5.28.2024 City Council - Committee on Real Estate

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be call to order uh Mr clerk call a roll please here here here first item is number two uh to adopt or I'm sorry yeah open me door pursuant to the open me or any person may make an audio or video recording this public hearing or meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or Transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those

present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible now please call a roll we did okay okay thank you a little off today so item number two the minutes please number one inut Cien we have one okay Alexander Sylvia um is the only individual to sign up 148 Purchase Street Fall River the issue is the hry Sylvia school and pis agreements thank you hello Alexander Silva 148 purch Street um happy to see the real estate

committee meeting uh I would just ask that the committee consider a possible future agenda item uh to discuss any future sales of the bank Street Armory um I don't think that the committee discussed it at all in the recent um effort to dispose of the property and I think that the real estate committee could be a very valuable Forum uh to solicit Community input kind of try to maybe figure out what we're going to do

with the future of that building I think this committee is actually um situated for that uh secondly the Sylvia school I think some people may have saw a recent Herald news article saying that the city was going to be taking possession of the syvia school former Sylvia school on Hartwell Street um again and uh so I would also ask the committee consider a future agenda item to discuss the Sylvia

school and what the city plans on doing uh with that future disposition maybe getting ahead of the ball on that one um and then also just remind the community and the committee that that school is actually only returning to the city's hands as a result of efforts of the preservation Society of Fall River uh inves gaining the purchase and sale agreement uh as a result of that it was

discovered that conditions of sale were attached to the property and the reverter Clause that was used to bring the property back to the city's hands as well as the Lincoln School uh for that sale that was what got the city some money for that um I just think that it would be a good time to maybe establish a process for the committee to maybe once a year review purchase and sale agreements that are outstanding in the

city to verify conditions of sale been met um the Healey School playground is also on the agenda for tonight and that like through the efforts of the preservation stud it was discovered that the purchase and sale agreement for the Healey school is missing actually we don't have it at the city so just to show the importance of that process and what it could do for the city thank you

if you could say it second so there is a resolution that was filed um with regards inventory of City owned property so tonight's meeting uh basically was to just deal with the issues we have before us that that have been on the committee for some time so this it's truly intent of the chairman and the the members here to uh to to visit that uh because particularly the Armory as you know went

to committee on finance so it's in abeyance right now um and we are taking up an issue with regard to um the Armory staying within the jurisdiction of just a park department or a joint um ownership or not ownership but um offices over that building so it it's we're aware of it but thank you Mr Alexander as usual for your everything you contribut to the community we appreciate it thank you I just hope uh

the urgency is a little bit more than the committee meeting for the first time in June thank you okay thank you appreciate it okay so now it's item number two uh minutes um October 25th 2022 second all in favor I oppos so voted number three communication mayor requesting discussion of future use of Hick Street top lot form Le to he Healey School Mo from second all in favor all so voted mistakens see here

you having done here

okay so uh M Akens we're on item number three yes sir the Hicks Street top lot Seth Aken City administrator you can begin um so from what I understand um what we have is is a piece of property that at this point is um uh it's Z to family uh does meet the requirements for a duplex um there are certainly uh opinions as to what the the value of the property is uh currently it's adjacent

to some new um uh construction uh that's gone up in the last year um and I think the city would certainly be interested uh in selling that property uh if the real estate committee uh is also amenable um at this point right now I think it just has some broken down playground equip uh and that's about it on it um but the city at this point is very open to uh to

conveying that property if there's an interest in a a buyer for uh fair market value counc prayer thank you didn't the city already clean out the Tot Lot because some of the equipment that was there was you know hazardous to kids yep some of that uh so some of that equipment was not only dangerous because condition but I believe that some of the weeds and grass that was growing up

around that uh was considered potential harborage for rodents so there was some cleaning that was done in that and some of the equipment was removed yep I I remember um the gentleman that owns oh my God I can't think of his name um Wholesome Bakery yes oh well that's sweet okay I'm sorry I can't think of his name anyway he um wanted to clean that up and put a chat lot there um I

don't know if it was in memory of someone or wanted to do something um so perhaps he'll want to buy it or somebody else will buy it I don't know how much room there is between that and other things that are there um it's not a really big possible property it's not so the the zoning would only really tolerate you know possibly a multif family um nothing more you know no more

structures than that that you know one larger multif family structure and I yield any interest in uh creating a playground out of that area I think the city would would prefer to convey it at this point um you know obviously this you know playgrounds are great uh but also playgrounds come with maintenance and and other things and I think at this point uh the city's interest is in

conveying the property so somebody can develop it okay C good uh no I'd make a motion um to make a recommendation for the sale of the property that we go through an RSP process yeah read my mind so motion's been made and seconded to authorize um the purchasing department to um prepare rfps for this committee's referral uh examination and and approval of of the same so I will uh motion go

ahead I'm sorry is that that y okay motion has been made second it all in favor I so voted thank you yeah you might have to stay mistake okay item number three communication mayor requesting discussion of future hit I'm sorry that sheep is scrapes my glasses there right I still have them on item number four City resident requesting to purchase a uh Apostle of City owned land um it's held for

discussion so that um that does not have to be lifted from the table or you see here no it does not first time okay so um I know we have the individuals who um were interested would you like to come down please thank you

you identify yourself for the record your name and address please Jennifer Rio 123 greenl Street Far River denisea rjo 123 Green Leaf Street in FL River okay um can you state your interest and and uh you you know obviously while you're here you want to C the proper yes yes there is a easement that is uh next to our property and that we'd like to purchase and we're also okay with purchasing we got some pictures here

that we took of it the easement goes from like so we have our property and then it also attaches I there's another little easement behind it and we'd be okay with purchasing that too um a basic reason for doing this is just that we want to be able to maintain because it's not cared for by the city so we've been maintaining it to beautify it keep it mowed keep things cut back

keep it looking nice um this easement is only used sometimes by neighbors to walk through we're not looking to stop that at all um there's a big boulder at one end of the easement so this this easement is never used for access to get to the lake um and we're not we're of course not interested in purchasing that cuz where everybody goes for the eent to go to the lake um but we would just like to

purchase that just trying to I'm sorry to interrupt you trying to familiar myself with the property so this is all the way down to the end of Stafford Road yeah it crosses over into Tiff and then goes back into Fall River yeah yeah and um if we have to and then yeah it's are you talking about this from the Stone from the stone is your property that's the easement that we're looking to

um who'd you get the ement from M anybody okay I was looking at the yeah you can see this one that's from like from the boulder all the way down through our property and you might be able to see the uh okay Council prayer okay um who gave you the easen who's the easen on your deed is the EAS from the city it's it's it's City own it's City own so the easement

is from the city of for River in a butts off property okay but that property isn't mowed isn't taken care of not unless not unless we do it well like even going from the um we kind of like where people drive the boat to get to the the river like we we take care of that like we just did it this weekend we we will we'll mow it keep down the weeds or anything like that

yeah and when people come to put the boats in it's not that land no no no there's a street no there's a street in front of us right Street here yep going down okay yeah actually this picture shows from my yard you can actually see across the street the right way that actually goes to South witha Pond okay Mr chairman I'd make a motion that we refer this to the administration just to do some

uh I guess research on the uh on the parcel itself and give us a recommendation as to whether or not they want to move forward with the property or if there's a reason for us to to maintain the property well um to that point I believe we did receive a letter um from Mr furland oh it's in I'm sorry um let's see here Mr furland uh who represents the

city and who is the expert on this issue U I'll read it for the record Lauren after review of this lot I could not find any definitive result that said it was owned by the water or sewer departments with that being said in the future this pel could play A Part helping to improve the wall water quality of the southw UPA Pond as this fle has a stream that runs through it

and empties into the South wupa Pond looking at a quick assessment of the Watershed and its stream includes a large Wetland that appears to go all the way back to Hancock Street it's a long way and take a lot of drainage from the area from Stafford Road down to the Wetland so I can go on and read the rest um the last sentence is I would recommend that the city retain this

property for the future use described above as well as the current uh value in relation to the drainage um so we it seems to me that the City wants to keep the prop okay but could we just get that one little part cuz like no water runs through there we don't have any water rushing through that end it comes down the road into the the water but there's nothing like there's no water on our

property at all other than what's in my well there's no water that runs through there it does back like I don't I don't want to purchase the whole the thing I just want yeah I would just like to get what's right next to my house well I'll I'll I'll take input for the from the rest of the committee but my position is that I I did speak to Mr furland it's a a piece of property that

the city wants to retain it's been an issue for some time with regards to the what's up a pond and algae and and different things and um I I I don't think the city if they don't want to sell all of it they're not going to this is my opinion this is my op they're not going to want to sell a piece of it um plus it has to go off for request for

proposals um on any land that's owned by the city that sold so someone else might buy it maybe the uh the rowing Center that's um um that um is um you know down near um brute 24 they may want want the property so just be aware that sometimes what you ask for you're not going to get okay so um with that I I intend on not voting for this because um the the

conversations I had no offense to you guys you ladies I'm sorry it's okay I use that term too Mr kadine Council kadine no I was just again I was just going to make a motion to refer to the administration I I know I guess Paul had a conversation I'm not sure if the administration had discussion with regards to this parcel done any research thank you counselor um so if you were to refer to the administration

I think we could probably have a slightly more in-depth conversation um from what I understand right now the review has been basically on the plans um and so I think to have a better sense of what the actual real world conditions are in this particular parcel and whether or not you know there's any interest in conveying it uh with an easement given back to the city and maybe your right to pass and repass or

something like that there's a number of ways to possibly do this we could at least have the conversation okay well that sounds fair um to to you you got uh you ladies yes so uh Council per yeah I don't have a problem with sending it to Administration for them to take a look at it but right here in the beginning I could not find any definitive results that said it was owned by the Water and

Sewer Department but all of a sudden at the end oh now we need that for water quality and this and that our water department tends to want to buy any piece of land that's around they don't want the city to sell it they want to keep everything but then now there's a stream under it well how do you know that there's a stream under it did you check that there's a stream under it

you're telling me there's no water on it no no no water runs through our property not that piece that you want so I think if the administration looks at it I think you need to say what are the dimensions of the piece that you're looking to keep yeah this by yeah what is it 100 ft long by like 20 ft in okay so I think that's important for them to

know 100 by 20 cuz the rest of it will still be there the road will still be there and they'll still have drainage in the water but the chairman is right in saying 100 by 20 pel if you put that up for sale anybody can come in and bid on it yeah and sometimes people will come and bid because they want to plant a garden and they don't have land and

they're going to plant a garden there yeah so and you I do okay so again I know Council had something saying not to stifle what uh what your ladies want to do but there it going to be some additional costs that the city's not going to bear um on your part for this okay I don't know if it's required for an environment environmental impact study I I don't know I'm just an appraisal of

the property clean it up there like people throw trash over there clean up the trash keep the long cut you know no in terms of if if we we have to do the request for proposals mhm and if there's going to be condition attached to that okay and you're going to have to fulfill the conditions of that request if you're awarded it's going to be in the in the request for pul that there's certain

things that you um have to do okay in order to acquire it oh okay so it's not as simple as um Council kadim does this more than I doing terms of being a the city administrator for secon but the way we frame their request for proposals like if the city sells it we don't want to incur any debt cuz we're not just going to give it up oh yes with costs to the taxpayers of

the city to um take the necessary steps to sell you good and clear title as um well Council PR stated that um that the uh Mr fur's not sure if it's when the purview of the water and sewer departments but I think it's pretty clear the city does own it yeah okay so go ahead any anything to say no how you Council um say can just in terms of once we send it back to the administration

could you also just do a quick review to see whether or not how I guess how the property was acquired whether it's through tax title because as you know if it's tax title then we can go directly to the neighbors and sell it to the neighbors um but if it's not tax title then we would have to obviously go through the RFP process so that would be helpful to know once you come back down

with I guess a recommendation of the property or information sure all right thank you okay counc I I the only issue that I have is that I know um that these ladies brought something in in October I mean the first letter came in in October of 23 and now we're in May of 24 how long is it going to take the administration so they know either we're going to do something or we're not how

long is it going to take the administration because to me it's unfair to have people waiting and waiting and waiting so is 30 days enough time that we can bring it back to this committee or is that not good is it 60 days I just hate to have we just have things that come before us and then months and months and months go by it's not fair to people well C per just to remind you um

um Council pelte was the past chairman of this committee and um you know we we know the health issues he had no hold on on and that's fine this committee now and I'm saying if we're going to do this can remove this that we're not waitting yes things happen as soon as possible yeah but coun counc per to my point um he he was ailing and and um so we here now I mean so could have

been here in January to Mr chairman with that I yield anything else great deal of difficulty making a point to council per 30 days 30 days did you hear yes motion to refer to the administration uh with the expectation that they return something back to to the committee within 30 days so okay keep in touch please yes thank you I appreciate you hearing us pleasure of course that's why we're here you

thank you nice to meet you favor motion all in favor I so voted yeah item number five request of authorization for mayor to transfer three p of vacant land held as tax possessions uh to the water whato water board referred on 51424 no I'm a no a no one start should I just wanted her to tell us how she F okay it's the water of dep okay so we're on five I I already

read that obviously so um M aens please I think the committee was I'm sorry the the committee as a whole was um I know I was prepared to vote on this um but Council per did want this to be vented a little bit and we do have a letter another letter from um uh had a tax tax title which is um attorney Thomas yes so you may begin uh

so I think I mean the letter uh G goes a little bit into uh some of the history here and how the city came to uh take possession of the property they are three landlock Parcels they are not buildable they are not accessible um they are part of um what the water department is trying to do as a buffer uh as a protective area uh around their assets um in so there's very little uh

value or commercial opportunity otherwise uh than to allow the water department to um include these in their uh in their real estate so it was taken through tax title so the um oh wait tell done it just looking to transfer it over to the department right taking through tax title uh they um tax title meaning that um it was taken for back taxes Attorney Thomas followed through with the procedure to do that and now the

city is uh paying $30,000 for these fils to preserve it for perpetuity um in the interest of uh the the the water supply that's correct and the there is the fair market value of each parcel is about $10,000 so that's where the 101 and any questions so Mr chairman just through you um so I guess the 30,000 the appraisal so the 10,000 for the each parcel are we looking to have the Department pay the city $30,000

or what what was the purpose of the 30,000 so the 30,000 I believe is to uh clear the the tax liability so so so the war Department's got to take their Surplus and pay the city you know I don't know for sure that was my understanding but I just I I'd want to verify so if you could uh let me get back to you on that that's what I think

is happening but I just want to be certain but we we do have a letter there's a letter from Mr you yield um I I I guess before I before I do that so I I assume that I don't know how much it was the tax title was the taken was whether it was 30 or 50 or 40,000 or even 5,000 but I would assume that obviously there's a value in and

given the fact that it's an Enterprise fund that typically you would swap money and value for for the land and cash value so with that I yield C per I'm good you sure I well the only concern that I have is that Mr Aken didn't have the answers he's going to check and get back to us right is that what you just said yeah and I apologize I I I wasn't invited down for this uh

piece you weren't you just kind of showed up no I I I stay I I you know I'm one of those guests that sometimes never leaves I'm glad to be here thank you it's nice to that we table till we find out the answer to council Kim's question and I agree with them I have a question about that myself okay all right so uh there's a motion to table second second all in favor I

oppose so voted motion adj motion second all favor oppose voted

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