The Fall River Commission on Disability held a meeting on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026. After reading the open meeting law statement and conducting a roll call where all six commissioners were present, the commission moved through its agenda. There was no public input. The minutes from the November 12th, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously by a roll call vote.
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City Officials
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Oh, this is a meeting of the Fall River Commission on Disability for Wednesday, January 14th, 2026.
0:14I just got a disturbing message that my recording is full and I need to delete it. So, if I sound frazzled, I am.
0:24Um, but this meeting will be recorded.
0:32Um, can we do roll call? No, I got to read the open meeting law statement. Okay.
0:41Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whe uh whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.
1:23Um and I don't know where the echo is coming from but uh I will proceed. Can we do roll call?
1:33Chairman Dennis Pelli.
1:36Uh, present.
1:38Vice Chairwoman W Pico here.
1:41Commissioner Lisa Silva here.
1:45Commissioner Dan Robelard here.
1:48Commissioner Ann O'Neal Soua here.
1:51Commissioner Katie Driscoll here.
1:56Okay. The next item is public input. And I'll ask three times. Is there any public input?
2:07Is there any public input?
2:12Is there any public input?
2:17Okay. The next item is approval for the minutes of the meeting of November 12th, 2025.
2:26The motion to accept the minutes on November 2025 before the disability.
2:36Second.
2:37Oh, thank you. Um, are there any any comments?
2:44Okay, I'll move to a roll call.
2:46Chairman Dennis Palselli, yes.
2:49Vice Chairwoman Debbie Pacho, yes. Commissioner Lisa Silva.
3:01Yes.
3:03Commissioner Dan Roblard.
3:05Yes.
3:06Commissioner Annne O'Neal Souza.
3:08Yes.
3:09Commissioner K Driscoll.
3:11Yes.
3:15Okay. Workg groupoup updates. Um, the only ADA upgrade date update I have is that I think on February we'll have more of a comprehensive report because we're going to be meeting our work group will be meeting with um Mike Dion, the director of the community development agency on um an a a project to construct a sensory playground at Avat.
3:46So I don't know all the details about it but our work group ADA work group will be meeting with Mike Dion about that. So I think you'll hear much more next month.
3:58Are there any questions about that?
4:01No, not at this time.
4:03All right. Um policies.
4:08Um at this time um there are no updates.
4:14Okay. Finance. you should have all gotten the December budgetary report and I have no outreach at this time. Um, obviously as this as the date of the scholarship event on May 16th draws closer, there'll be more updates on that um under this under this item.
4:42Next item is old businesses. Is there any old business to come to this commission?
4:48Mr. Simmon, one request on Say it again.
4:54One brief.
4:59Wait a minute. Um, Commissioner Dan, can you repeat that for some reason?
5:03Yeah. Can I ask one brief question on outreach?
5:07Oh, yeah.
5:09Uh, thank you. Do we have any uh uh date from Jeff Rugan about the uh community access? Honestly, not yet. Um not yet, Dan. I'm going to be reaching out to Jeff about that. I know he's given us the month of June, but I don't know if they've come out with their calendar yet, their schedule.
5:30So I'll All right. But it's uh sometime in June 2026.
5:37Yep. Sometime in June 2026.
5:40And who exactly do we plan to open it up to?
5:47I think um I'd like it open to the obviously city departments like city operations, community maintenance.
5:56Um I think housing authority can get something out of it even though housing is a different set of regulations.
6:06um and the school department and police because there's also disability parking.
6:12So, those are the those are the city agencies that I'd like to open it to.
6:17And I think um if if if we don't get enough of those, then we'll just open it up to other communities that might want to. But I'm going to be very I'm going to be working very closely with Jeff on that.
6:31One additional question on outreach. I think that's the proper place for this question. Uh, are we going to be meeting uh with Fed Director Oven Shane at some point?
6:45Yes, we are.
6:48Uh, we don't have a date yet. I still No.
6:52Very good. Thank you. I Any other old business?
7:07Okay, new business. Um, our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 11th, 2026.
7:15Is there any other is are there any new business items?
7:19Um, Chairman Palis, this Katie Driscoll.
7:22I wanted to to share a couple of new business items with the committee. Um, Community Connections is hosting a couple of additional accessible yoga series in partnership with the First Congregational Church on Rock Street and Heron Yoga Studios. So, we'll have one in January and also in February, Tuesday, January 27th, Tuesday, February 24th at 10:00 a.m. These are free and they are fully accessible and inclusive,
7:53open to the community. So, I'll share that flyer. And we are also hosting for for families everywhere a webinar on some financial planning with a specific focus around special special needs trusts and that's another resource I can share as well that that people can pass along.
8:12Katie, can you do me a favor and send me those flyers and I'll see that they get on our website.
8:18Great. Thank you. I will. And also congratulations to the community connections for being named organization of the month on WSAR by the Donald J.
8:28Medeiros. This is not meant as a commercial by the way. Um but that those are the two that sponsors the organization of the month. So thank you.
8:41Is there any other new business?
8:46Okay. Hearing none, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn.
8:50Motion to adjurnn.
8:54Do I hear do Excuse [clears throat] me.
8:56Do I hear a second?
8:59Second.
9:01All right. Um, I need a roll call vote.
9:04Chairman Dennis Pelli, yes.
9:07Vice Chairwoman Debbie Pacho, yes.
9:11Commissioner Lisa Silva, yes.
9:14Commissioner Dan Robelard.
9:16Yes.
9:17Commissioner Ann O'Neal Souza.
9:20Yes.
9:21Commissioner K Driscoll.
9:24Yes.
9:25We are returned.
9:27All righty. Thank you everyone.
9:29Thank you. Thank you.