The Community Preservation Committee of Fall River, Massachusetts, convened on Monday, June 16th, 2025, at 6:00 PM. The meeting began with a roll call, confirming the presence of Michael Faras, Alexander Silva, John Brandt, James Hornsby, Rick Mancini, and Kristen Canara Oliver (attending via Zoom). There was no citizen input. The committee approved the minutes from their May 19th, 2025 meeting with a unanimous vote. A request from Dery Block was noted as withdrawn. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the review and update of the CPC plan. After a discussion clarifying the document's purpose as a working guide for the committee and applicants, and its requirement for public input and city council approval, the committee voted unanimously to table the review until their August meeting. New business included a discussion on various state house bills impacting the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Members reviewed a document outlining these bills, noting potential ramifications for CPA funding, additional categories, and increased percentages. Concerns were raised about some bills having hearing dates before the August meeting, prompting a suggestion for individual members to contact their representatives. The committee decided to place a vote on supporting specific bills on the agenda for their August meeting. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote to adjourn.
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Public / Other
Okay, welcome to the community preservation committee meeting being held at uh uh one government center. We're in the city hall hearing room. It's uh Monday, June 16 June 16th uh 6:00.
0:17Oops. Pursuant to the open meeting laws, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any mediums. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings are transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and if deemed acknowledgeable and permissible.
0:34We'll start with roll call to my left.
0:38Oh, I was going to do her at the end.
0:40So, Michael Faras present. Alexander Silva present. John Brandt present.
0:46James Hornsby here. Rick Mancini present.
0:51Miss Oliver, just state you're on Zoom.
1:05Did you hear me?
1:07Kristen Canara pres attending by Zoom. Thank you. It's a long wait.
1:14Okay.
1:16That happened a while ago. Yeah. All righty. Uh, no citizen input. Okay. Can I have uh a motion for approval of uh May 19th uh minutes? A motion to approve the May 19th, 2025 meeting.
1:34Here we are again.
1:37I have a second. I'll second that motion. Okay. Uh vote. Michael Ferris, yes. Alexander Silva, yes. John Brandt, yes. Yes. Rick Mancini, yes. Mr. Alar, it's about 20 seconds, 30 seconds.
1:59I wonder if the visuals as long, but signs up.
2:06Kristen Caner. Yes.
2:09Okay.
2:11Next on the block was a request from Dery Block, but they withdrew their request.
2:16Um so we'll move on to um review and update CPC plan. We didn't get any um feedback on uh any suggestions. So I think we should probably the best thing is just to uh move that to August. Yeah. Table it. Can I have a motion to table? I'll make a motion to table the review update of the CPC plan until the next meeting which is scheduled in August.
2:45before we vote on that and get rid of it for the meeting. Um, I did look at it not as carefully as I would have liked to, but I looked at it and I realized that I'm not clear as to what the purpose of the document is. It just outlines like everything in the city, uh parks uh population um, how we want to spend our money. It just right. That's what it does. What I'm
3:18really asking is who do we expect is going to read it? When you write, you write for somebody to to read. And that was my my question. Yeah. I don't know if you want me to just explain a little bit. Yeah, sure. Just and I apologize for missing January 6. I just couldn't No, that's okay. Um basically the CPC plan is your working document um on how you as a committee
3:49want to move forward in that fiscal year with your projects and legally you need to have a public meeting like with the open space and recreation plan and all the different plans that the city has.
4:03So you have a public meeting and then you have to put it on your web page for comments and then it gets approved. um ultimately at the end by the city council and that becomes your working document for that year. Um does anybody read it, Jim?
4:20So, we're going to read it. The answer is you're going to read it. You're going to make mostly it's for us. Yeah. and you're going to make your recommendations and if this if the citizens want input on it, they can put input on it just like like last time when you were talking about the open space, you know, so the the the the community can you know kind of kind of
4:38feel a part of it and you know make some contri for everyone, but it's really our working document. Thank you. It's your business plan basically. It didn't quite filter through. Yeah, it's for the community and you know it's I it would be useful for applicants to read just to know what we're thinking for the upcoming year as well as any resident who's just curious about like our
5:01priorities online. Yep. Yep. Everything is online. That means that says something. Yeah. Okay.
5:09Okay. So, we had any more questions or That was all. Okay. We had a motion.
5:15Second roll call. Did we have a second?
5:17I don't know. We do. Yeah. Second Michael Ferris. Yes. Alexander Silva.
5:22Yes. John Brandt. Yes. Yes. James Hornsby. Rick Mansi. Yes.
5:29Did I say Did you Did I vote? I think you did.
5:35Okay.
5:36I got a delay going on myself now.
5:40Miss Alivera.
5:44Kristen Caner. Oliver. Yes.
5:47Thanks.
5:49All right.
5:51The only thing on new business that I had to bring was uh we had a uh steering committee meeting and they're getting ready to send some uh house bills down.
5:59So, I just thought it'd be nice for you guys to see what the um state has in plan that they want to do with CPA.
6:06Some's good, some's not too good. So, but I figured that it was nice that you guys have this in your hand to see what's going on instead of having something passed that we didn't have a chance to speak on it or something that we want to see passed that we didn't get a chance to voice yes on it. They are.
6:27I mean, we don't have to discuss it. I mean, it was uh some good ideas in there. um like CPA registry from Are you asking if we think we should submit like letters of support for any of these? That's what I was asking. More on your if you Yeah, I think we should um if you could send it to the members who aren't here and then we could just put an agenda item on
6:51the next meeting. Um maybe like get a template ready for a letter and then we'll vote on which ones we want to support sort of thing. Okay, we can do that. Some agenda items. Some of them will be u hearing soon like 164 163 163.
7:07So some have already been heard. So it might be something you more like an individual. Okay. You know, calling uh Representative Fiola or Rep. uh Sylvia.
7:19Yeah, I would I would uh caveat that too. So, I I would like I would recommend that everybody read through these and kind of look at what the potential ramifications would be to uh the CPA funding and uh the additional amounts andor categories. And so, I just came uh back from a lobbying um situation where how basically if they're looking at uh retracting FEMA from the federal government, how some of this
7:47would impact this. for instance, the the recreations of dunes and anything associated with Bzone velocity zones in tidal water areas. Uh that might be coming out as well. But just read through these and I think we should definitely uh talk about it in August because there will be some impacts especially the the other additional one here was um the ADA compliance one. Just remember though some of these will be
8:12heard before August. So, if it's something you like or don't like, best to make a call instead of waiting for us to send something as a group because it could be all over by that time. Could Could we get like maybe a spreadsheet to track where these end up and we can maybe just get the hearing dates of the ones that aren't? Yeah, I get updates on that. Uh, some of these are interesting, but Yeah.
8:42So, John, you'll forward updates. Yeah, I'll forward updates when I got them.
8:46Yeah, that's why I got this in the uh my email yesterday. And I thought it was good to have the because it's better than just me calling the uh our state reps. It's we got nine members. That's nine more. Well, it would be nice to submit a letter on behalf of the committee for the ones we can.
9:04That's what I would suggest. There are some comments on the side. Are these from you? No, this is this is from uh our CPA organization stating what the summary is of what the bill is going to be. That's what I thought, but I I Yeah, this
9:25I mean just one, two, there's like 18, I guess.
9:41I mean, I guess if we uh wanted to email Sandy like maybe our top five picks, we could uh send a basic letter of uh support from forever CPA.
9:52I'd like to do all all of them if we could like the ones we support. Okay.
9:57because and there's some that are quite interesting and like even if they're not like the most important, we should definitely um support them. So, some of these actually have um increased percentages um to the actual tax bill. And so, does it not have to go through every community if they're going to try to increase that? Uh probably after they vote on this, yeah, it would have to
10:26come down here and go through. So th So is this representing just what they want to do at the state level? This is the state level and then individually each town and city will go and and make their own decisions on this. Okay. Thank you.
10:44Which we already fund ADA compliance.
10:47This would just be another avenue of I mean when you look at the whole state level I guess when you're looking at parks museums it's a bigger issue than ours we don't you know depending on what you have for tourism is it ADA compliance so it is a bigger picture when you start looking at broader scope of things but there is like a registry fee going up from 40 to 80.
11:19Mhm. Um that was previously filed but got voted down. So this is the second time around. Okay. So can we just put on the agenda for next meeting to vote on what that's going to be August. So yeah it could be very much over but uh we can do that. we can put it on uh August's agenda, but if it's something you want, make sure you make the call now because it could be
11:47I I see only uh three hearing dates here. Um you know, the June 3rd on the second page and the June 4th on the the second item on page one. So, is that basically those have already been voted for or Those have already been voted.
12:05Okay, gotcha. And we know the results from that or uh is that the testifying?
12:10Probably just the hearing testifying.
12:12So, okay. They have a really like they haven't made it made an official.
12:17All right. Thank you. I just thought it'd be you know No, this is great. I'm seeing this at the federal level as well, but most of our big projects have their own attorneys which is right to build and then all of the impacts to that. So, I'm seeing it from the federal level, then from the state level, and then to the local level. Um, all right.
12:38Thank you. Okay. And, uh, any other new business?
12:44Okay. Um, I guess we can adjurnn then. Can I have a motion to adjourn? Well, sure. I I'll move that. Okay. I'll second the motion.
12:57Okay. Uh, Michael Ferris votes yes to close the meeting. Alexander Silva, yes.
13:02John Bright, yes. James Hornsby. Rick Mancini yes.
13:08Miss Alivera, this is delay. That's what it is.
13:22Rickading.
13:26Thank you. Like you got it.