The Fall River Redevelopment Authority contract with their staffing agency, the Fall River Office of Economic Development, aka "FROED," aka "Jobs for Fall River," aka Ken Fiola, expired in May. At that time the RA opted to extend FROED's service by 90 days. That 90 days expired last week. This prompted me to search for whether the city/RA made a public request for proposals to fill the staffing position upon the termination of FROED's contract.
Consider this quote from RDA attorney, Peter Bogle, regarding FROED's past bids for the RA staffing contract "FROED was the only qualified respondent on proposals to staff the RA for past contracts. Its staff management includes accounting, clerical support, marketing and negotiating on behalf of the Redevelopment Authority." So where does the RA/city advertise this opening? I did not see an advertisement on the city website, the Central register, the Herald News....google...... A friend of mine was able to find an ad in a publication I had never heard of and that now escapes me.
If the RA truly wanted to replace FROED, they would have advertised the opening with more than a trivial amount of effort. Somehow, despite the clear lack of publicity for the opening, a competing bid was submitted against FROED. I have little detail on the submission but I do know the RA is voting on it Wednesday at 9:15am.
FROED is just plain terrible and I don't think any competing organization could do a worse job. However, realistically, is the RA ever going to replace FROED? The Mayor sits on FROED along with some highfalutin Fall River residents and business people who, while some may not live in Fall River, probably enjoy the perks of a FROED board of directors position (*read: loans): This is not easily let go.
Anyhooo, I urge anyone who can make it to the RA meeting on Wednesday at 9:15am (presumably at government center) to attend. Express your concern the FROED has 32 (founded in 1978) years to improve Fall River and has not. We can't afford to continue paying Ken Fiola $170,000 a year to loan our tax money to his board members, let buildings sit and rot, and give TIF agreements to chain doughnut stores and gas stations.
Showing posts with label FROED. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FROED. Show all posts
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Headlines Say it All
The casino industry is in a major slump. Casino layoffs and bankruptcy are becoming par for the course in the casino industry. Yet, many casino supporters and their leader Will Flanagan insist that the casino will end Fall River's problems. Will it? A recently opened casino in the similarly situated town of Bethlehem, PA laid off nearly 100 people within their first year. Can Fall River handle that? Because it is a distinct possibility. Casino revenues are down, casinos are going bankrupt, casino workers are losing their jobs.
No need to read the following articles, these recent headlines pretty much say it all:
Connecticut slots revenue down at Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun 7/15/2010
Twin Rivers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 6/23/09
Casino layoffs destined to affect Norwich 10/30/2008
Atlantic City Casino Revenue Declines For 22nd Consecutive Month In June 7/12/2010
Analysts: Weakness in Gaming Industry Continues 7/28/2010
Layoffs at casino in Bethlehem: Less than a year after a grand opening that rivaled the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas revue, Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem is laying off 80 employees. 5/1/2010
200 plus layoffs for President Casino gambling boat 4/22/2010
Slipping into Bankruptcy? Foxwoods Struggles With Debt as Gaming Revenue Slumps 9/3/09
No need to read the following articles, these recent headlines pretty much say it all:
Connecticut slots revenue down at Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun 7/15/2010
Twin Rivers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 6/23/09
Casino layoffs destined to affect Norwich 10/30/2008
Atlantic City Casino Revenue Declines For 22nd Consecutive Month In June 7/12/2010
Analysts: Weakness in Gaming Industry Continues 7/28/2010
Layoffs at casino in Bethlehem: Less than a year after a grand opening that rivaled the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas revue, Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem is laying off 80 employees. 5/1/2010
200 plus layoffs for President Casino gambling boat 4/22/2010
Slipping into Bankruptcy? Foxwoods Struggles With Debt as Gaming Revenue Slumps 9/3/09
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas - Fall River is about to get itchy
What?! Government officials are getting bribed? .... Fall River wants in on that action.
A few months ago I read an article in the Providence Journal titled something like "City Councilors Arrested by FBI on Bribery Charges." I clicked on the article hoping it wasn't Fall River but with a suspicion that it was. It was not Fall River, it was North Providence so that was a bit of a relief.
The ProJo article told the tale of 3 North Providence city council members and a developer by the name of Richard Baccari. The councilors agreed to change zoning laws for Baccari's development in exchange for $25,000.
Having recently been implicated in a $25,000 bribery scheme, any sensible government officials would probably hesitate to deal with Baccari. But not our dear FROED/Ken Fiola/RDA/Mayor Flanagan. They have proposed to build the UMass biopark on land Baccari owns in Freetown.
Last year, it was brought to my attention that the offramps being built to the biopark originally had a different plan. For some reason unknown to me, the plans for the offramp were changed so that they would run directly through Baccari's land in Freetown. And, that Baccari could potentially make alot of money as a result of the new plan for the offramps. I thought nothing of it at the time because the biopark was coming along as planned. In retrospect, the offramp plan changes certainly seem suspicious.
How convenient for this private developer Baccari, recently implicated in a government bribery scheme, that he could potentially make a ton of money with FROED's (and Will Flanagan too) help.
"Flanagan acknowledged business talks with the company’s Richard Baccari, the company’s president and CEO." Fall River Herald News July 23, 2010
"Baccari's relationships have always drawn the attention of law enforcement" Channel 10 I-team investigates
A few months ago I read an article in the Providence Journal titled something like "City Councilors Arrested by FBI on Bribery Charges." I clicked on the article hoping it wasn't Fall River but with a suspicion that it was. It was not Fall River, it was North Providence so that was a bit of a relief.
The ProJo article told the tale of 3 North Providence city council members and a developer by the name of Richard Baccari. The councilors agreed to change zoning laws for Baccari's development in exchange for $25,000.
Having recently been implicated in a $25,000 bribery scheme, any sensible government officials would probably hesitate to deal with Baccari. But not our dear FROED/Ken Fiola/RDA/Mayor Flanagan. They have proposed to build the UMass biopark on land Baccari owns in Freetown.
Last year, it was brought to my attention that the offramps being built to the biopark originally had a different plan. For some reason unknown to me, the plans for the offramp were changed so that they would run directly through Baccari's land in Freetown. And, that Baccari could potentially make alot of money as a result of the new plan for the offramps. I thought nothing of it at the time because the biopark was coming along as planned. In retrospect, the offramp plan changes certainly seem suspicious.
How convenient for this private developer Baccari, recently implicated in a government bribery scheme, that he could potentially make a ton of money with FROED's (and Will Flanagan too) help.
"Flanagan acknowledged business talks with the company’s Richard Baccari, the company’s president and CEO." Fall River Herald News July 23, 2010
"Baccari's relationships have always drawn the attention of law enforcement" Channel 10 I-team investigates
Thursday, December 3, 2009
FROED's Contract with the Redevelopment Authority Expires in May
CLICK HERE for FROED's Contract with the Fall River Redevelopment Authority
Some highlights:
- FROED's contract is up on May 9, 2010!
- See how much the city pays FROED
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Ken Fiola's Salary
In a March 2009 article in the Herald News, Fall River Office of Economic Development (FROED) (legally incorporated as Jobs for Fall River, Inc.) president, Alan Amaral was asked about Fiola's salary. Amaral said the board has a legal contract and he’d release it with Fiola’s permission. Amaral said it is at least $100,000 and “is commensurate with his abilities and experience.”
Amaral's answer is scummy because FROED is a non-profit and as a result, Ken Fiola's salary is public record.
Without further ado:
KEN FIOLA'S SALARY
2005 $156,699.00 plus an additional $6,262 in deferred payments
2006 $155,209.00 plus an additional $6,217 in deferred payments
2007 $162,257.00 plus an additional $6,429 in deferred payments
Ken Fiola's Taunton counterpart earns approximately $70,000. That is $100,000.00 less then Fiola. To add further insult, Taunton is actually doing well so their money is well spent on their economic development director.
www.guidestar.org is a free service (you just need to set up an account and password) that offers information on non-profits. FROED's IRS 990's are available on that site. The 990's indicate where FROED's money is spent, salaries, director information, and much more - check it out.
Amaral's answer is scummy because FROED is a non-profit and as a result, Ken Fiola's salary is public record.
Without further ado:
KEN FIOLA'S SALARY
2005 $156,699.00 plus an additional $6,262 in deferred payments
2006 $155,209.00 plus an additional $6,217 in deferred payments
2007 $162,257.00 plus an additional $6,429 in deferred payments
Ken Fiola's Taunton counterpart earns approximately $70,000. That is $100,000.00 less then Fiola. To add further insult, Taunton is actually doing well so their money is well spent on their economic development director.
www.guidestar.org is a free service (you just need to set up an account and password) that offers information on non-profits. FROED's IRS 990's are available on that site. The 990's indicate where FROED's money is spent, salaries, director information, and much more - check it out.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
FROED sucks
Could this explain Peabody's difficulty funding the 64 Durfee proposal they made? Peabody pays $2.275 million to settle a state investigation of Peabody's violation of state affordable housing laws.
Well done FROED/RDA! Way to research proposing parties.
Well done FROED/RDA! Way to research proposing parties.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Short Sea Shipping Not Coming to Fall River
I have long heard of Fall River's desire to host a short sea shipping port. In May 2008, Lt. Governor Tim Murray visited Fall River to discuss short sea shipping with Mayor Robert Correia. At that time, Mayor Correia expressed an interest in short sea shipping. Short sea shipping would be highly beneficial to the city and would likely bring hundreds of jobs to Fall River. Therefore, it was rather unsettling to learn that Fall River will not be in the running for federal stimulus money to develop a short sea shipping port. According to the Providence Journal, Providence, RI; Quonset, RI; and New Bedford, MA have applied for the federal stimulus money under the America’s Marine Highway program. According to the three proposals, the jobs created are estimated from 500 in Quonset to over 1,000 in Providence and New Bedford.
Fall River needs jobs.
Fall River needs Jobs for Fall River, Inc. (aka Fall River Office of Economic Development) to succeed in attracting jobs for Fall River!
While Rhode Island submitted both of its proposals to the federal Department for Transportation for consideration, Massachusetts chose to only submit one proposal. The Projo article does not state who made the decision to drop the Fall River proposal from consideration.
We elected a 30 year State Representative as Mayor for his promise that his experience would provide “Leadership that gets things done.” How can Fall River’s proposal for short sea shipping be eliminated at the state level and not even submitted to the federal government?
Once Fall River’s proposal was submitted to the state agency, did either Mayor Correia or Ken Fiola follow-up the proposal with a call to determine whether the proposal would be submitted to the federal government?
So, since Fall River’s proposal for short sea shipping was not submitted, there will be no federal stimulus funds for Fall River to develop its port. The residents of Fall River are owed an explanation regarding what happened with the city’s proposal. All we are left with is this quote from Ken Fiola, “It’s a shame. The state should have applied for both and let the feds pick and choose.”
Fall River is out of contention to receive stimulus funds for short sea shipping. Hundreds of short sea shipping jobs won’t come to Fall River.
…. It’s a shame, indeed.
Fall River needs jobs.
Fall River needs Jobs for Fall River, Inc. (aka Fall River Office of Economic Development) to succeed in attracting jobs for Fall River!
While Rhode Island submitted both of its proposals to the federal Department for Transportation for consideration, Massachusetts chose to only submit one proposal. The Projo article does not state who made the decision to drop the Fall River proposal from consideration.
We elected a 30 year State Representative as Mayor for his promise that his experience would provide “Leadership that gets things done.” How can Fall River’s proposal for short sea shipping be eliminated at the state level and not even submitted to the federal government?
Once Fall River’s proposal was submitted to the state agency, did either Mayor Correia or Ken Fiola follow-up the proposal with a call to determine whether the proposal would be submitted to the federal government?
So, since Fall River’s proposal for short sea shipping was not submitted, there will be no federal stimulus funds for Fall River to develop its port. The residents of Fall River are owed an explanation regarding what happened with the city’s proposal. All we are left with is this quote from Ken Fiola, “It’s a shame. The state should have applied for both and let the feds pick and choose.”
Fall River is out of contention to receive stimulus funds for short sea shipping. Hundreds of short sea shipping jobs won’t come to Fall River.
…. It’s a shame, indeed.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Jobs for Fall River Inc.
The Fall River Redevelopment Authority opted to award the (predetermined) contract for the sale of 64 Durfee Street to Peabody Properties so that Fall River may further develop its #1 growth industry, low income housing.
After the hasty award, to a company that contributes to the political campaigns of the local powers that be(Bob Correia and Carole Fiola to name a few), I thought that either way, at least this project would result in some jobs for locals; after all, the actual incorporated name of FROED is "Jobs for Fall River."
I read Ken Fiola's recommendations for the award to Peabody and he touted the benefits of the Peabody award including job creation. I assumed that job creation meant "Jobs for Fall River."
I drove before 64 Durfee this week and saw a group of people protesting. They were local out-of-work constuction workers. They are concerned with Peabody's track record of hiring out of state, non-union workers, many from as far as Texas, for minimum wage and no health insurance benefits.
After the hasty award, to a company that contributes to the political campaigns of the local powers that be(Bob Correia and Carole Fiola to name a few), I thought that either way, at least this project would result in some jobs for locals; after all, the actual incorporated name of FROED is "Jobs for Fall River."
I read Ken Fiola's recommendations for the award to Peabody and he touted the benefits of the Peabody award including job creation. I assumed that job creation meant "Jobs for Fall River."
I drove before 64 Durfee this week and saw a group of people protesting. They were local out-of-work constuction workers. They are concerned with Peabody's track record of hiring out of state, non-union workers, many from as far as Texas, for minimum wage and no health insurance benefits.
This was the flyer the out-of-work locals were handing out:
What the heck is the matter with FROED/RDA aka "Jobs for Fall River." They have shown no interest in creating jobs for Fall River. This situation reminds me of the time Ken Fiola errantly rewrote TIF (tax break) agreements to remove the 'jobs for fall river' requirement AFTER the city council had issued final approval on the tax break agreements. Ken Fiola/FROED/RDA/Jobs for Fall River removed the language the city council agreed upon requiring company practices for the hiring of Fall River residents and construction job preference for MA union workers.
While I respect the union flyer's request that we contact the RDA (FROED/FIOLA) and request that they require Peabody to hire local workers, FROED/RDA/FIOLA'S track record is evidence that they won't oblige.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
No Take Backs
In November 2008, the School Committee voted to turn over 13 unused buildings to the city. This vote put the buildings in the hands of the City Council. Since then the Council has been paying the utilities on all of these buildings.
Given the poor decisions of the RDA and FROED over the 64 Durfee Street issue, several of the councilors have since expressed their refusal to turn any of these buildings to the RDA. Now, all of a sudden, the school committee, lead by Bob Correia, doesn't want to turn the buildings over....but they already did! Shouldn't the school committee know the old school rule of 'no take backs.'
Why are the administration and the school committee refusing to turn over the buildings that already belong to the city council. Is the Mayor afraid that without the help of the RDA/FROED that the buildings aren't going to get into the hands of his pals?
It is suspicious that now, after 20 years as the chair of the real estate committee, Leo Pelletier was replaced by, of all people, Pat Casey, a proud do-er of the Mayor's bidding.
Given the poor decisions of the RDA and FROED over the 64 Durfee Street issue, several of the councilors have since expressed their refusal to turn any of these buildings to the RDA. Now, all of a sudden, the school committee, lead by Bob Correia, doesn't want to turn the buildings over....but they already did! Shouldn't the school committee know the old school rule of 'no take backs.'
Why are the administration and the school committee refusing to turn over the buildings that already belong to the city council. Is the Mayor afraid that without the help of the RDA/FROED that the buildings aren't going to get into the hands of his pals?
It is suspicious that now, after 20 years as the chair of the real estate committee, Leo Pelletier was replaced by, of all people, Pat Casey, a proud do-er of the Mayor's bidding.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Not Funny
Background: After the RDA decided on 64 Durfee St on Monday, they had one other item in the agenda. A company in Commerce Park (a lighting company I believe) wants permission from the RDA to get a variance to have a daycare center in their building. They would accept kids from ages 1 to 7. The day care center would be for their employees and possibly for employees of other companies in Commerce and Industrial Park.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
VIDEO: SAVE OUR ARTS OVERLAY DISTRICT RALLY
"Winston Churchill said that, 'Americans can be counted on to do the right thing after they have exhausted all the alternatives' and it seems like the [Fall River] city government right now, is working on the Churchill plan"
Jeff Carpenter, Arts United
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE SAVE OUR ARTS OVERLAY DISTRICT RALLY
The Truth by City Councilor Steve Camara
SAVE THE DATE/TIME
Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am
In the interest of TRUTH, I ask you to tune in on Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am when I will be a guest of Mike Herren's Talk Show. Some of you know me well and others hardly at all. I want you to know me better. As I consider my political future and as I recognize that my possible candidacy for higher office is perceived by some to be a threat to the status quo, I want to assure you that I am willing and able to move forward and do what I can to change the political climate of our City to allow it to move in a direction that will be better for all who live, work and visit here.
Mike Herren announced on Wednesday that he had "Breaking News" which turned out to be that he "uncovered" "public information" that exposes my "hypocrisy" concerning 64 Durfee Street, The Durfee College of Technology Building, which is in the process of being sold to Peabody Properties for a development that most, if not all, of us opposed. The short of it is that Mike Herren has discovered that I own residential property which houses people and some of these people are "subsidized". I have stated that three (3) of my twenty-seven (27) Downtown (Pine and Purchase Street) apartments [approximately ten percent (10%)] have Section 8 certificates. Mike claims I have many more people with "subsidies". Moreover, Mike claims that because I received CDA loans and grants to reconstruct/rehabilitate/restore two (2) of my houses (286-292 Pine Street and 214-216 Purchase Street) that these loans constitute "subsidized tenancies".
This is the beginning of what will be continuing attacks on my character and integrity to assure I will not be a candidate for higher office. It is an attempt to silence my advocacy for the kind of development that will create a better Downtown and Lower Highlands neighborhood. My properties provide decent and affordable housing for people of varying income levels, integrated into the neighborhood rather than "warehoused" in a single building.
The facts are simple. Since 1979, I have purchased five (5) properties and I have spent a whole lot of money buying and reconstructing these properties to improve the character and integrity of a neighborhood that was on the verge of both physical and social decay. Earlier this decade, I spent approximately one million dollars ($1,000,000) to buy and reconstruct two (2) of my houses, creating nine (9) units, three (3) of which are handicapped-accessible and all of which are de-leaded and asbestos-free. Also, I was required to provide a sprinkler system, a fire-prevention requirement of the building and fire codes for multi-family houses of four (4) or more units (286-292 Pine Street is a six (6) unit building). Approximately six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) was a CDA low-interest (3 or 4%) loan with a small grant [approx. seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000)] for creating handicapped-accessible housing and de-leading the units. This money is available to any property owner who can demonstrate that the investment will enhance the neighborhood in which the property is located. The balance, approximately four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00), came from other personal sources, mostly equity accounts from my other properties.
Clearly, this million dollar investment is significant for a six-family house and a three-family house; however, I chose to undertake this for several reasons including my desire to "bring back" these houses from the verge of decay and to protect the investment I had made in my other houses that are abutters to and surround these two (2) houses. Assuredly, if I sold these two (2) houses I doubt that I would recoup my purchase price and reconstruction investment at this time. However, I know that I share with other investors of historical properties the desire and the satisfaction of "saving" a piece of history and the hope that someday there will be a return on the investment.
If you want more information, please feel free to question me. If you do listen to the program and are inclined to call (the "talk show" number is 508-673-1480) and your participation is appreciated.
Mike Herren is presenting the effort we put into the 64 Durfee Street issue as a means to attack personally The Fiolas, Alan Amaral, John Almeida, Nick Christ, Dave Raymondo and the integrity of the "power structure" of Fall River. My focus is to develop a new "power structure" that is both democratic and visionary.
Finally, while I understand that some of you feel that the WSAR talk shows should be ignored, I know that all forms of media and other forms of outreach must be used in order to advance support from the public for both causes and candidacies.
Steve Camara
Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am
In the interest of TRUTH, I ask you to tune in on Friday, 2/27/09 @ 3:30pm on WSAR 1480am when I will be a guest of Mike Herren's Talk Show. Some of you know me well and others hardly at all. I want you to know me better. As I consider my political future and as I recognize that my possible candidacy for higher office is perceived by some to be a threat to the status quo, I want to assure you that I am willing and able to move forward and do what I can to change the political climate of our City to allow it to move in a direction that will be better for all who live, work and visit here.
Mike Herren announced on Wednesday that he had "Breaking News" which turned out to be that he "uncovered" "public information" that exposes my "hypocrisy" concerning 64 Durfee Street, The Durfee College of Technology Building, which is in the process of being sold to Peabody Properties for a development that most, if not all, of us opposed. The short of it is that Mike Herren has discovered that I own residential property which houses people and some of these people are "subsidized". I have stated that three (3) of my twenty-seven (27) Downtown (Pine and Purchase Street) apartments [approximately ten percent (10%)] have Section 8 certificates. Mike claims I have many more people with "subsidies". Moreover, Mike claims that because I received CDA loans and grants to reconstruct/rehabilitate/restore two (2) of my houses (286-292 Pine Street and 214-216 Purchase Street) that these loans constitute "subsidized tenancies".
This is the beginning of what will be continuing attacks on my character and integrity to assure I will not be a candidate for higher office. It is an attempt to silence my advocacy for the kind of development that will create a better Downtown and Lower Highlands neighborhood. My properties provide decent and affordable housing for people of varying income levels, integrated into the neighborhood rather than "warehoused" in a single building.
The facts are simple. Since 1979, I have purchased five (5) properties and I have spent a whole lot of money buying and reconstructing these properties to improve the character and integrity of a neighborhood that was on the verge of both physical and social decay. Earlier this decade, I spent approximately one million dollars ($1,000,000) to buy and reconstruct two (2) of my houses, creating nine (9) units, three (3) of which are handicapped-accessible and all of which are de-leaded and asbestos-free. Also, I was required to provide a sprinkler system, a fire-prevention requirement of the building and fire codes for multi-family houses of four (4) or more units (286-292 Pine Street is a six (6) unit building). Approximately six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) was a CDA low-interest (3 or 4%) loan with a small grant [approx. seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000)] for creating handicapped-accessible housing and de-leading the units. This money is available to any property owner who can demonstrate that the investment will enhance the neighborhood in which the property is located. The balance, approximately four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000.00), came from other personal sources, mostly equity accounts from my other properties.
Clearly, this million dollar investment is significant for a six-family house and a three-family house; however, I chose to undertake this for several reasons including my desire to "bring back" these houses from the verge of decay and to protect the investment I had made in my other houses that are abutters to and surround these two (2) houses. Assuredly, if I sold these two (2) houses I doubt that I would recoup my purchase price and reconstruction investment at this time. However, I know that I share with other investors of historical properties the desire and the satisfaction of "saving" a piece of history and the hope that someday there will be a return on the investment.
If you want more information, please feel free to question me. If you do listen to the program and are inclined to call (the "talk show" number is 508-673-1480) and your participation is appreciated.
Mike Herren is presenting the effort we put into the 64 Durfee Street issue as a means to attack personally The Fiolas, Alan Amaral, John Almeida, Nick Christ, Dave Raymondo and the integrity of the "power structure" of Fall River. My focus is to develop a new "power structure" that is both democratic and visionary.
Finally, while I understand that some of you feel that the WSAR talk shows should be ignored, I know that all forms of media and other forms of outreach must be used in order to advance support from the public for both causes and candidacies.
Steve Camara
Hypo'christ'y
On January 8, 2001 Nick Christ, the chairman of the Community Advisory Group on Public Housing, published a report. It is amazing that Nick Christ is now pushing for additional affordable / subsidized housing. Here are excerpts of the report Nick Christ authored.
“The city also has a high percentage of rental assisted housing, including units managed by the Fall River Housing Authority (FHRA), which for the most part are in need of significant renovation and/or modernization.”
“…the report indicates that Fall River at 17.3% had one of the highest amounts of rental assisted housing (project based and tenant vouchers), as a percentage of total housing in 2000, in the Commonwealth.”
“…the current rent at older, multi-family properties can support appropriate income levels within 40% and 125% of median household income ($12,000 to $36,000), depending on the size of the unit, while still being within HUD’s standard of 30% for housing costs.”
“As such, the City has an excess supply of 2,000 to 3,0000 housing units in relation to the potential number of households that would qualify for rental assistance. This is because a supply of roughly 17,200 units exist at older, multi-family properties where rents are considered affordable for this income group.”
“it is clear that the city has one of the highest amounts of rental assisted housing (17.3%) within the Commonwealth”
“there is an oversupply of 2,000 to 3,000 private housing units which exceeds the potential local demand for affordable housing.”
“the high percentage of rental assisted housing has placed more demands on city services in the area of public safety and education”
Nick Christ’s committee made these recommendations: “Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River, that the city develop an overall comprehensive housing strategy so as to effectively coordinate housing, economic development, education and city services and other public policy concerns.”
“Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River that the Fall River Housing Authority and the City of Fall River place a moratorium on the issuance of new Section 8 vouchers and the construction of non-owner occupied low income housing units. In addition, the Fall River Housing Authority should work with the South Shore Housing Development Corporation to relocate some of the existing vouchers to the surrounding towns.”
Here is great recommendation that Christ made:
“Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River the development of a cap and a reduction of total housing units allocated for rental assistance (i.e., project based and tenant vouchers) from the current 17.3% to a range of 12% - 15% through a reduction of tenant vouchers and a reduction of density in Pleasant View, Sunset Hill, Heritage Heights and Maple Gardens.”
So there was have Nick Christ saying we must reduce rental assistance and now he wants to increase rental assistance!!!
Community Advisory Meeting December 18, 2000 Minutes Nick Christ stated: “The Housing Authority takes the state money and rehabilitates these projects but the private sector gets hurt because people living in the old housing stock surrounding the projects moves to new housing stock. Mr. Christ mentioned that what happens is the surrounding neighborhood further deteriorates and valuations, i.e. tax dollars, which drive the city and makes it a viable place to live declines further.”
I guess Mr. Christ is not so concerned about the private tenements any longer.
-Courtesy of Tom Paine
“The city also has a high percentage of rental assisted housing, including units managed by the Fall River Housing Authority (FHRA), which for the most part are in need of significant renovation and/or modernization.”
“…the report indicates that Fall River at 17.3% had one of the highest amounts of rental assisted housing (project based and tenant vouchers), as a percentage of total housing in 2000, in the Commonwealth.”
“…the current rent at older, multi-family properties can support appropriate income levels within 40% and 125% of median household income ($12,000 to $36,000), depending on the size of the unit, while still being within HUD’s standard of 30% for housing costs.”
“As such, the City has an excess supply of 2,000 to 3,0000 housing units in relation to the potential number of households that would qualify for rental assistance. This is because a supply of roughly 17,200 units exist at older, multi-family properties where rents are considered affordable for this income group.”
“it is clear that the city has one of the highest amounts of rental assisted housing (17.3%) within the Commonwealth”
“there is an oversupply of 2,000 to 3,000 private housing units which exceeds the potential local demand for affordable housing.”
“the high percentage of rental assisted housing has placed more demands on city services in the area of public safety and education”
Nick Christ’s committee made these recommendations: “Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River, that the city develop an overall comprehensive housing strategy so as to effectively coordinate housing, economic development, education and city services and other public policy concerns.”
“Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River that the Fall River Housing Authority and the City of Fall River place a moratorium on the issuance of new Section 8 vouchers and the construction of non-owner occupied low income housing units. In addition, the Fall River Housing Authority should work with the South Shore Housing Development Corporation to relocate some of the existing vouchers to the surrounding towns.”
Here is great recommendation that Christ made:
“Recommend to the Mayor of the City of Fall River the development of a cap and a reduction of total housing units allocated for rental assistance (i.e., project based and tenant vouchers) from the current 17.3% to a range of 12% - 15% through a reduction of tenant vouchers and a reduction of density in Pleasant View, Sunset Hill, Heritage Heights and Maple Gardens.”
So there was have Nick Christ saying we must reduce rental assistance and now he wants to increase rental assistance!!!
Community Advisory Meeting December 18, 2000 Minutes Nick Christ stated: “The Housing Authority takes the state money and rehabilitates these projects but the private sector gets hurt because people living in the old housing stock surrounding the projects moves to new housing stock. Mr. Christ mentioned that what happens is the surrounding neighborhood further deteriorates and valuations, i.e. tax dollars, which drive the city and makes it a viable place to live declines further.”
I guess Mr. Christ is not so concerned about the private tenements any longer.
-Courtesy of Tom Paine
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
RDA/FROED Meeting Video 2/24/09 on 64 Durfee
UPDATE FULL VIDEO AVAILABLE
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL MEETING VIDEO
_______________________________________________
Although I didn't enjoy the outcome, this hour long meeting was great. Due to technical diffuculties I only have the first 12 mins so far. I will update this later today.
I am thrilled at the amount of people that showed up and hopefully this increased scrutiny of FROED/RDA will continue because I think they need it.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL MEETING VIDEO
_______________________________________________
Although I didn't enjoy the outcome, this hour long meeting was great. Due to technical diffuculties I only have the first 12 mins so far. I will update this later today.
I am thrilled at the amount of people that showed up and hopefully this increased scrutiny of FROED/RDA will continue because I think they need it.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
"Beyond Reproach" or Caught Rewriting TIF Agreements?
I keep hearing that we should not question the motives, righteousness, virtue, honor, etc of Ken Fiola, executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development. To reiterate some points I have made in the past:
RECAP
RECAP
- Ken Fiola should not be the treasurer of his wife's campaign because he is functionally/constructively a municipal employee and that is a violation of campaign finance law.
- Ken Fiola, as treasurer, should have recused himself from reviewing and making recommendations in favor of Peabody, where Peabody is a regular contributor to his wife's campaign funding. It is my contention that it is a violation of state ethics rules.
"BREAKING NEWS"
Fiola was clearly pleased to "break the news" on wsar yesterday that Burbank had a potential funding source from a "corporation" that wasn't yet incorporated. Despite the fact that this is legal business practice and that Burbank made no false representations about the fact that their funding was not yet incorporated, the wsar program yesterday with Ken Fiola and Alan Amaral hinted that there was something fraudulent afoot.
So here is my (old) "breaking news" on Mr. Ken "beyond reproach" Fiola who recently recommended the awarding of a TIF (tax increment finance) agreement to yet another company that contributed to his wife's campaign which could result in approximately $240,000 in tax benefits.......He was caught by the city council in 2000 REWRITING TIF agreements AFTER the City Council approved the specific wording of the agreements. Fiola, who gets paid handsomely for his duty of getting "Jobs for Fall River (the actual name of FROED)" rewrote one particular TIF agreement, among others, granting Quaker a 20 year TIF. The council approved of a TIF agreement with Quaker in May 1999. The agreement granted Quaker a 20-year TIF exemption. In return Quaker pledged to build a roughly 358,000-square-foot facility on Jefferson Street, and also to hire 700 new employees. According to Councilor Brian Pearson, the language in the Quaker TIF the state received and approved greatly differed from the TIF agreement the council had authorized earlier. Fiola's erroneously altered wording in the agreement removed the wording the Council had inserted in the agreement stating its "preference" that Quaker use local contractors "who have registered apprenticeship programs with the commonwealth of Massachusetts to encourage the training of a skilled work force." JOBS FOR FALL RIVER ........FAIL
According the the councilors in the same Herald News article, SEVERAL TIF agreements had been changed. Is Ken up to his old tricks again???????????? Nah, he is BEYOND REPROACH
RELATED ARTICLES TO KEN FIOLA REWRITING TIF'S
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=1171001&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=1166953&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99784&rfi=8
Sunday, February 22, 2009
64 Durfee Street - Audio from the RDA/FROED meeting
An audio copy of the RDA/FROED meeting from 1/21/09 recently came into my possession, unfortunately the sound quality isn't very good. The only person that comes across clearly on the audio is John Almeida and a small portion of Nick Christ.
Email me ( shamrockblogger@gmail.com ) if you would like a copy of the original and I will try to get one to you as soon as I can depending on the demand. Maybe you have louder speakers than me and can hear it better. There are some great comments that are kind of discernible by Steve Camara, Jeff Carpenter, Ray Hague, and a very fierce Cathy Ann Viveiros giving John Almeida 'the bizness.'
A summary of the "best of" John Almeida
“Since I’m really not frankly an art buff”
“What other communities and cities and towns have had the opportunity to do, isn’t necessarily going to be happening here although some wish that it could”
“When I showed up to my first meeting of the redevelopment authority I saw on the conference table a big bag and all that was in that bag was crap; and they said put your hands in, pull some out, put it in the bag and deal with that bag one at a time”
“I don’t want to be here a long time because I don’t want to stay here a long time, cuz I honestly don’t think it’s necessary to be here a long time, maybe I’m dead wrong ‘kay? It’s not the only item on our agenda and when you look at our agenda”
“I didn’t require [RA] members to, in writing, evaluate the proposals, we had no previous discussions amongst ourselves about the proposal, we were to meet, vote, THEN discuss”
“If I gave you the impression that time is of the essence here that isn’t necessarily the case because we cannot afford to do this wrong, we cannot afford to do this wrong.”
“What else do we [RA] own that we have had for 20 years? [someone answers ‘the City Pier’] “We’re going to have Glow Ring Manufacturing developed on that site…….but I don’t mean to make light of it”
Email me ( shamrockblogger@gmail.com ) if you would like a copy of the original and I will try to get one to you as soon as I can depending on the demand. Maybe you have louder speakers than me and can hear it better. There are some great comments that are kind of discernible by Steve Camara, Jeff Carpenter, Ray Hague, and a very fierce Cathy Ann Viveiros giving John Almeida 'the bizness.'
A summary of the "best of" John Almeida
“Since I’m really not frankly an art buff”
“What other communities and cities and towns have had the opportunity to do, isn’t necessarily going to be happening here although some wish that it could”
“When I showed up to my first meeting of the redevelopment authority I saw on the conference table a big bag and all that was in that bag was crap; and they said put your hands in, pull some out, put it in the bag and deal with that bag one at a time”
“I don’t want to be here a long time because I don’t want to stay here a long time, cuz I honestly don’t think it’s necessary to be here a long time, maybe I’m dead wrong ‘kay? It’s not the only item on our agenda and when you look at our agenda”
“I didn’t require [RA] members to, in writing, evaluate the proposals, we had no previous discussions amongst ourselves about the proposal, we were to meet, vote, THEN discuss”
“If I gave you the impression that time is of the essence here that isn’t necessarily the case because we cannot afford to do this wrong, we cannot afford to do this wrong.”
“What else do we [RA] own that we have had for 20 years? [someone answers ‘the City Pier’] “We’re going to have Glow Ring Manufacturing developed on that site…….but I don’t mean to make light of it”
Monday, February 16, 2009
64 Durfee's Fate
The RDA (and FROED) meeting to determine the fate of 64 Durfee will be: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, at 3:30PM at FROED (the room is labeled "Jobs For Fall River") Office, One Government Center, 6th floor for the Redevelopment Authority meeting when it is expected to act on the issue of 64 Durfee Street and its re-use (attendees for this meeting should meet at the cafeteria of Government Center/first floor (behind the elevators) at 3:00PM
Save the Arts Overlay District RALLY
You have been invited by Arts United, Lower Highlands/Historic Downtown Neighborhood Association, Save Our Neighborhoods to SAVE THE ARTS OVERLAY DISTRICT RALLY!
64 Durfee Street, Former Durfee College of Technology64 Durfee StreetFall River, MA 02720
Monday, February 23, 5:00PM
SAVE THE ARTS OVERLAY DISTRICT!
JOIN US at 64 Durfee Street (former Durfee College of Technology) for a rally, sponsored by Arts United, Lower Highlands/Historic Downtown Neighborhood Association and Save Our Neighborhoods to support re-use of 64 Durfee Street for a mixed use, artists' live/work/sell space with venues for commercial and entertainment uses!
BRING EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
PASS IT ON!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Redevelopment Authority, FROED, and Councilor Casey Play Hooky
The City Council Subcommittee for Economic Development and Tourism Committee chaired by Councilor Steve Camara met tonight to discuss ....economic development, of course, but with a particular emphasis on the future of 64 Durfee Street.
It is nice, and encouraging, to have so many like minded, enthusiastic, people anxious to revitalize the city in many ways, including the development of a 'creative economy.' It is, however, highly discouraging, yet not surprising, that the Fall River Office of Economic Development didn't bother to show up at the economic development meeting. As far as I am concerned, FROED needs all the help they can get and should be going to these meetings. No one from the Redevelopment Authority was there nor was committee member Casey....apparently the hierarchy isn't serious about Fall River's revitalization.
It is nice, and encouraging, to have so many like minded, enthusiastic, people anxious to revitalize the city in many ways, including the development of a 'creative economy.' It is, however, highly discouraging, yet not surprising, that the Fall River Office of Economic Development didn't bother to show up at the economic development meeting. As far as I am concerned, FROED needs all the help they can get and should be going to these meetings. No one from the Redevelopment Authority was there nor was committee member Casey....apparently the hierarchy isn't serious about Fall River's revitalization.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Ken Fiola's Recommendations to RDA
Ken Fiola's Recommendations to the Redevelopment Authority on 64 Durfee.
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