1.28.2026 Redevelopment Authority

Okay, welcome to the January 28th, 2026 meeting of the Fall River Redevelopment Authority.

Person went to the open meeting law. Any person may make an audio or video recording 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.

Uh first item uh is our roll call and we do have Joan Maduros behind me and in front of me here remotely and um myself John Ericson, Ron Rousen, Ben Fidleberg and Keane also sorry Joan and um Sarah and uh our executive director Sarah Paige and Karen Martin our project manager. Uh, first item on our list is approval of the open session minutes from December 17.

Motion approved December 17, 2025 open session minutes.

Second.

Second.

John Ericson. Yes.

Ron Rousen. Yes.

Yes.

Thank I have to remember. You remind me kick you. I can't pick you anymore.

I do that every time because you're not thinking she's here. Anyway, um okay.

The the um audit warrant warrant warrant uh Joan uh has gone through the warrant and signed off on it. Total is 391 01350.

Motion to approve the January warrant in amount of $391,13.50.

Second. Second John Ericen. Yes.

Ronen. Yes.

Ben Fidleberg. Yes.

Ann Keen. Yes.

Joan Maderas. Yes.

Thank you.

Uh Karen's going to give us an audit update uh from 24.

Yes. So um we just got today Joan um the valuation came in. So Jen was able to Oh, good.

finalize everything and she sent the representation letter for you and Sarah to sign. Um, okay. But she's gonna, um, I said you weren't going to be here tonight, so she can set it up for DocYsine tomorrow and get it out to you.

There's going to be no management letter. There were no findings in this year's audit. And so then when she gets that representation letter, she'll um, send us all the final paperwork.

Excellent.

All right. Great. So, we don't have to vote for them to you guys to sign it because you do every year sign.

Great.

Okay.

All right. So, that's done. It's taken a while.

And then the 2025 audit, um I talked to Jen, she gave us a proposal which I included in the board package. Um the total is 27,000 and then we would just need to um to vote to have Johnny or Sarah be able to sign that proposal. We can get that started. Motion to approve Clifton Lawson and Allen proposal dated January 15, 2026 in amount of 27,000 to provide audit services for the 2025

fiscal year and to approve the chair or the executive director to sign the proposal.

Second.

Second.

John, yes.

Ron Rousen, yes.

Yes.

And Keane, yes.

Joan Maderas, yes.

Thank you. Uh, cathodic protection. Karen, so the cathotic protection, we were able to do final inspections and everything is completed as of um December, I think it was 22nd or 23rd. I was out there with Carlos and we did the final measurements on all the codings and everything. So it is 100% done um for the scope work that was given to Kavanaaugh. The warrant includes their final requisition with release or

retainage. So we um one more thing checked off out there. Nice.

In Northfield, uh Northfield, the reventment work is also done. Um the um he was able to finish the stonework got final approved um the middle of December and then he was just waiting for a fairly warmer warmish day so he could get the hydra seeding done which happened right after Christmas. And so the hydro seeding's all there and all the erosion controls done and he cleared all his stuff off

the site. So um that's all wrapped up.

Thank god we because of the snow we just got. So, um, so that's all wrapped up until we go to the next phase of the final, um, the final work out there. The only thing that remains outstanding is I was hoping to have the, um, numbers to you guys for the additional square footage of Revetment, but with the storms, Tim does a lot of plowing. He's been delayed and reviewing everything.

So, we're hoping to get that all wrapped up. Um, and I'll include it in the package for February.

So, on the on the moorings, was there 30? Was there some discussion about the quantity or something? Did I imagine that?

Not with the moorings.

Oh, the No, the We haven't done We're still waiting for a contract for that.

Oh, okay.

The moorings and the dinghy dock.

Yeah. How many were we talking?

There was 15 moorings.

Yeah. But they got reduced because there were a couple of I think our final number is 15. I think there was 18. So, I think there's 15.

Yeah.

Okay. But we're still waiting to um get um the federal contract the federal contract have to put it out to bid and do a contract with a contractor. So we're a ways away from that.

Okay. Um and the seapport economic grant.

So I think everyone got the email from Sarah that we were um awarded the full amount of our grant request for the um the final stage of work out at the Northfield Point. It's uh 964 thou 965,000 roughly. And um I'm in the midst now. They've sent us the the pre-contract worksheet that they have you work out just so you can um get them budgets and u money flow and everything. So I should

have that wrapped up hopefully by the end of this week. And then I'm hoping once we get it back to SE port, we'll be able to get the contract within a couple weeks and hopefully be able to start um finalizing the bid package and getting that out to the street maybe the end of February, early March. So, um we're shooting for a spring start. Of course, I don't know how long it's going to take

the snow to melt, but we'll figure that out. Um mother nature will figure it out for us. But that's where we're at with that. So, that was a nice um nice finish and we're hoping to be done by um early summer out there.

Karen, bouncing back to the um Northfield point.

Were we thinking that we could maybe get that ready for July?

I don't we wouldn't want people to be out there for Fourth of July because of landscaping and the weren't we thinking I wanted to get all the What do you mean for the Fourth of July?

I mean I mean I'm hoping it's going to depend on when we get the contract back from Seapport and um I got a meeting early Friday morning with Beta to kind of lay out um logistics of assuming we get it by this time, you know, where we're going to be.

I'm I think that we will be close to finishing it up in July at some point.

So what do you think? We'll have to fence it off or Well, there's a fence up there now, but I mean just leave that. We would just leave that temporary fence up so people don't go out there for the Fourth of July because we don't want them trumping on everything that we just planted.

Okay.

And it won't be hardy enough to withstand that.

And I think like on on Norton City Pier, we'll have to figure out when we feel the landscaping has, you know, especially the grasses and the flowers when they've solidified and um you know, we really feel like we can let people go out there running around.

Unless we want to assume people will stay on the walking path or we put up win um snow fencing around the landscape areas.

Did we do that last year?

No.

We kept I don't remember doing No, not at City Pier. We don't have to do that at City Pier.

Oh, no. No. What I'm saying is when we finished City Pier, there was a long period of time when we finished it. We were dying to open it to the public and we kept saying no, the grass is not really secure yet.

Right.

Gotcha. Okay.

Um, do you want to say anything about Pleasant Street?

I will in a minute. Um, I want to say that after we got the Seapport grant, um, well, I went and was able to, um, be at the meeting where they announced it and I sent a note immediately to Ellen Sabula who runs the Seapport Council and Johnny and I just signed a letter that I'm going to send off tomorrow to thank the Lieutenant Governor and the Seapport Council.

Perfect.

So, um, yes, I do want to talk about Pleasant Street. So, we will hear about our TDI grant, um, in February.

And no, um, no word is slipping out. I think they're totally waiting until they have their board meeting and then we'll find out if we're one of the six selected. And you know, I'm hopeful but not holding my breath. It's so competitive. So, um I'm going to go after this meeting to the um neighborhood council meeting, which I usually can't attend because ours is always up against theirs, but

we're ending early enough. and um they're going to be talking about the uh love your block mini grants that will be available for next year and those are the grants that have made so many wonderful things happen with the community garden and um story uh stories in the parks and little libraries in the parks. So um so the other piece of news is that the change in the regulations for MEPA did go through and um

they now are required to review urban renewal plans within 30 days which is huge and what we don't know and I've talked with our consultant and we're strategizing exactly how to find out. We don't know what that will mean for us because we already have submitted are um you know much more extensive documents than what now you would be required to submit. What we think we will have to do is submit our

slightly revised urban renewal plan and ask them to withdraw the paper all this stuff we sent them before and let us go in with a simple environmental notification form. And that would be not a lot of time, relatively inexpensive.

and we hope that we can um get that to be approved. So, we'll see.

Perfect.

NMA.

Yeah.

So the news on the north downtown district NMA is really wonderful that the group had been advocating for street lights to be improved on North Street.

It's incred. It's been incredibly dark at night. And so really, we were really beginning to think it wasn't going to happen. And then all of a sudden, um, uh, the lights, the bulbs were changed and the globe, we have new globes and the globes are kind of shiny in a way that really makes them brighten the street incredibly. So that's um from Bedford Street more or less up to the Y.

They did 15 and there's seven more they have to do that are on order but they're going to take 20 weeks to come in. So looks way better.

Yeah.

Doesn't it?

So, I think that is encouraging to NMA that our advocacy paid off on that and that the city really um answered our request. So, that was really good. The other um good news is that uh a calendar of events for next year is already developed. There's a meeting next week on it and it's a collaboration with the city and um an organization that's been very involved in um a number of the events that have happened

downtown. Um it's the person is Stephanie of Craftyish and um so uh Joseph Holddeman uh who did the patio and is really involved has really been pushing to get all these activities to support the restaurants that are seeing a drop in sales probably because of winter but it's frustrating. So um so in March there will be a taste of NMA with um drinks and savories um something every month from March

through December and some months the city has is doing more in a month. So, um, and they're all different and they're things we know people enjoy and one is June 20th supporting Junth and the Bristol Black Collective is going to um, work with us to have arts um, vendors of color um, guided tours of the Underground Railroad and that's going to be a wonderful event and it always in

the past has happened in Kennedy park, but by bringing it to Purchase Street, it will have lots of advantages for the local businesses and it um it will bring more people. And we're looking at numbers of people coming down in the for a lot of these events in the 700 to a thousand range and some more. But um so that's the report on NMA and it's very encouraging that without a CDI a TDI

fellow we're continuing to get things done.

Is that next Wednesday or Thursday?

Isn't there a meeting?

Um I I can't remember which day it is. I can send it to you.

When you were talking about Stephanie, did is that the same Stephanie from the Rotary Club?

No.

Nope.

That's a different Stephanie.

Yeah. Yeah, cuz I thought she had a different last name. Okay.

I don't know that we know her and she talking about that's Stephanie's at the Bose Bank now.

The insurance part of the Menini.

Stephanie Mensi.

Mancini. Right. I don't know which I don't know that we I know this Stephanie barely, but but what is she where where she?

She used to have a shop on North Main.

Oh, so she's a just a local business.

She's worked really closely with Patty Rigo to do a lot of events like the iHeart Fall River that's in the spring that'll move over to Purchase Street.

Maybe I have met her.

Yeah. And so she runs craft classes and things.

Okay.

Okay.

Um Okay. If there's no further matters for the open session, the chair makes a finding that an open session would have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the public body. The purpose of the executive session is to approve the executive session minutes from December 17th, 2025 and to discuss strategy with respect to potential real estate transactions for properties located at 45 Anowan Street,

Fall River and the Deval Street corridor, Fall River, Mass. I'll entertain a motion to enter into executive session and we will not return to open session.

Motion to enter executive session and we will not return to open session.

Second. Second. John Ericson. Yes. Ron Rousen. Yes. Yes. Dan Keane. Yes.

Joan Maderas. Yes.

Thank you.