5.19.2026 Redevelopment Authority

what we talked about.

Uh, welcome to the May 19th, 2026 meeting of the Fall River Redevelopment Authority. Person went to the open meeting law. 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 recording or transmission are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Roll call. John Ericson, Ann Kee, Benber, also attending, Sarah Paige, executive director, John Coughlin, legal counsel, Ken Fiola, administrative consultant, and Karen Martin, project manager. First item, uh, if there aren't any comments on the March 25th, 26 uh, minutes, I'll entertain a motion to under this agenda item.

Motion approved March 25th, 2026 open session minutes. Second.

Second.

Fson. Yes.

Medeiros. Yes.

Ron Rousen. Yes.

And Keane. Yes.

Ben Fleber. Yes. Thank you. Um on the warrants, you may notice we have two months.

Yes.

Uh April and May, which Joan has reviewed both. Uh are there any questions on those? Um, one is 82 82,0007446 and the the uh May is 46,48529.

Mhm.

Correct.

Uh there's no questions. We'll approve those. Motion.

Would you like a motion for each one of them separately or both of them together?

Um you can throw them both together.

Okay. Motion approve the April warrant in amount of $82,746 and also the May warrant in amount of $46,48529.

Second.

Second.

Jen, yes.

Joe Harris, yes.

Ron Rousen, yes.

Dan Keen, yes.

Final. Yes.

Thank you. Um so in your package you have the um you have uh the executive director's amendment uh employment agreement. Uh Joan Joan and uh Sarah and I went over this was that a couple weeks ago April. Wow. April. Um, if everybody's okay with that, I'll entertain a motion to uh to approve this motion to approve that and direct that employment amendment to authorize the chair to sign the amendment.

Second.

Second.

John Ericson. Yes.

Medeiros. Yes.

Ron Ren. Yes.

Keep uh Karen is going to talk about Northfield uh point.

Uh yes. So, um, the final phase of work at Northfield Point is, um, the bid is due this Thursday at 2:00. Um, I think we're going to anticipate probably getting maybe two to four bids based on, um, who was in attendance at the pre- bid meeting, which there was probably fewer than I thought were going to be there. And, um, and then there's been some questions that have come in we've addressed through Agenda. Um, so it

looks like there's probably going to be like two to four um biders and they all look pretty pretty legit and responsible. So hopefully we'll get um a reasonable number and our hope is so our meeting for next Wednesday the 27th we're still going to need to hold whether we you want to do it via Zoom or whatever, but um we are going to need it and hopefully we'll bring to that meeting our lowest responsible bidder so

that you can approve it and we can get that under contract. Um, and then that's kind of it on that work. Um, Karen, when is that date again?

Thursday. Thursday at 2. I'm meeting Trevor at 2:30 to get the results.

And then the mooring fields and dingy dock. So, we are um under contract with um the state office of uh marine fisheries and wildlife to proceed with the work. Um I've got a proposal from beta for the um final phases of ensuring we get the work done which is for the bid phase services uh construction administration and closeout and then the resident engineering services. We're hoping to

get this approved tonight. Um it's all um money that was in the estimate um and has been was in the grant um um contract and we hope to be able to get the um the the bid package out on the street by mid June and hopefully be able to bid it um early July and get that underway and hopefully at least get the mooring fields all done at the same time that um Um the

Northville points going on. Um the big unknown is what the delivery time is going to be for the new dinghyd dock.

We're kind of um going into it at the peak season of when marinas are I mean the the dock manufacturers are making docks. So we're just going to have to see about that. Um but we'll probably get the timber piles into at the same time. So we just got to see when that dock's going to be available. So um that will be the unknown is to the end of that contract. But um so we're trying to

get um that all underway. I did meet with the um harbor master a few weeks ago and he gave us some more information about the standards for the mooring ball and numbering and the coloring and all of that. So that's all going to get incor incorporated into the um into the plans and specs. So hopefully that will go um go this summer also.

And so I just need to get the approval for to issue the amendment to beta.

Okay. So you you in your board package you have a copy of that amendment number five. Um if there's any questions uh we discuss it or if not one bid or is it was there several bids on this for for the we didn't bid we didn't bid this out. We got the proposal from beta since they're the ones who did all the this is the design.

Yeah.

Yeah. And they've been doing the other phases of it.

I want to make sure we don't do something for 69,300. We need more than one bid. I want to make sure people are Oh, no. This is No, because this is their engineering, so there that's exempt anyway.

Perfect.

Uh so, uh if everybody's cool with that, I'll entertain a motion to uh approve this uh amendment number five. Motion approved beta group proposal date is 41726 in the model 69,300 for the bid phase services construction administration and resident engineer services for the work associated with the new dingy dock in Warrenfields and to approve the chair or executive director to sign amendment number five

to be his agreement. Second.

Second.

John. Yes.

Maduras. Yes.

Ron Russ. Yes.

Keepberg.

Yes.

Thank you. Um Karen's going to update events.

Um I just wanted to let you know that um so event season will be getting underway. Um we Sam Barbosa, the city event coordinator, has um left her position. she's moved on to um um a different um different organization and they've um replaced her with the new girls um Sarah Martins and we're working with her to bring her kind of up to snuff with everything down at City Pier

and how everything works. So um I met on site last Friday with the representative from South Coast Health, which is the first event we're going to have this season, which is June 11th. Um I met with their event coordinator and went over any last minute questions with her.

they um seem to be in good shape with all the things that they have um in place. Sarah's just got a um a followup with the city departments to make sure all the permitting's been issued and everything. So that's in the works now.

And um so that event's June 11th. The next event is um June 18th uh which is kite night down at city pier that the city sponsors. And then the event after that is the 4th of July, the big um the big uh event down at City Pierre. And um then we have the Narrows concert on um August 22nd. Uh there Bay Coast is trying to pull together a potential uh concert on August 8th. I'm still waiting

to get from her all the form completed with the layout and all the ins and outs and everything so we can get that approved. So, I'm hoping we'll have that to the board no later than the June meeting.

What's the date that?

Um, supposedly August 8th, but what was the kite night again?

June 18th.

We don't have anybody doing um events on Monday nights like we have in the past two summers. We had folks doing yoga and stuff like So that so we did hear from the females in action group who does a boot camp on I think Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. So um I sent them to Sarah because they can't afford to pay the fees for city pier. So that has to be a city sponsored event like they

were in the past. I know Sam, I think, and I don't quote me on this, had gotten a grant um to at least do that first year when she did the yoga and the um and the boot camp with FA. So I and she's done it for two years and I don't know how it was all funded last year. So Sarah's working on that right now to work out the details with the city and

and the group. So, there haven't been any inquiries about um the individual yoga studios out there. Um and it's just been that the females in action have reached out. So, SAR's working on that right now.

Okay. Thank you.

So, did you say the Narrows was having an event?

The their take me to the river is August 22nd.

So, we got three events. Three large three large events. Yeah. And there could be a fourth.

Sarah, do you want to talk about the Yeah. Fourth of July. Yeah.

So, um, lots of news on the urban renewal plan issue. So last time I reported to you, we understood that well we had been told by EOHLC that the new regs were in place and our um MEEPA certificate that we had would be acceptable and we were all set and we were thrilled. And then Maggie, who works closely with us, came back from a leave and she said that they need

more and she asked if John Coughlin could write an opinion about how we met the the rags and the rags are not terribly clear. So, um, that didn't seem very viable. And, uh, Ty and Bond, who are the engineers who worked with us on our, um, submission so far, the environmental notification form, um, they had a call with Tori to try to get to the bottom of this. And we have a memo that Ken just

looked at, John reviewed, and we met this morning with um Emily Inis and the tie-in bond folks, and we all think that I mean, basically Tori Kim is saying that they didn't really think about groups like us, and they really are probably just two of us, New Bedford and Fall River, that had submitted their environmental notific ification form got a certificate from MEPA and in that it

says you have to do this environmental impact report which basically costs about 25,000 in consultant costs and months of time typically and so um it was our understanding our read of the regulations that we wouldn't have to go ahead and do that and Tori is saying she would prefer that we go ahead and do it.

And there is an option for us to write to the secretary of um the environment energy and environmental affairs office and ask for the requirement for the environmental impact report to be rescended because of the new regulations.

Now Tori thinks we need to give tons of information about why we shouldn't have to do the environmental impact report, but we think that it's a pretty simple.

the new regs. It says in the transition rules that they apply to an submission like ours and we want to um have the EIR rescended which is something that Tori had told us before you could do. So that's what we're going to try now.

and um hopefully that will put this to bed.

So the two reasons not moving forward with that would be cost and time it sounds like.

Yeah. I mean, you know, I've been coming to you for months and months saying that we worked with develop, you know, groups like ours across the state to have the regulations changed. And the regulations were changed for housing to make sure that housing can proceed, that developers don't walk away from Massachusetts because it's so difficult.

and the lieutenant governor was clear that she didn't realize urban renewal plans were being scrutinized by NEPA and that was changed in the reg. So in the future, you're never going to have to do an environmental impact report. And the only reason that they're saying we would have to do it is because they had in under the previous rags written it up as something we needed to do.

and they're not they don't typically resend things, but this is an instance where the rags changed and the transition rules in the regs say that the new rags apply to a project like ours. Who's going to file the request, Emily, or do you have a sense of how that's going to Well, you know, we had thought we might ask you to file it because it might have more strength to it,

but um I don't know if I was waiting for the guide. Um you want to talk to the person?

Well, Tyian Bond was going to write something up for us to look at.

Okay. So if I get that tomorrow, we could work on that.

Okay.

Because we think it would have more teeth coming from you.

Final.

Yeah.

But we can resend anything.

We can resend anything.

But they have to give permission.

They don't have to give permission for it. We decide that we're going to we're not going to file the EIR. Then we're going to resend it in accordance with the new regulations.

Reapply the same thing.

Yeah. I don't see that being an issue.

Well, you're talking about two different things. You're talking about almost forgetting the original one and just filing again the new eggs. You're talking about asking them to actually take the old certificate and remove it from the certificate.

Just remove that from the certificate.

We looked at just file a new ENF.

It's It's going to be We'll have to go through all the public hearings again.

That's one public hearing.

Yeah, but everything has to be an ENF is five pages. That's all it is.

I would just spot a new ENF.

That's not what I understand from Tai and Bond. They told me they'd tell us how much time and we could we could put an ENF together ourselves. We would need T.

Well, we have to use the new form.

Yeah.

In the right.

We could do that. I'm just telling you, I think we'd be better off trying to file a new ENF.

It's not like it'd be faster.

We've been talking about this for 3 months now. You know, we've been talking about this far longer than the the new change and it's been 3 months.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They changed the heat 3 months ago.

Now we're going to have to go back and forth back and forth. It's like enough is enough. We'll just file a new ENF if we can change the project so much and that's it.

Who filed the original ENF? Was that Emily or Ty and Bond or who did the original?

Tyen Bond for us.

Well, Ty and Bond thought it would be way easier to write this letter and um at least within a new if you're fileing the a new ENFM, there's a statutory period that they have to respond.

Mhm.

You file a letter, sit on it.

We don't know how long that period's going to be.

You want to have a call with time on Yeah. Yeah, I mean they they couldn't even estimate what they thought it would cost, but um Well, I don't necessarily think we need time to file. We have all the information, so why do we need them to redo it?

I don't know. I haven't seen the new form. Um and you have to then ask them to basically have to resend the original ENF and submit a new one.

My birthday today I turned 50 today.

We shouldn't have to do that under the new ranks, but Well, we shouldn't have to go for permission.

Right. They're telling us we need to go for permission, right? So, it's crazy.

Is there any kind of deadline with this?

Well, just so we want our urban renewal plan done, you know, we've been going without our urban The focus of the urban renewal plan is on housing, which it is.

Yeah. housing is a priority of the state, then that should be enough for the final of a new ENF to move this thing forward.

But we can we can have a conversation with Tai Bond to see what they say about it, maybe get a copy of that form. But I filed ENFS in the past. Unless it's a lot different than what I used to file, it's not that big a deal.

They thought it was complicated. We'll have to translate it into three languages and have that hearing. The hearing's not that big a deal, but uh we'll have to wait time periods to have the hearing and just go through that whole process.

I don't know if this sort of time period for an ENF is pretty quick. It's 30 days after have to be filed. I think no matter what get stuck in this bureaucracy, you file a letter and they sit on it, you file an ENF has has new statutory time frames, right?

Yeah. Exactly. have definitive time frames.

Starts the clock again.

Correct.

I mean, Maggie, it sounded like she'd accept a legal letter saying the rigs cover us and we don't need to do anything.

It's not Maggie's call. It be Meepa's call.

Right. That's what I don't understand about that. It's like Maggie's got an army of lawyers and she's saying, "Right, somebody tell me I don't have to follow what Meep is saying. I That just doesn't make any sense."

That doesn't make any sense. It just means they want to cover themselves, I think.

But put them aside. You got to get through deeper. That's the trick, right?

Either through resending what's in there, filing a new one somehow.

Well, if you resend it, then it's just a it's the you're going to have to do to resend the ENF. This understand we had an ENF file. The ENF file led to an EI, right? So if we resend the E only that section of the E, you just resend the requirement for an EI.

It's almost like an amendment, right? But that ENF, the current ENF has stuff in there that we're required to do.

Well, the ENF is fine, I think.

Well, the ENF is the foundation for the EIR, right?

Right. So if we resend the EIR, we still got that foundation.

You only you're only asking to resend that one provision about the EI, right?

Yeah. So the ENF would stand and the ENF is acceptable under the regs under the transition rules.

But there's findings within the ENF to do things, right?

You got to do certain things in EIR.

It it require it says you need to do an EIR, but we're just talking about the it's not in the ENF, it's in the certificate. So that's the problem, right? That's why I think it may make more sense to do completely different.

Okay. Okay. Well, let's look at that tomorrow.

Um, Flint or No, we did Flint. Um, NMA, you want to talk about NAM?

Um, well, I actually wanted to say a little more about the Flint. Okay.

So, the water line is in thanks to Karen and Tim and getting that done. And they're really happy with the water line going to the garden. And um there are a lot of new raised beds and lots of boxes with herbs and vegetables growing. Um they brought some seating in so that you can sit down while you're gardening. And um people are really happy about that.

And it was a really nice um grand opening of the Quickean the extension of the Quickean Trail and the garden. And um then the other thing I wanted to mention is we put a whole partnership group together. Um when we were applying for the TDI grant and I really want to keep that partnership grow group meeting. It includes Health First and um Bay Bank, Bay Coast Bank agreed to be part of it

and a lot of businesses and um uh the dentist and lots of folks agreed to be part of it. And so I want to keep that group moving forward. And some of them are doing, you know, a number of things in the neighborhood, working with the neighborhood council. So, I've been torn about going after a mass downtown initiative grant that would have a consultant come next spring to kind of help that group formalize itself.

And Ken and I talked about it and it's, you know, we don't want people doing a lot more planning. Um but this would be an opportunity for that group to think about its future and how it wants to operate over years. Um so but the other problem with that is we are going for a grant um for the NMA group for the can the Kathan lighting which is um strings of bulbs on tensioned overhead cables

that go between poles um to create a real lighting canopy over the street that would attract attention and make the restaurant district feel really um attractive and exciting. Um so it's poss so it's possible to apply for both in that program, but they are competing with each other and it's possible you wouldn't get funded for both.

So, the CA the lighting one is the priority and I'm still up in the air whether we are going to submit one for the flint and Mike and I have been talking about it and um any I know Ken thinks we shouldn't um I it's not that I should I don't think we should. I'm just Is it Is it an annual one? Can you apply it next year? Yeah, we can apply next

year, but you know, it's if we apply next spring, we wouldn't be doing the work until the spring after.

When when's the last time the group met?

Um, December.

And do they have without the input from us? Are they meeting?

No, I told them I'd get them back together. So I don't know if we're trying to put something together that is being this hand is originating organically, right? A bunch of people getting together to further their vision or if we're forcing it and that's the question I have, right? Is this cuz if we're forcing it, I'm not sure well what the commitment is, right? as opposed to organically coming originated

and helping the organic initiative as opposed to something that would drive it from the top down and has done a lot of work.

And that's what I'm saying, right? I just don't know the it's not that I'm opposed. I'm just trying to figure out what the real interest is.

Well, when we put out there that there was the TDI opportunity, people came out of the woodwork and were excited about it and were really bummed out when we didn't get it. and we agreed that we'd keep meeting and there's enthusiasm among the group.

Okay. But maybe it's worth it if they're committed to it.

I mean, some of those businesses just feel kind of desperate that, you know, the dentist's office is in the midst of that horrible mess of the building. Um, and you know, her clients keep coming because she's been there forever and she has a strong following, but um, people, you know, the stories are challenging. She's she really wants change in that neighborhood and she sees the need to really advocate

and and a number of them um kind of came to us when they heard we were doing this and wanted to get engaged.

So um if they give us the grant money, do we get to pick which one to spend it on or they we get to pick our consultant?

No. Which which one of those two groups sort of Oh, no. They would either fund one or the other or both. And because we've gotten some attention on the Flint and NMA, I think there's the potential that we would get funded for both.

But if it's if it's not one or the other, then apply for both. Got nothing to lose.

Who's doing this grant program, Sarah?

Oh, it's uh one of the onetop uh grants that um it's called the mass downtown initiative and it was defunded last year. Um and and then there was such um advocacy for it, it got refunded. Um is this through mass development or another state agency?

I think it's through um economic development. Okay.

Yeah, it's not mass development and we've not had any we've not done anything with them previously.

We haven't um trying to think if the city has. I think the city I think Fall River has gotten mass downtown initiative money before. I can check that. I'm quite sure. We're very familiar with it. I don't think we years ago the city get downtown money, but that was like during the Lambert administration. I don't think that was 20 years ago.

But I don't think there's been other funding sources specifically to the downtown.

And I guess what constitutes a downtown?

Um, it can be, you know, a commercial district.

When do the applications have to be submitted by?

June 4th.

And you know, and then you would hear back within a week, two week. What What is the time frame? The fall.

Yeah, we don't hear until the fall.

And then installation would be in the fall.

Oh, the the lighting. We're just applying for a designer to design the lighting because it's going to be really complicated on that street. We've got to put up posts and you've got to make sure that it's um going to hold up through major storms. And so um so we have to go for um we're going for a grant to just design it and then next year if it gets designed we could go for a grant to

implement it.

Got it.

Sarah, is there a dollar limit on these grants? Um the it's a h 100,000 for the um one to design and yeah the two that we would apply for um are consultants so they're a 100,000 max if we want to do the lighting next year there's a 200,000 max or you can go for 500,000 if you get some local match for it.

So it would give us, you know, if we designed it, it would give us time to see if the community foundation would help be a match or we could look at, you know, what other private entity might match it.

How much money would you would we request this time around?

100,000 for projects.

Um, I'm not sure we'd do a 100,000 for the flint. We would for the lighting.

I'm not sure that the consultant that we would hire for the Flint I I'm not I'm not sure it would be 100. I bet it would be more like 80.

Does CBA have someone working with the Flint businesses right now?

Uh no. Mike would really like someone working with the businesses. Gloria is doing it to some extent under her love your block.

She's working with the businesses to some extent, but she's not gathering them together. the way we're talking about um and she's more talking with them and getting she's gotten parking issues resolved. She's worked with the funeral home around some issues they were having. So, she's been doing really good work with businesses there. Um and she helped us pull this partnership together from businesses she'd been

working with. Um, but she is her grant is up in October. And so part of this is also I quite sure we're losing Gloria and so having a consultant work with the group the people she's been working with could be really good.

Did you want to say anything else about Milwood?

Um uh let's see.

No, I think that's um Oh, I did want to say that Tracy is a member of NMA and really helpful from Frack and this uh effort she did this weekend went really well with the trolley going from art studios and different places and it uh went to purchase streets. So the restaurants would um get visited by the people on the trolley and um I went by the the Hud building um on

Saturday. It was uh an exhibit the city throughout the years. So it's kind of showed a lot a lot of historical um photographs and different paintings, but it was interesting and um it was a good turnout. was a small kind of venue, but yeah, it was uh worth checking out.

Oh, that's great.

Was that one of the stops?

Yeah, one of those.

Yeah, I I got on the trolley briefly and it was full. I got I didn't ride on it, but it was full while I looked at it.

Good crap. Yeah.

Yeah. I just ended up walking down there, my wife and Henry and I. But, um I did see the trolley kind of over near the carousel.

Yeah.

But it looked like there were decent.

Where did you see it? Was at this shape park.

Yeah. right in that other building there.

Yeah.

Nice.

Yeah. My husband when I was away and um he had a really good time and that was Tracy's sense was that the the trolley was full most of the time and people had great energy and were having fun and um it was a lot of work for her to pull it all together. So, she's wondering if she's going to do it next year. But it was really Yeah. They stopped across from my house

at the theater. Uh the little theater and there was a bunch of people there.

It's good turnout.

It's nice to see.

Um if there's uh no further matters for the open session that chair makes a finding an open session would have a detrimental effect on negotiating position of the public body. The purpose of the executive session is to approve the executive session minutes from March 25th, 26 and discuss strategy with respect to potential real estate transactions for properties located at 45 Anowan Street, Fall River at the

Vault Street Corridor, 427 Plymouth A Fall River and 310 South Main Street, Fall River Mass. I'll entertain a motion to enter into executive session and we will not return to open session. Motion to motion to enter into executive session and we will not return to open session.

Second.

Second.

John Action. Yes.

Joan Medeiros. Yes.

John Ruskin. Yes. And Keen, yes. Ben Fleberg, yes.

Thank you.