1.6.2026 Park Board

All right, we're good. This welcome to this uh regular meeting of the city of Fall River Parks Park Board of Commissioners. Uh today is Tuesday, January 6, 2026. This meeting is being held in the city council hearing room beginning at 5:30. [snorts] Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting and 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. [snorts] Uh roll call Victor Faras Nick Cecilio BJ McDonald.

Uh so we have a quorum. We got three out of five. We have no citizens input. Uh, looking for a motion to accept the minutes from the November 24th regular park board meeting.

I'll make a motion to accept uh, excuse me, I'll make a motion to accept the minutes from the November 24th parkboard meeting.

I second that motion.

Motion made by Commissioner Cecilio, second by Commissioner Faras. All in favor?

I. Motion carries. Uh, new business. We need to we got to refer the open meeting law complaint from Patrick Higgins filed on November 26, 2025 to corporation counsel. [snorts] Do I have a motion to refer that over to corporation council?

Make a motion to refer that to corporation counsel.

I'll second it.

Motion to refer the complaint to corporation council made by Commissioner Faras. Second by Commissioner Cecilio.

All in favor?

I.

I. Motion carries. Uh item B is a new request from David Can Canazales. He's with the outdoor educators with the trustees mobile adventures program. He's requesting the three following dates.

January 10th, February 7th, March 7th from 10 to 12 for a free outdoor series and a guided walk. I know Darren has talked to him. Um it's through, you know, Britain Park out by the the rail trail.

Okay.

And dates are good. Yeah.

Yeah. He's all Darren's all sad. He's talked to him a few times.

Any any snow dates or league? So, I hope not.

Um, this is just a walk.

Yeah.

Yeah. Just a monthly outdoor series comprised of a guided walk outback nature walk from Britain Park to Quarry Street along the Quicker Shan Rail Trail designed to introduce Fall River youth and their families to the city's natural biodiversity and ecosystems.

As long as the [snorts] weather holds up for holds up, I don't see any problem with it. So, I'll make a motion that we grant them uh permission then I'll second it.

Um [snorts] old business. I need a motion to lift this item from the table from the October meeting, October 2025 meeting.

It's a um a letter from Steven Maher from Ripple Fiber planning to de deploy the broadband infrastructure project in Fall River requiring which part of this requires placing 5x5 cabinets throughout the in a handful of parks to uh equip the city with internet service. So have a motion to lift from the table.

Make a motion that we lift this from the table.

I'll second it.

All in favor?

I. Motion carries. [snorts] Um, so we originally talked about this with Mr.

Maher um, a few months ago. I think in conversations since then that I've had, I think that um, [snorts] I think the best course of action is to refer this to the city council, either the committee on ordinance or the committee on real estate.

[cough] The um the couple of concerns I have are related to a fee [snorts] agreement, long-term maintenance and you know what that looks like any exit if we wanted to break a contract with them. How does that work? What does that look like? And um the other thing is open and fair competition procurement laws. I know that Mr. Mar said there's he technically doesn't qualify or something for the

procurement laws, but um as far as having other broadband service in the city, I just want to make sure we're following the proper channels. So, my suggestion is to refer this to the council. Um let them either refer it to ordinance or real estate. Yeah.

And then, you know, we can be involved in those conversations as far as where these things are placed.

This has got many hurdles. We're just one of them. you know, if we if we're we're okay and Darren thinks it's okay what they're playing or what they want to do or where we can put them, we're fine. But like you said, it's just I think it's above us as far as like fees and competition and stuff like that.

Because like you said, we'd have if everybody [snorts] was able to do this and we would just approve it like, hey, we'd have boxes. It's boxes galore.

And and I think that that's like the thing that I've wrestled with over it is because I do think it's a good thing to bring in, you know, the broadband and and competition and have other options for internet and maybe it can work something out with is, you know, they can provide some Wi-Fi in the parks that they're, you know, have these boxes in. Maybe all that stuff can be worked out. But I

think um and I know since the last meeting when we had these discussions that Mr. Maher and Darren have actually gone out and walked some of these parks because before the last meeting where he had proposed these boxes be he hadn't even walked the property. He was kind of going off of like Google images and stuff. So I know him and Darren have spent some time identifying places. The

the Kennedy Park one. And I know Darren said they could stick it in one of the existing structures that's already at the park, so nobody's even going to know it's there. Um because there's already a they can there the building's empty.

[snorts] U so I think that stuff is all good. So I don't want it to come across that uh we're passing the bug or that we don't think it's a good idea. At least I think it's a good idea. But I think that we should um have some input from the council as well as you know cooperation council and making sure that we're following um all the rules and regulations and laws, procurement laws

and and so on.

Okay. No, no, that's good. I I'll make a motion to refer this to the city council's committees of ordinance and real estate.

Second that. The motion was made by Commissioner Cecilio, second by Commissioner Faras. All in favor?

I I motion carries. [snorts] Um, that's it. Do you guys have anything else? Any inquiries? Anything come up that you need to discuss or we should discuss?

I'm good.

We're good.

I'm good.

All right. I'll make a motion to adjurnn.

Motion to adjurnn by Commissioner Cecilio, second by Commissioner Ferris.

All in favor? I.

Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you.