Taunton Redevelopment Authority

TAUNTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES January 25, 2022 at 3 pm Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton Leonard Conference Room located on the 4th floor. Members Present: Chris Coute Ed Correira Larry Silvia Jeff Pagliuca William Roth, OECD/TRA Ex. Director was also in attendance. Dennis Ackerman was also in attendance. Call to Order at 3:15pm: A quorum was present. Item number 1 on the agenda was to review and approve minutes of December 15, 2021. Mr. Silvia motioned to approve the minutes and was seconded by Mr. Coute. There were no corrections. Motion passed, 4 in favor. Item number 2 was Financial Update Mr. Roth reviewed the balances in the two accounts, Bristol County Savings (checking Account) - $35,019.83 and Taunton Federal Credit Union (savings Account) - $82,037.55. There were no expenses paid. Discussion on insurance needs occurred. It was determined that Mr. Roth should get information and a quote, for the next meeting, for general Directors and Officers Liability coverage and that the current Fraud Policy should not be renewed. Item number 3 Discussion on RFP for Whittenton URP. Mr. Roth presented a draft RFP for an Urban Renewal Plan, and decisions on publication date and project schedule dates will need to be determined. There was general discussion on the draft. The consensus of the TRA was that the RFP was good and that it should be advertised as soon as possible so as to move the project forward. Mr. Coute asked if the TRA should consider advertising for two URP’s to see if there would be cost savings and possible have the existing grant fund both. TRA – January 25, 2022 Meeting Minutes Mr. Roth indicated that the grant request was specific to Whittenton and he did not think the grant could be revised, but would look into it. Mr. Ackerman discussed URP’s in general and showed the TRA plans that were done in the past. Item number 4: Discussion on Consulting Contract for Mr. Ackerman A draft contract and resume were discussed. The TRA discussed the contract and Mr. Ackerman’s experience. Mr. Coute motioned to enter into a contract with Mr. Ackerman, subject to final review and approval from the City’s Law Department and second by Mr. Silvia. Motion passed 4 in favor. Item number 5: Other Business Mr. Correira asked what else can the TRA do while the URP is being worked on? Mr. Ackerman recommended setting up a meeting with State Officials to see if there is any un- used funds that could be used by the TRA. This was done in the past with success. Mr. Roth brought up the idea of looking into City’s tax taking parcels for redevelopment opportunities. He indicated that the vacant lands analysis done by his staff indicated that there were several opportunities. It could possibly be done as a demonstration project under the state laws governing redevelopment authorities. General discussion on redevelopment of tax parcels occurred. It was the consensus that the TRA should identify a project and bring it forward to the City for consideration. Mr. Coute recommended that the TRA should look at getting its own legal counsel. Discussion occurred on possible attorneys. It was determined that Mr. Correira would reach out to the following attorneys: Jean Quin, Ed Brennan and Bob Treano. Item number 6: Next meeting date Mr. Coute recommended that the TRA, moving forward, have a set meeting time. It was recommended the 4th Wednesday of the month at 4 pm. The next meeting date of February 23, 2022 at 4 pm was set. A motion was then made and approved to adjourn the meeting at 4:10 pm. Respectfully submitted, William D. Roth, Jr., Executive Director, TRA TRA – January 25, 2022 Meeting Minutes