The Fall River Community Preservation Committee (CPC) convened its annual meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at the City Council hearing room. The chair delivered a message reflecting on the Community Preservation Act's (CPA) 10th anniversary, noting that the committee has funded close to 100 projects, encompassing historic preservation, open space, recreation, and community housing. The chair stated that the committee has provided over ten thousand in funding throughout these past ten years, with 2.3 funded this year alone. Highlights from 2021 included collaborations with FRGTv for project videos and with the Creative Arts Network and Bristol Community College for a holiday happening. The meeting proceeded with the election of officers. John Brandt was unanimously elected Chair, Kristen Cantara Oliveira was unanimously elected Vice Chair, and Alexander Silva was unanimously elected Clerk. The financial report was deferred as the new financial auditor, Ashley, had not yet completed it. The committee then viewed three video presentations showcasing completed CPA-funded projects: the restoration of the School Administration Building at 417 Rock Street (Brayton House), the preservation of the Gothic Revival style arch at Oak Grove Cemetery, and upgrades to the Veterans Memorial at Bicentennial Park, which included the dedication of an 80% scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, funded with $310,000 in CPA funds. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote to adjourn.
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uh welcome to tonight's uh community preservation committee meeting uh being held at city council hearing room one government center fall river in the council hearing room for annual meeting thursday june 23 2022 o'clock i'd like to thank past and present granters that came and set up tonight i appreciate that um soon to the open meeting will any person may make an audio or video recording of
0:28this public 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 can i start with roll call carolyn aubin alexander silva john brandt kristen cantara oliveira richard calderon and tonight we're missing paul machado
0:53jason burns victor ferris and john ferreira we have no citizen input next on the agenda is a message from the chair on behalf of the community preservation committee oh wait sorry about that um we have to take a roll call vote on today no we don't take a vote on roll call no no okay uh back to uh on behalf of the community preservation committee i'd like to thank everyone for the continued
1:26support of the community preservation act cpa and helping to make our community a better place as the recently elected chairman of the committee i would like to extend my gratitude to each and every committee member for their efforts in coming together and joining forces during another challenging year with kovac pandemic we are not only accomplished the work at hand it was completed in timely
1:48thoughtful and efficient manner while continuing to to a new way of conducting business the community preservation act cpa is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space historic sites create affordable housing and develop outdoor recreational facilities as we celebrate our 10th year the community preservation committee has funded close to 100 projects including historic preservation open space
2:13recreation and community housing the hard work commitment and dedication of the committee has made a real difference in improving forward parks restoring and preserving our historic buildings and assets and protecting and preserving our precious open space and creating affordable housing i'd like to share some of the highlights of 2021 cpc collaborating with young adults with frg tv filming short videos
2:40of our projects which is uh a first for the cpa in the state cpc collaborated with creative arts network and students from the bristol bcc for a holiday happening where many of cpc-funded properties were open to a public holiday tour cpc participated in several online training sessions offered through community preservation coalition cpc has provided over ten thousand in funding throughout these past ten years
3:11and this year alone we funded 2.3 our involvement in the committee is an example of the value that we can contribute an incredibly unique opportunity of giving back to our community i look forward to working with this committee and our community partners during the fy 23 funding years and i also want to reflect back over the last 10 years when 2012 when it was uh put into effect
3:37uh paul lima was very big at getting it on the ballot and getting it passed and some of our former members are out there as jim soule jim souza who's a past chair paul machado's not here but he was a past founding member and he's back on the committee when we started as a committee unlike most boards in the city we had no direction it was brand new so between taking stuff
4:03from cpc on the state level and putting the paperwork eligibility this that together we formed what ends up being in 10 years later i think a very good uh uh committee and board uh our first uh chairman was you know like who else would they give something new to what would be paul but i mean mr chico came to chico because he's always great at that organizing the beginning stage so uh he
4:32said it's going in the right direction and then uh i always say jim souza was always perfect with the historic preservation he had his heart in it and still does and it's just been a privilege being on this board for that long so that's it for my message next is election of officers could i have a nomination for um chair i nominate john brent for chair any other so i'll second that yes okay
5:07uh roll call vote yes alexander silva yes yes yes i thank you for the vote uh next up is uh election for vice chair nominations i'd like to nominate christian cantara oliveira my second name will call vote yes yes yes yes congratulations thank you i accept the last one is uh nominations for uh clerk i nominate alexander silva for clerk i'll second roll call vote yes yes yes yes congratulations except um
5:53next we have up our financial report we have a new financial auditor that just joined us so just being new to the job she hasn't quite got our informations and uh report done but i wanted to introduce her um uh rachel pierre no it's ashley oh ashley it's okay i said i was bad with names and i even wrote it down but she'll be joining us and as soon as she
6:24gets that done she'll be passing it on to the committee so we can forward it to you next we have a video presentation we set up a partnership with uh fred tv and frgtv at durfee to brew several videos they're going to explain and achieve the projects that have been completed through cpa funding more videos are coming for a total of ten so uh we're going to have them up on the screen
6:57once all videos are completed they will be edited into one full video and shown on the big screen perhaps the theater thomas hudder jr memorial building so go ahead alex school administration building at 417 rock street was built over a hundred years ago by craftsmen from around the globe and mr and mrs william brain mill owners raised their nine children in this statement home decades later the property became too
7:29costly for a single family and was gifted to the four of a school district architects reconfigured the 22 rooms to accommodate administrative staff by 2018 this historic structure was compromised eliciting mold and water damage once dubbed the last big house on the hill this extraordinary piece of architecture was in poor condition care was shown to restore artistic elements including the circular railing
7:59and banister chair rails crown molding antique and oak flooring and the building is now handicap accessible roof work was the primary concern for the brayton house this new pitch surface directs water to a modernized drainage system ten years ago four river residents voted to adopt the community preservation act which allows for a 1.5 percent surcharge on property tax bills to incentivize history
8:29travel diversity and recreation cpa funds have supported thousands of significant projects in massachusetts thank you for your continued interest in community beautification and betterment
8:53the gothic revival style arch at oak grove cemetery signals the final resting place of some of fall river's most prominent residents since 1873 thousands of field possessions have passed through these ornate iron gates war heroes abolitionists mill owners and lizzie borden are buried within these walls despite fine craftsmanship and historical recognition the arch was unable to withstand time and the
9:22elements and was in danger of collapse ten years ago fall river residents voted to adopt the community preservation act which allows for a 1.5 surcharge on property tax bills this cherished landmark was saved with funds through the community preservation act in just five months this time using some modern machinery local contractors refurbished the granite arch and replaced sections of
9:49the gate a uniquely fall river work of art and a respectful reflection for the dead has been saved for future generations cpa funds have supported thousands of significant projects in massachusetts thank you for your continued interest in community beautification and betterment
10:13fall river is in the forefront of honoring members of the armed forces the community preservation act funded upgrades to the veterans memorial by centennial park in may 2021 fall river dedicated the vietnam veterans memorial wall an 80 scale replica of the original the aluminum panels are engraved with the names of more than 58 000 heroes killed or missing in action during the vietnam war
10:39the project including landscaping exceeds recreation and open space requirements set by the community preservation act ten years ago fall river voters approved a 1.5 surcharge on property tax bills to incentivize history travel and diversity three hundred and ten thousand dollars was designated to build this powerful tribute which has become a location for reflection and healing the park is now fully handicapped
11:07accessible and is open to all at no cost dawn to dusk cpa funds have supported thousands of significant projects in massachusetts thank you for your continued interest in community beautification and betterment
11:29so that's the first three out i think they did a terrific job on presenting it and i think this is a good marketing tool to get cpc out to the public to show them what good their money is doing that if it's going to helpful things that's going to improve the life in fall river before we adjourn i want to make sure everyone knows we do have refreshments out there sandy dennis has been working all day
11:52and sandy has been with the committee for eight years now so make sure you enjoy meet and talk with other uh people and uh can i have a motion for a journey i'll talk a motion to it during something yes yes yes yes yes meeting's adjourned thank you