Thank you. As a matter of fact, um they were telling me just the other

night, Friday night, thank you so much because community development got the netting that they needed there. Um I I just think the first thing you need to do in this capital plan you're doing is repurpose everything. Repurpose those fields. You have kids that have playgrounds. the sensory pock. Great.

You have a lot of stuff for younger kids. What the heck are we doing for the teenagers?

What are we doing for the teenagers to get them into playing sports to get them to have fields that they can play on? And I know when you people come in and they want permits for certain things like before it was Britlin Park, one person came in and took the park for all this time but then never used it all the time. I think it's got to be real specific to what days you're going to

use it and when it's free time that people can use it because you know yourself we're going to have to be redoing Britlin Park that field that sad of whatever grass they have what's that going to cost us that turf probably 300 grand probably there you go and if we have to take money from somewhere in the city free cash what take money to start doing this you're talking about the kids and the

adults. You you put a exercise thing there for people to be healthy. Good.

But some people like to play soccer and and they can't unless it's a team.

Behind Britlin Park soccer field, there's a big open area there and that's a place where you're not bothering anybody. I know Columbus Park's basketball court. I'd have some people call, hey, these kids are bouncing the ball 11:00 at night. Okay, they can go to bounce the ball down at Britain and they're not disturbing anybody and and make money on these things. You have the pavilion,

you know, that really got me. There are pavilions in Providence and etc. that you can rent to have a wedding. That brings in money, right? Go in there and look. They painted up to the ceiling.

It's about this much from the ceiling.

Who would do that?

Nobody had a ladder.

Give me the damn paint and I'll go paint the inside of that pavilion. And I know other people would too. That that's things like that make us look bad.

There's lighting things that need to be put there. Historic. Maybe you can get that from CPA. But I really think that Mr. McDonald as chairman is doing a good job and and so is um Mr. Mr. Martin, they're doing great jobs down there.

They're really trying. Um, I've been to some of the meetings. I hear what they are talking about. Darren is really, you know, knowing what has to happen, etc.

Um, but quite frankly, they're going to need money and I think you need to talk about that. The last time I was there, there was a company that wanted to put cabinets up all over the parks. Were they going to pay us? They hadn't even come by the council to talk about these pack um these cabinets for Wi-Fi. And if they do Wi-Fi, should we have Wi-Fi in

the parks for free so kids can go to the park or an adult, anybody can go to the park and you can connect to Wi-Fi.

That's a benefit to the community.

I don't know. I I just think that you do need money to get some of these things done. And do I think it takes a long time? Yes. Just like it take a long time for the pock index.

Still waiting for that. So everything government just works so slow.

Councelor, just so you know, Britain Park is was about $227,000 to put new basketball courts in and pickle ball courts. It was going to cost us probably about 100 to 150,000 for new lights. Just didn't have the money.

Exactly.

If I had if I had an additional amount of block grant for that, we probably would have did it. You know, we had a park grant um for Kennedy Park. We put some uh uh CDBG funding in there and we were able to do new new lighting for uh Kennedy Park, the uh the tennis courts and the uh pickle ball court. So, like I said, it's just it comes really down to

But Mr. Dion, I understand it comes down to funding, too. But if we're looking at putting up lights, can't we put up lights that have a solar panel on top so then it's not costing us for the electricity? I I was away a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that stop lightss that have the flashing. We have batteries in ours. Correct. They have a solar panel. So, it's it's lit by solar

when it starts to get docked the lights start to flash. Have we looked into things like that? Does it cost more upfront? But long run, it's less expensive.

I don't know.

Council, you're not going to get solar panel lighting in the basketball court.

You can't. I mean, there's just not enough lumens for that. And it Have we looked Have we I've I've I've placed uh lighting with solar panels on in parking lots in walkways.

I've never heard of anything about solar panels for a basketball court.

That that part is that just they haven't they haven't come up with the uh the amount of luminance.

Then maybe you need to go to St.

Michael's Azor and see them for basketball.

Do they have them on the main streets?

Main streets. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, you walkways.

I I agree with you.

Main streets, the street that I'm driving down, solar panels, like the lights that we have that already went dim. They had to come back and redo them. They have them there. I don't know.

I will look into that, but I I've been I've been involved in a lot of soul work, but I will look into those.

Absolutely.

I don't know. I do think that you're both trying to do the best job you can and and I think your CDA has given a lot of money as well as you know money from CPA etc and grant funding a lot of this but really we need to throw some money into this too because our kids and our people deserve better and they can utilize the parks. I can't

tell you I go to the gas station and the guy always says to me, "Linda, when can we play soccer? When can we play soccer?

Got a whole team of people that want to play soccer and they don't know where they can go.

Doesn't have to be fancy, but can we get a report?

I agree.

Can we get a report um Mr. McDonald from you on what kinds of things you're looking at to repurpose with Darren, the two of you, you know?

Sure.

Is that something the park board can do?

Well, we'd work with the administration and the but if there needs to be additional funding then let's look at where we can get that funding from.

I agree because it's not going to be done without funding and I agree sometimes things take a long time that's government drives me crazy too but with that Mr. President I have said my piece and I yield.

Thank you C4 Kobe be really quick here gentlemen. Um so uh I think we're all saying the same thing here. We truly care um about our parks and out of this conversation, I think the repurposing uh comment by Mr. Dion was probably the best comment of the night and thank you for your honest answers, sincere answers. So, it being in your wheelhouse, my only question here is I'm looking at the projects and 10 out of

the 20 projects all uh uh community block grant money has its hand in it.

Okay. And um I know we've had conversations before with regard to cuts and uh and that department and that funding and what's been going on in Boston with their their staff being deteriorated. So there's a lot of conversations here about about money.

And I for one I'm very impressed with with what I'm seeing in front of me and driving around a pox compared to when um nothing against the late Robert Carreri did his best but he was dealt a hand with nine seat cuts and the pox were in bad shape. They um I believe um they had to postpone little leagues I think if I recall, but the parks really weren't um

as wellkept and nice as they are now.

And that's a result of the funding that we're getting from outside the city over the last number of years to do all this stuff. So, Mr.

Dion, I guess the question I have is uh what's the status of your second department? you're handling and uh you I read any projections of what may be going on with the federal government.

One more thing. I remember when I one of the when I first got elected, u uh Ed Lambert was mayor and Ted Kennedy, late Ted Kennedy gave a call to his office. I don't know if few were on at the time um and announcing the U and they did a conference call and medi was there and Senator Kenny made an announcement saying how much money that the federal government was awarding the city of Fall

River. I believe he was one of the founding fathers of the of this that that whole whole program. So times have changed. Um so what's our status now with regard the best you you can predict what may happen with Well I do know the federal government's closed right now.

Um so I mean my point is we're all with I'm talking too much here but we're so dependent on that money and this document speaks to that. the relying on community development funds um uh is going to stop at some point. Um we have taken probably about $500,000 worth of cuts in the last um three years. Uh when I first started at community development 30 years ago, we were getting $3.8

million a year. We're down to about $2.2 million right now.

How long you've been in in that department? Even before I 28 29 years. So, what what's the most you remember?

The most I remember was about 3.9 million.

3.9 in a different economic time and right now it's 2.2.

Crazy.

Okay. Um the the uh um output on the federal level is, as you know, we're a Democratic state. We got a rep uh we got a Republican uh uh president. Um you don't see the money flowing to city of Fall River like I've seen in the past. Um there's a lot of um they want they they want to do away with the community development uh block grant program. They want to do away with the

home program. Um right now um the um uh the House has voted I get them messed up, but the Senate's voted to get rid of the home program which was brings in around a million and a half a million uh$1.2 million dollars a year. and you have the um House uh that wants to uh uh have the program. So, you know, you haven't had a budget that's passed. You don't have a continuing resolution right

now. That's why we're we're closed. I mean, I can't even talk to my HUD rep.

She's uh uh at home right now and she'll stay home until um until the government reopens.

Um I've never seen it. The times are changed. They're different. It's it's uh um it's a weird situation to be in. Um we have written, just to get off real quick, um we have written a continuum continuum of care grant every year which has been about $2.2 million. Okay? It's for homelessness in the in the city.

It's basically for permanent supportive housing. It's like a a section 8 type of program. We've been notified that 40% of that grant will be will be cut. They're not going with a housing first model anymore. They're going with a transitional housing model of which we do not have any transitional housing in the city of F River that's funded by HUD. So you think we have a homeless problem now?

Wait till 40% of that amount of money gets cut. We're in for a rude really a rude awakening.

Thank you.

Thank you. Well, I'll end it there.

Thank you, Council President. But um thank you.

I agree with you. But we um there's going to be some scary times approaching. I don't want to I'm an optimistic person. I always have been.

I'm not a the sky's falling type of guy, but uh these days soon, if not temporarily, are going to be um are going to be over. So, if I could see it's really sad to see.

If I could just add one thing just to the CPC point as representing the park board on the CPC board. Um, I'll use round numbers, but there were 25 or so applications that went through the eligibility round recently. Probably upwards of $10 million worth of requests all through all gamuts. And last year we had under $2 million to give out. So relying on those grants too are, you know, dwindling

not there's not enough to go around.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you everybody.

Thank you. Council C1 council.

Thank you.

Scary scary.

So I don't I don't know where to begin.

And I think I'm actually having anxiety, maybe a panic attack. So if I do pass out, just do not resuscitate.

This is 45 minutes that I will not get back. Right. It was a waste of time. I had to hear every counselor talk about what they want to see in our parks in uh you know, the park department. And yet I heard zero zero coming from the administration because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what what the city council wants. you know, at the all we're looking for is a plan. So, I I

where are the priorities? Where are the plans? Where are they coming from? It's just I don't I don't see it. I mean, this this document that you've given me, we've been handed it I don't know, the last five times. I We're talking about a year and a half. The same the same projects are on the on the plan uh on this piece of paper. I Nothing new came from it. I mean, Council Ponte nailed

it. There there is nothing getting done, right? And it's not just the parks department. it carries over. So I I guess I would ask the first question I would ask the administration and I guess to you uh Mr. Dion since you are the interim uh city administrator. Have you ever walked into into the office whether it's your current office, your new office, or wherever it is that you walk into in the

morning and and just ask somebody to see all the outstanding projects that the city has ongoing? Is is there a list?

No, I haven't.

Do you know if there is a list?

I don't know if there's a list.

So if if there's not a list, how do we hold people accountable and how do we get status updates on what's going on?

Because you know what what I find is is that you know we have all these projects that have appropriations and they sit there, right? And so people come down to the city council, we appropriate, money sits there, nothing gets done. Then we hear it's about money, it's about timing, it's it's all this and then I'm going to be wowed by a capital improvement plan. And at the end of the day, the capital improvement plan is

only as good as what what's put in, right? So if we've got department heads who are just, you know, submitting uh to Miss Opy, you know, a half fast plan, right? Without any real thought or um work being put into it, right? Then the plan doesn't mean anything. It's like giving me a Ferrari, but you know, the motor is a is a golf cart. Like do I really have a Ferrari or do I have a

golf cart at that point?

So my my question number one, the reason we're we're down here is the open space and recreation plan. Where do we stand with the open space recreation plan? I see I see the note that we've appropriated $35,200 to uh from opera for that plan. Where does it currently stand?

Very soon it will be um it'll be done.

Uh it's with uh Mr. Aguara in the planning department. He's uh um uh doing that and he's working with SERD. And I would say within the next couple weeks that'll be coming out.

Okay. So that's going to be complete and so then we'll have is is that just a draft or is that gonna be there was public hearings and everything that I believe there was public hearings already. I believe it's not a draft.

Okay. So so we'll we'll see what some of the priorities or uh I guess the requests and the asks and the the needs are going to be coming down from from Yeah. I just I just want to go back to one other thing that you said before is is you know is there a plan? is there, you know, as the head of the community development department, you know, I've been going, we've been picking parks,

we've been picking things to go with, uh, um, the administration and also following these plans. If you look at the open space and recreation plan in the past, they've talked about, you know, we need to do something with Kathy Assad law. So, we've done that. We've put a splash pad in. We No, I appreciate that. And so, so I I just don't want you to think like it's a willy-nilly deal. Like I'm

walking in in the morning and I'm saying, "Okay, what are we going to do today?" There there's an actual, you know process.

I I recognize that community development agency, yeah, talks about that, but parks, the park department, community maintenance, that's that's where that's where I'm going from. I I just, you know, we got Columbus Park, we got Avoc, we got Lafayette Park, we got Quickan River Trail, uh tree planting, stump removal, uh reimbursement of comfort stations, seven various parks at 300,000, you

know, but we we didn't see necessarily a plan um coming either from the from the park board or pox and wreck to to give us, you know, something to talk about, say, here's our vision. All I heard was was what councils wanted, individual councils, not not the administration. So what what's the administration looking like for looking for for pucks and reckoning? So what's the ask, right?

Because at the end of the day, all we're doing is appropriating money. That's that's all we're doing. So for us to sit here and tell us we want lights at Maplewood Park and this and that, I I'm looking for the vision and I'm looking for the ask. I don't I haven't heard that for the last 45 minutes.

Yeah. I think I think you'll you'll you'll definitely see that in the next capital plan. You'll see a good capital plan, a plan that we're going to we're going to follow. Okay. I think the next budget you see depending on how those numbers fall uh a request um where we would we would request more maintenance money, more stuff to be done on the city side, less relying on grants, but a lot

of this stuff like I like we've said has been done by grants. It hasn't cost the city, you know, any money out of their operating budget. Um uh you know you I think you've seen a real commitment to the parks by um you know the administration by the community development agency um and and by the preservation uh uh uh act with the park grants and then um the city is starting

to uh you know I've I've never seen $98,500 in parks through the city um uh in the years that I've been here. Um, we've had an increase in the budget of about 288,000 to the park department. So hopefully we could put more money into that. So it definitely will be down when budget season comes to ask you to put more money into the park projects.

So but I I guess can we can we just talk about projects? I mean what what's I guess what's the commitment from the administration? So when when something comes down before us and there's an appropriation request, whether it's free cash, stabilization account, uh authorization for funding, like what what guarantee are we going to have as a as a city council that whatever you put forward that once we make that

appropriation that's going to be acted on?

I can't talk about the past, but I told you before what's put in front of you when I'm city administrator is going to get done.

So can plain and simple, can we talk can we talk about the current projects? So, a list of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 the 11 projects that are before us that have been on here for the year a year and a half. When when can we anticipate some type of completion?

Well, I mean, the Columbus Park, like I said, is is going to be worked on very soon. Um, you know, we're looking at hopefully completing that playground by by December, by the winter months. You got the Abbott Court sensory playground.

There's going to be a there's needs a park grant to that. We have to do some fundraising. You got the CPC which doesn't make a decision till what next April. So you're going to see that um sensory playground probably take a year year and a half to to to become that.

That's a big huge undertaking. Same thing with the replacing of the of the skateboard park. I just talked to Miss Olivera today. Um we signed the uh the uh approval letter letter of award. Um the contract's being worked on now. How how long would how so let's just take that Lafayette skatepark. How when that funding was was appropriated?

Yeah, there was a lot of design issues with that. We went through multiple um multiple people who build skate parks.

Um uh there was design features. There was outreach to to um to uh uh the community. Um, and uh, you know, all of us sitting at this table have never put in a skateboard park in our lives.

So, we were, you know, we want to make sure that we can get it. It did come in under funding. Um, I think it came in around $500,000.

Uh, so we did save some money in in in in that uh, line item, but yeah, it takes some time.

Listen, I I I I get it takes time. I But every I feel like every every project we're talking about is over three years.

Quickan River Trail is being done right now. Drove by it the other day that they're working on it. Tree planting and stump removal has been taking has been going how long how long have we done that? Since Chris Pirano has left, we've been doing that should be annual, right? So, but projects, I mean, when we start talking about projects, I mean, we've got projects that have been appropriated that have

three years. Three years, right? So, yeah, I'm not going to it. It takes some time based on, you know, um you know, when we got the opera funding, we did some designing of Kennedy Park, things that I thought were good. We're thinking about bringing some type of skating and some type of uh um uh um skate park there, uh ice skating on on the uh the waiting pool. It was just too expensive.

It was it was outrageous compared, you know, what what it was to do that. So, we looked at that. We looked at a lot of different things. All right. I don't I don't want to belver the point and I and I know things take time. I understand I understand the procurement process. I understand the design. I feel like it's just a fallback and it's a security blanket in terms of what is being told

necessarily by you. Right. I I'm fully fully aware of of the process.

Right. So I don't disagree that some projects would take you a long time, but there there are other projects that don't require design, right? That you go out to bid and you know you have a bid process and that that's fine, but that's not three years worth, right? So that that's my concern. I do appreciate and I and I do want to acknowledge you because I I think you've been a phenomenal

advocate for for the parks through uh CDA and and obviously the CDB block grant for the close to $1.7 million the investments by funding source that you've list $4.3 million and I and I think I mentioned this um several times and and you know council Pereira has has mentioned that I I've spoke on this and I'm going to speak on it again because you know I think I'm super ineffective

when it comes to advocating for the uh for the parks uh as as a counselor in seed one because I've been doing it for 10 years and it's gone nowhere.

Absolutely nowhere. Right. So, I know we've seen uh a slight increase uh from 26 uh 25 to to 26, right? So, $300,000.

So, we've got a total budget of $1.5 million for parks.

55% of that is salaries, right? So, $832,000 is just for salaries. Okay.

Then when you get to the expenses, that the expense budget is $642,500.

43% of that is just to pay for water.

Another 19% is just for electric. Okay.

So that's 62% of the expense budget. So if I take that 62% plus the 55, I'm at 81% right off the right off the top for for parks and wreck. Now that's going to leave us just under $300,000 for our parks. Okay. So, if I start looking at the other expenses, $28,000 is for gas. I've got $15,000 for plumbing and electric. So, what are we actually doing after we just invested $4.3 million? We're less than $300,000

annually to to maintain our our parks, right? And so, from my standpoint, that's what I've been saying does not make sense. So, we continue to invest whether it's state grants, CBG uh block grant money, park money, preservation uh act money, opera money. So, we're spending all this money, but we're not there's there's no money to make sure that we're maintaining it, right? And that's that's the concern that I have.

So on top of that, what I'm going to be looking forward and I'll deal yel after this, but it's I understand and I'm hearing about this capital improvement plan, but if we don't have a plan to execute that plan, uh which means that there's got to be funding mechanisms and I'm sure you're going to have funding mechanism, but coming down and actually asking for funding for the various uh

priorities that you have and and maybe you know the park department is not necessarily a priority for this fiscal year, but as one counselor I I want to start seeing that whatever we appropriate that we're actually moving on. Right. So, from from my standpoint, we shouldn't be waiting, you know, two, three years, unless unless, of course, if it's a if it's a building project, then I can understand a two-year uh

period. Uh but some of these other projects and and you know, we've we've got appropriations as council Pontianne mentioned that just sitting there idle, right? So, we have the ability to be able to to tap into the money that's already there and and start, you know, having a a significant impact on on our uh facilities. That's that's just my own personal belief. I think we need to do a

better job. And quite frankly, I' I've been saying this. I I I want I want the lead coming from the administration.

Tell me what your priorities are. I appreciate Council Ponty. I appreciate Council Rapo. I appreciate Linda Pereira, but at the end of the day, I want to know what the priority is of the park department, the park board, uh the administration, and then you tell us what that story looks like, what the ask is, and how much how much you need from us, and then we can debate whether or

not we agree with those priorities. But to sit here and tell me you want a a splash a splash pad, we want we want lighting at Maplewood, we want diamond at Lafayette, like to me, that doesn't make any sense because I haven't heard anything from from the administration in terms of what is it that you guys want, right? what what conversations are you having? I mean, this you're the one

that's working full-time, right? We're we're here part-time. So, we come here every other Tuesday to sit down and ask questions and and you know, we're expected to be the ones that are presenting these plans and these visions for the city of Fall River. And that's not the way it works, right? We're supposed to support you in the vision for Fall River and give you the funding that you folks need to execute that.

That to me is is what we should have been talking about, not not listening to all these wants and needs. I, you know, I wanted to hear it from you, right?

That's what I wanted. And I'm sure we're going to have this same conversation 6 months from now, eight months from now.

I'm going to have the same list. The same list is going to be there. Um, you know, the park department is going to receive the same amount of funding because we've got different priorities.

And I don't I don't know. It's just it's it's been 10 years of just listening to the same thing over and over again. Um but I don't I don't discount you know what you have done as a director of community uh development to ensure that there are projects whether it's the Highland Park I remember that Britain park all these parks I appreciate that but it's our responsibility and the city's responsibility once we get the

open space and recreational plan to to kind of go off that master plan uh so we can keep keep everybody honest in terms of the priorities moving forward.

Before I yield, can we get the baseball fields unlocked at North Park, please?

No.

Why not?

That cost money.

Does it how much?

I got to put that in the budget.

10 $10.

So, can we get I'll work on it.

Thank you. I keep getting uh you know messages about not being able to use that baseball field.

That's the that's the little league field right?

Correct.

Yep. It's locked. So I know there are some kids out there that are trying they got to jump the fence to be able to use it to do pickup baseball. You know, there's nothing wrong with the problem is a dog park.

Yeah, there were walking dogs in there constantly.

People don't pick up.

They don't pick up. That's why we Yeah, but it's a public park though at some point, right? So, I mean, we're locking it up whether that they're walking the dogs over there or right North Park. I mean, they were setting up in the dugouts, too, the homeless at one time. That was part of the issue.

Fargo Police Department of the problem.

But the the enforcement, right? So, this is this is what I'm talking about, though.

We So, we've got we've got baseball fields that are locked up because people are using the, you know, the parks for because it's a dog park. And and so, you know, one of the visions should have come down saying that we need to let dogpock, right? That that should have probably been a conversation that we should have let off with. Um to hear that there's a baseball field that's

locked up because the only way we can we can actually, I guess, police the issue of of dogs, we'll open it tomorrow, council.

Thank you.

Okay.

I just And if if dogs go in there, they go in there. We'll open it tomorrow.

Right. I mean Okay. Open it tomorrow.

Do do you disagree? I mean, it's it's a public public park. I mean, if Right.

And and I would and listen and I and I don't disagree with you. I I would hope that the residents recognize and if we have signs, I mean, we have signs out there. But if somebody does have their dog out there, they should be cleaning it up, just no different than the park. I I get that.

That's the problem. Then we'll get a phone call saying that the dogs are defecating in the parks. Why don't we put bags out there?

All right. If you want to go back and forth with me, Mr. Dion, then lock all the parks.

What?

Chain up all the parks because that that's a that's a perfect response. I'm I'm all for that. Let's lock up all the parks. I didn't say that councel.

But you're giving me I guess but you're giving me an attitude.

Unlock tomorrow.

Oh, no. Yeah, but you didn't have tomorrow.

There's a there's a way to say it and there's a way not to say it. So, if you're getting frustrated that I'm asking you to keep the the parks unlocked, then we can have a conversation cuz I'm trying to be nice about this whole conversation and the incompetency that's before us. So, I would I would suggest that if you don't want me to stop really calling people out, I didn't say that, councelor. I told you

it'll be open tomorrow. You don't have to get all huffy and upset.

Okay, game's on. I I I didn't yield yet, right? So, we're gonna Let's just keep it about the parks.

We We are We're going to keep it about the parks, right? So, I can continue and I'll go right down the list.

We on the same page or we not on the same page?

We're on the same page.

I yield.

Thank you. C2.

Good evening.

Good evening. Good evening.

Um, soccer field at Britain Park. It's underutilized now because it needs to be repaired.

I don't think it's under for what reasons?

Britain Park is not I don't think it's underutilized.

There's three leagues using that.

That soccer field is used.

So, it's not being used any less than it than it used to be.

No. No.

Okay. So, we do have a soccer field that people can use. Yes.

That is utilized. That is basically centrally located in the city.

Um, and I can say that because I live in the south end and I'm there's a mile difference between North Park and Britain Park and that's halfway if you live in the south end or extreme north end of the city. Um, the turf does need to be replaced.

Astro turf.

Yes.

Okay. And we don't have the money to do that.

Well, we do have the money. And the only reason I'm asking is, so we're talking about upgrading parks. If we can't repair what's there, how do we afford to upgrade and start from scratch, I guess, is where I'm going with that.

The the um upgrade of the turf will be a capital plan item, I believe.

Okay. Good.

Or it'll come out of free cash. One of them.

Okay, good. That's good to know. So, there is something. Um, and I'm only going to make one comment on the lights at Maplewood Park. So, you made the comment that it's not a safety issue because you haven't gotten any complaints. They haven't gotten any complaints. I can tell you this, it's a safety issue. And the reason I'm saying this is if you speak to the neighbors and if you attend the Maplewood

neighborhood meetings, I haven't been recently because they changed their meeting night to Tuesdays. It used to be Wednesdays. However, I went to those meetings for at least six or seven years and it was constantly coming up. People not happy about not having the lights in the parking lot because they were afraid for safety purposes and because things are going on in that parking lot that

wouldn't be if it were lit up.

Council, I not I would never say lights in a parking lot weren't weren't safe. I said that I would assess to see the safety issues associated with it.

That'll be done tomorrow. And I haven't received any complaints. None of us have received any complaints. So, Right.

That's what you said.

I will I will definitely look at those tomorrow. I never would I ever say it's not a safety issue.

Yeah. Um, so I guess my point is I believe that you haven't gotten the complaints, but just because you haven't doesn't mean they're not complaining, I suppose. Um, and that that they're not concerned. you know, if people are going to the games and the park is lit up, but the parking lot, which is a good distance away, is dark, the to get from the parking lot to the field. So, a lot

of people aren't utilizing the parking lot for that reason. They're they fear for their safety, but I will know more tomorrow.

Okay, good. With that, I yield. Thank you.

Thank you, Council. Council T, did you have a follow-up question or you Yeah, just just one real quick thing.

Um, it's more of a request as far as when you're doing the capital improvement plan for the parks, is there a public input option or do you canvas the public to get information? Like when I'm talking about reinvisioning some of the parks, have we ever reached out to the public to see what are the active trends per se or or things that people looking to do in the city that could

help us kind of reimagine some of the dead parks that we have? Typically, when you do a a capital plan for the city, you really don't engage in the in the public for something like that. There are times where the public will come up and talk to one of us and we'll try to revive something like that or get some information to add into the uh uh capital plan.

Would the administration be open to to surveying the public about reinvisioning the parks going forward in the city of Fall River? Yeah, I don't see a problem with that because I I think we talk we all have pieces of experiences of different activities that are becoming a thing.

But if we're really talking to Council Gimm's point, if we're talking about a vision going forward, let's start with asking the public, what are the things that you would like to see your city have available to them to then capitalize on? And again, if it's a if it's a growing trend, like you talked about some of the different sports coming in, then you could open yourself up to something unique and the state

says, "Oo, that's interesting. That's different. Let's let's fund that." So just a thought again more of a suggestion not a command but just a suggestion to see if we can begin building that plan going forward.

Just one thing kind of to add to that. I think a couple of the success stories of the last couple years are Dumont Field and you talk about like the public and you know we have a need. We have this facility. It's not being used. They have their own sweat equity and dollars into that facility. And then you know the city kicked in and got them to where they needed to be. And if you drove by

there at any point this summer there was multiple softball games going. I think that there the administration, the park board, we're all open to, you know, having those conversations and figuring it out and there is really good partnerships with the leagues that do exist. Correct. You know, we have a great relationship with Freeview soccer.

We have a great relationship with Maplewood Park. Um, this is the first I've heard of the lights in the parking lot at Maplewood. So, I mean, we'll follow up on that, but we we do have constant communication. I mean, I know Darren hears from them multiple times a week. So, it's we do hear from them. We do talk to them. Maybe not in official meetings, but the the phone rings.

Absolutely. No, but thank you for being open to that. I yield.

Thank you, Council. Councelor C1, did you have a follow-up at all?

I do. I do. Um, since we heard that things take a long time because obviously government moves slow. Um, so Mr. Dion, I don't know if you can answer that or or if Msaki can come down. So, in inactive funds, uh, and we've had inactive funds for for ages, right? So, Maplewood Patriot Park, $13,178.20, issued uh February of 2020.

It was authorized in 2017, so it's it's been sitting idle for um I don't know, going to be six years now. Uh Thomas Chupwac, $3,528.3.

Um also just idle for six years. So, we've got $43,000 that are just sitting there uh specifically for parks. Can somebody tell me what we're going to be doing with that?

So, I I will talk about the Patriots one at uh Maplewood.

We did look into those funds. There's a lot of limit.

When did you look into those funds?

What was that?

When exactly did you look into those funds?

Uh probably almost a year ago.

A year ago. Okay.

There's a lot of limitations to that.

And I'm sorry. Why Why is there a lot of limitations when it was an authorization bonding? Well, the the usage of those funds that's it was specifically for that playground and it was specifically I believe I'm confused on on that statement.

Do you want Yeah, I I would like somebody from finance to come down and explain to me when you have available funding that's left over from borrowing, how it can be turned over to a different project and how there's specific funds and we're not able to utilize that. Why? I mean, if the project's complete, how is there any limitations on that money?

And why am I not just hearing about it a year now?

So I I It's just as simple. You should have just unlocked the gate, right? Should have Let's just stay focused on this.

I'm not I'm not prepared to speak specifically to those funding sources in detail tonight. I can definitely get you those answers tomorrow. But in general, the way some of these prior bond authorizations could have been written could have been very detailed specific.

So I don't know that specific park example. So, I'm just going to say if it said, you know, prior bond authorizations could say something like to draw lines on this parking lot specifically now to do something else with the parking lot wouldn't be allowed. So, it just depends on how it was written. So, I'm not going to speak to that now, but that could be something like what he's mentioning. I'll look at

those amounts and I'm not sure if what's saying is idle is the authorization or if there's actual funds available. So, if it's just an authorization, this this funds available $13,178.

But is that cash in the bank or is that an authorization amount that's available?

It's your report says an item amount.

So I that's what I'm saying. I'm going to look into that and and get that detailed information because if it's just the authorization part that means that we have to then go out and take that debt out and then pay on that debt and that doesn't mean that the cash is available. It just means that the authorization is so we would just it's part of what we're looking at with the

capital plan. We will have all of that detailed. We will have information on how those funds are going to So the issue was $93,000. There's $13,178 left. If we have these conversations a year ago, what is the outcome?

So a year ago, we knew that there were limitations, but we didn't spend. So if it needs to be used to pay down the debt, why didn't we pay down the debt?

If it's sitting there idle that can be used for the park, why isn't it being used? And why am I now being told that it we sat here for a year with no explanation whatsoever that time and time again?

But council, I think she explained that she doesn't know if it can be used.

those conversations literally just heard from the director that he had these conversations a year ago. So somebody please at the table who had the conversation a year ago. If you know what the limitations are, then tell me what the limitations are.

That conversation happened with the prior CFO when with the prior city administrator, the three of them, the two of them had sat down.

Have you reviewed all these inactive plans, all these inactive projects and the monies that are sitting idle?

I have not reviewed all of them at this point in time because the city is flushed with money and we don't need money, right? because I keep hearing from everybody at the table, we need money, but we've got money that is sitting here not being used. And the administration is telling me that you haven't reviewed anything.

That's not what we said.

No, that's that's what you said. That's what was said at the table. Absolutely.

I I shouldn't say that's not what I have said and it's not that I haven't reviewed anything. I don't have the specific details prepared to speak to those tonight. I don't have my notes on all of them tonight to speak through in detail what's what's going on with those funds at this point in time.

Is there no work that can be done at the Thomas Chew Park for $30,000?

They just did the lighting.

Anybody?

They did the lighting.

There's got to be a need, but I don't know. I don't know.

There's got to be a need. Somebody would tell me there's a need, right? Cuz I for 45 minutes I heard there was a need.

There's got to be needs at the park.

There is. There is. Okay. All right.

Last thing they did was the lighting and they did some uh things take time. I know. I know things take time.

I yield.

Thank you, council.

There be no further question. I will say this. Um I don't think I've ever sat on the council, myself included, that have more particip more city councilors either coach, play, or participate in these parks than on this board right now. I know councelor Kadim has coached um CYU basketball and other things.

Councelor Hawk, councelor Kilby, councelor Poso coaches. I mean myself when I was young, when my kids were younger, we all coached. I'm not sure about the other counselors.

I go to games.

Some of them just witnessed. But even I look at Mr. McDonald, the chairman of the park board, and he's probably playing every park in the city as well.

So, it's a passionate issue. I put this on the agenda because it's been there for a couple years and we haven't talked about it and I thought maybe we'd get some information as to what our intentions were and where we're looking to do to improve a lot of these parks. I will say I don't think the participation with the younger children as much as it was when I was younger and some of you

out there I don't think they participate as much thanks to the cell phones. But there is a need to fix up some of these parks and maybe repurpose them for what could be used. One of the sports I see in other places that I don't see around here is Frisbee golf in these parks. I mean, you see that in a lot of parks now here and there. They're playing. It's it's a very simple thing they're putting

up in different parks because it's it's an easy sport to play and anybody can play it and it's it's it's quite interesting. Just one of the things that I see that's out there, but that's the only reason I put this out here so that we can figure out what our intentions were to do going forward with some of these parks. Um, I didn't think it was going to take an hour and 10 minutes,

but I'm kind of glad it did because we had a lot of questions answered and hopefully we can make some progress from here.

Motion to table. Second.

Motion to table has a made and second.

All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you all for coming down.

Thank you.

Second.

What's that?

Motion to adjurnn finance.

Motion to adjurnn finance made and seconded. All in favor?

Thank you, sir.

Any opposed?

Our finance is now adjourned.

Thank you all for coming down.

Appreciate it.

Regular city council may please come to order. Clerk will call the role. Hower Scadine here.

Dion here.

Hart here.

Kilby here.

Carrera here.

Ponty here.

Reposo here.

Tiff here.

President Chimera here.

Will everyone in the council chair please rise for a moment of silent prayer?

Please remain standing for salute to the flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public hearing may transmit this meeting to any medium.

Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by the president not deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Clerk Mr. President, the first item is a request from the mayor for the appointment of Bruce Alivera as harbor master.

Motion to confirm.

Second.

Motion to confirm has been made and second on on a motion counc. Do was this just a reassignment from the chief on this or do we have a reasoning for why one to the other?

Yeah, it has to be.

Yes. Officer Jose Barbosa uh resigned effective August 18th and the chief um appointed officer Bruce Soliva to the position.

Got it. I yield. Thank you.

Thank you, Council.

Motion to confirm has been made and seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

The next item is a request from the mayor for the confirmation of Caroline Aubin for the historical commission.

Motion to confirm. Second.

Motion to confirm has remained second.

All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Next request is also a request from the mayor for the appointment of Ryan Andrew Klene to the historical commission.

Motion to confirm.

Second.

Motion to confirm has been seconded. All in favor. Any opposed? Motion carries.

The next item is a request from the mayor in a gift order for the donation of a limited edition print of the original painting of the Captain Thomas J. Hudner Jr. by Brian Fox that was donated um to be on display here at Government Center.

Motion to accept, place on file the communication, adopt the order.

Second.

Motion to accept and place on file on the communication and adopt the order as a read and second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item four is a request from the mayor and a proposed ordinance for the salary amendment of the director of for river emergency management agency, the veterans grave officer and the senior aid.

Motion to refer to command ordinances.

Second.

Motion to refer to committee an ordinance and legislation is made and second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item five is also request from the mayor and an order establishing the spending limits of the library revolving fund for fiscal year 2026. Motion to accept and place on file the communication. Adopt the order.

Second.

Motion to accept and place on file the communication and adopt the order has been made and seconded. Under motion seat 7 counc.

Can I have the library administrator come down?

Possible.

Motion to wave the rules.

Second.

Motion wave rules is made and second.

All in favor? I any opposed?

Hi Mr. Maris. Hi uh Felicia Desmearis, library director.

So I have a question revol involves funding for the library. So I think it's appropriate to ask this question. So the traveling library, the bookmo, right? So apparently there was a change of where the library bookmobile goes and the frequency of the places it goes.

I want to hear from you. The reasoning I I was told was because of state funding.

So, can you explain to the council what changed from when the library bookmobile was launched a year and a half ago to now?

So, nothing has really changed. The only thing is our state funding. When I've filled out the paperwork, I this is the first time I'm doing it. So, what I've noticed is we have to report all hours that it's open to the public. And so when we go into schools, it's not necessarily open and accessible to the public, especially if it's going to private schools, public schools during

hours that they're open and it's within within the gates of those schools. Uh we can't count those as publicly accessible hours because not anyone can go on and use that that bookmobile as a resource. So because it's considered more as a branch and not as a part of the school system, it it needs to be open in that way. And so we wanted to be sure that we were keeping the bookmobile open so that we

can use part of our material um appropriation towards those items and and purchase new items for the bookmobile. We wanted to make sure that it was open to the public more often.

But she hasn't stopped going to the schools. she's just kind of lessened.

So, we're trying to make it 50/50, uh, with making sure that she's going into the neighborhoods, uh, community, different housing complexes, farmers markets, those kinds of things.

So, respectfully, I'm going to disagree on you on this because 5050 is more like 9010. So, the bookmobile last year, we used to see every other week. We're now going to see it once a trimester. So, in in a school year of of seven and eight months, we're going to see it three times.

That's a huge change from what the bookmobile was originally put out to be, right? And I would argue that schools, being an educator, schools are should be priority one for the for the level of books that the bookmobile has to get out to the kids. Now, I guess my greater question is with the change that you've recently seen, are you seeing the level of engagement in the other places, the

senior living facilities, the parks, these different events, are you seeing the same level of engagement of books being rented out that you were when the schools were being visited more frequently?

So, that I would have to check with my bookmobile librarian on. Um, it's not it's not so much a decision to say we don't want to visit the schools as much as we need to be able to report those hours as publicly accessible hours and open to the public. We have a requirement for how many hours we need to stay open to the public. And because part of our money goes to that as a resource, it

needs to be publicly accessible. So we're so we're look we're measuring publicly public publicly accessible versus actually being utilized.

Both.

So which one weighs more than the other?

It's not either or. It needs to be both.

Um so as a public library because that's how we're state because that's how our funding works. It needs to be public aside from that. It's almost as if we're funding a different department within our department.

And so I'd have to withhold the funds from that from that branch if it wasn't going to be accessible to the public.

Understood. Do you can you provide to the council a schedule of where the bookmobile goes in a month?

Yes. It's going to look different every month though, so I would have to get that to you. Um, so right now, so the change happened in what? August.

Yes.

Okay. So, could you provide August, September, and what October looks like as far as where this bookmobile is going and what your plans are for November and December?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I can tell you off the top of my head, she's already been to I if she hasn't gone to every school orientation, she will probably be there by by the end of uh I I think she's probably already been to most of the schools. Um, and then she's got quite a few like trunk or tree events, still the farmers markets, uh, apartment complexes, senior centers, almost all of

them. So, she she has uh she reaches out to each one of she has partners who kind of makes her schedule um along with their availability, too. So, it it does change. And then the weather as well.

Correct. I mean, and and don't get me wrong, it's not a criticism of Emily. I think Emily's doing a great job and she's very active and and very personable and gets involved with getting the books out to to everybody. I guess my greater concern is that we we celebrated the bookmobile and getting books in the hands of kids and now I think we just walked in the opposite direction with it. That's that my

concern as two-part as as a educator and as a city council of that.

I see that more priority one being utilized for kids because a lot of the kids and I know you can make the argument on the other side but you know we have one one branch of the library located where it is and the bookmobile opened up the wonders of getting literacy texts into the kids' hands and now it's been severely slashed.

It h it hasn't been slashed. Um we've just changed our schedule. It so when Leanne had started the bookmobile, she definitely um left the schedule more open and flexible and it kind of left a lot of time and a lot of availability for the schools and this was almost an experimental stepping into what a bookmobile could look for us and so the schools was the first thing that we wanted to expand into. Of course.

However, once the kids have their library cards and we do make those visits, we want them to come into the library because that collection is also only a very very small portion of what we have. So, we have resources that will help them later in life. We we really want to bring them into the library. And so it's it's really meant to be an outreach tool to bring them to the library, not to bring

the library just to them because we can't bring everything that we have there. So I don't disagree with you, but I guess I'm concerned about the idea. So you give them a library card and then the expectation is they're just going to come to the library when the actuality that's I don't I'm not seeing that happening. That's what I'm concerned about.

It is with continued visits. um she is she is still visiting the schools. I is your school's one of the private schools. Is that so that that might be a little bit why she's not going to those as often? Um because most of the time again we're publicly funded and so it's we need to make sure that we have the public areas covered as a higher priority because I I'm already

restricted as to where I can bring I say I can't bring the bookmobile to a restricted area or a private a private area a private group where just a certain set of individuals it it seems a little bit different cuz it's a school, but it wouldn't be any different if it was a private golf club and I brought the bookmobile there. If it's private and gated, it's not it's not sensible for a public

library to use its money and resources to go there and just provide these resources to one specific group of individuals.

Do you know what I'm saying?

I I do and and I don't know if I completely agree with you on that, but that's that's fine. That's a conversation for another day. Um, if you could provide that schedule, I think that will help gauge my conversation going forward and we can we can address it on another night.

Absolutely.

Thank you. I yield.

Thank you, Council Counc.

Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, not a question for the director, but uh, just Are we all set with the director?

I'm I'm all set.

All right. You can You're all set. Thank you.

Can I um make a motion that we submit a a letter to the administration?

Seven seven months ago, I uh requested from the administration uh an update from Al Aloe Vera on the surveillance cameras, the HVAC system uh and the state of the leaks over at the library.

I have not heard anything. Seven months, I know, you know, government moves slowly, but seven months I have not heard anything about the repointing of the building. I know there was grants that was supposed to be going out there.

There was supposed to be $100,000 that was used for oper.

I don't haven't heard anything. So, I'd like to make a motion that a letter be sent to the administration with an explanation of where we stand uh with a request for surveillance cameras, a new HVAC system, and the repointing of the library building.

Second.

Second with an amendment.

Motion has a meeting, seconded. What's the amendment?

Um that uh the council president add the item on our committee on finance agenda uh at uh the next city council meeting if possible to get an update. You don't need an amendment for that council. I'll do it.

Fair enough.

Fair enough.

Motion hasn't made and seconded.

We didn't vote on the other motion for the $20,000 yet. There was a motion in a second, Bob, for the revolving fund.

Do you want to do that one first and then do council kadim?

Okay.

What?

Did we say yes and I know? No, we didn't.

Yeah, we can vote on council cad and then we can vote on the letter. Okay.

All part of the same motion has been made and seconded to send a letter.

All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion.

Was that on the amendment?

There was no amendment. I told them I put it on the agenda.

Is everybody okay with that?

Good. Good. Yeah. Great.

Thank you.

Now on the motion on the revolving fun accept and we place our file indication adopt the order was made and seconded.

Was made and seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed?

Nope.

Motion carries.

Clerk.

Item six is a communication from the director of human resources regarding the investigation into concerns raised by the veterans benefit agent.

Motion to accept and place on file.

Second.

Motion to accept and place on file has a meeting and second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item seven is a communication from the board of election commissioners and the warrant for the municipal election scheduled for November 4th, 2025.

Motion accept placed on file and adopt the order.

Second.

Motion accept. Place on file.

Communication and adopt the order has been made and second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item eight, uh, recommendations from the traffic commission for amendments to the traffic ordinances.

Motion to refer to committee ordinances.

Second.

Motion to refer to committee on legislation is made in second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item nine are miscellaneous traffic ordinances for second reading and enrollment.

Motion so made.

Second.

Motion to pass through second reading and enrollment as made and seconded. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Whereas the city's experiencing an ever growing need for affordable housing units to ensure their residents of all income levels have access to safe, decent, and sustainable housing. And whereas the city council recognizes the creation of new housing developments presents an opportunity to address this need in a fair and responsible manner.

And whereas consistent with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40B, and the regulations of the Department of Housing and Community Development, DHCD, affordable housing shall mean dwelling units that are subject to a long-term use restriction limiting occupancy to income eligible households earning no more than 80% of the area median income, AMI, with sales prices or rent set so that such households pay no more than

30% % of gross income for housing costs and which are eligible for inclusion on the commonwealth subsidized housing inventory SHI.

And whereas other municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have implemented ordinances and bylaws requiring a percentage of newly constructed housing units to be designed as affordable consistent with the principles of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B.

And whereas such measures provide for long-term affordability by requiring deed restrictions that maintain affordability for a period of not less than 50 years. And whereas ensuring that future development includes affordable housing is essential to promoting balanced growth, economic stability, and equitable access to housing opportunities across the community. Now therefore, be it resolved that the

committee on finance convene with the administration, city engineer planner, and corporation council to discuss implementing the following restrictions for housing development within the city of Fall River.

One require that any housing development project consisting of 10 or more units set aside between 10% and 20% of such units as deed restricted affordable housing.

And two, ensure that these affordable housing units remain restricted as such for a minimum of 50 years. and three be modeled on and consistent with the intent and framework of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 40B and be it further resolved that following the discussion in the committee on finance the committee on ordinances and legislation convene with the administration the city engineer/planner

and corporation council to discuss the creation of a proposed ordinance to implement these restrictions into the city code motion to adopt Second motion to adopt has been made and seconded. All in favor on the motion you have council see one counc resolution.

No I apologize uh to the clerk for the uh long resolution. Uh however I I think it was just pointed to um really just articulate what what the needs were and and I think this is just the beginning.

we we talk about affordability and then we we start talking about the development of the city and and concerns about gentrification. Um and when you start looking at other communities throughout the Commonwealth, we we there are so many communities that are already doing this uh setting aside. So I think this is while not going to solve um the overall concerns about affordability. I

think it does help uh to put something in place to at least begin those conversations to see if uh an ordinance is is needed or uh if there's any uh zoning changes that should be taking place with regards to potential overlay districts. Uh so the from where I'm standing right now, this is really just the starting point for discussion purposes and I and I hope that once the administration comes down uh with the

city engineer planner, we can have a little bit more conversation back and forth on on what truly makes sense uh for the city uh moving forward and then hopefully we can come up with a compromise to to get that um ordinance passed. Uh so with that, I just appreciate the support from my colleagues and I I think uh we're all on the same page uh with regards to the affordability component uh of housing

for Far River. With that, I yield.

Motion has remained second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 11 is a citation for Lori and Rita for 43 years of dedicated service to the Fall River Police Department.

Motion to adopt.

Second. Motion to adopt has a made in second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 12 is a citation for Anna Riley, the 2026 Rhode Island Superintendent of the Year.

Motion to adopt a second.

Motion to adopt as a main second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Motion to uh take number 14 out of order and refer it to the committee on public works and transportation.

Second.

Second.

Motion has been made to take 14 out of order and refer to public transition has been made and seconded. In favor, any opposed? Motion carries.

Motion to take 13, 15, 16, and 17 together.

Second.

Motion to take 13, 15, 16, and 17 together. Has made and seconded. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Is there a motion to adopt the order?

Motion to adopt the orders. Second.

Motion to adopt item 13, 15, 16, and 17.

has remained second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Mr. President, would you like me to read the items for the public setification?

Thank you.

Item 13 was a curb removal hearing for the Lincoln Development LLC for the removal of 16 ft um for a total opening of 32 feet at 439 Pine Street. Item 14 was the item that was referred to the committee on public works and transportation that was filed by Ryan Wardell of 312 Mohawk Drive for the removal of 34 ft for a total opening of 58 ft at 312 Mohawk Drive.

Item 15, joint Paul locations uh from Mass Electric Company as well as Verizon New England for Current Road, Rigenback Road, Whipple Street, Stewart Street, and Brighton Avenue.

Item 16 were joint pole relocations um on 7th Street, Bedford Street, and 8th Street. And then item 17 was a solely owned pole location uh also on Rigenback Road and on Current Road.

Item 18 is an order for the auto body shop uh renewal license of Gabriel Cabraw DVA competitive auto body and sales at 1021 Locust Street.

Motion to adopt.

Seconded.

Motion to adopt has been made and seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 19 is an order for the auto repair shop license renewal of Wayne Senell DVA Wayne's Auto and Performance at 122 Lel Street.

Motion to adopt. Second.

Second.

Motion to adopt as made in second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

We have the police chief's report on licenses.

Motion to adopt.

Second.

Motion to adopt as a second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Item 21 is the number of claims.

Motion to refer to corporation council.

Second.

Motion defer to corporation council.

Main second. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 22 is the fall public library annual report for fiscal year 2025.

Motion to accept and place on file.

Second.

Motion accept and place on file as a second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 13 is a letter from a city resident regarding enforcement of city ordinances related to public safety concerns. Um this uh constituent had an issue with a large trailer um truck parking um near her home.

Motion refer to item 23. Correct.

Yes. Yes.

Motion for committee on public safety police chief and the director of traffic and parking.

Motion police chief and the building commission parking and refer to committee on public safety as made second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 24 are zoning board of appeals minutes for the August 21st, 2025 meeting.

Motion to accept, place on file. Second.

Motion accept and place on file as a meeting and second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 25 are drain layer licenses for Daniel's Asphalt Services Inc. and DB and Sun Excavating Inc.

Motion to approve. Second. Motion to approve has made and seconded. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Motion to take 26 through 30 together, please.

Seconded.

Motion to take items 26 through 30 has been made and second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Let the clerk read them first.

You can read them. M clerk.

Thank you. Uh item 26, public hearings for the uh September 9th, 2025 city council meeting, committee on finance.

Council September 9th, 2025th. Committee on finance, September 23rd, 2025.

Regular meetings of the city council for September 9th and September 23rd, 2025.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion to approve as made second. All in favor?

I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Item 3. 31 is a communication from the Department of Public Utilities regarding a notice of public hearing. um for authorization to issue long-term debt securities uh to exceed $1.4 billion.

Motion to accept and place on file.

Seconded.

Motion accept and place of files remain and seconded. All in favor?

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Item 32. Notice of a rescheduled hearing with regards to the general increase in base distribution rates for gas service in a performance-based rate making plan from the Department of Public Utilities.

Motion to accept and place on file.

Second.

Motion to accept and place on file has been made and seconded. All in favor? I.

Any opposed? Motion carries.

Mr. President, may we have a recess for the signing of an ordinance and the election warrant?

City council recess for two minutes for signing of the ordinances.

Hold on. Let's wait for council to see.

I take it back.

use for a ordination of a proposed ordinance for miscellaneous traffic.

Motion to pass be ordained.

Seconded.

Motion to pass be second. All in favor?

Any opposed? Motion carries.

That's it.

Motion for executive session.

N.

Is there a motion to go into executive session?

Motion to executive session.

Second.

Motion in executive session has been made and seconded. All in favor? You have to read point of order. Mr.

Mr. President, could you please read the statement um before certain aspects of policy and strategies should not be publicized to the community and the purpose of the executive session is to review the minutes of the committee on finance meeting held on July 28, 2020 and the regular meeting of the city council held on June 22nd, 2021. Pursuant to Massachusetts General Law, chapter 30A, section 21A4,

the city council will return to open session and announce whether the termination of their review was to disclose the minutes or to continue to non-disclosure.

On the motion to enter into executive session council yes.

Dion, no.

Hart, yes.

Kilby, yes.

Pereira, yes.

Ponty, yes.

Raposo, yes. Tiff.

Yes.

President Camaro.

No.

Motion carries.

Motion carries. So, all non-participants must leave the chamber.

We'll close the doors.

City Council reconvened open session.

The council in its executive session decided to refer the matter to corporation council so he can redact the minutes and send it back to the council for review. Then we'll make a determination.

Motion to adjurnn.

Second.

Seconded.

Motion to adjurnn has made and seconded.

All in favor? I.

Any opposed?

Motion carries. Good night everybody.

Good night.

Hey hey hey.

pain.

Hey hey.