A new economic development plan proposed by Mayor Jasiel Correia that would establish an in-house department for this area, and that would dissolve the Fall River Office of Economic Development’s contract with the Redevelopment Authority was tabled after a meeting last night.
Mayor Correia spent nearly two hours unveiling the plan before the board to have a city-run economic development department run by his administration, while FROED Vice President Ken Fiola Jr. defended services his office provides to the Redevelopment Authority.
Back in September Fiola signed a three year contract with the Redevelopment Authority which included a thirty day termination clause.
The mayor called Thursday’s special meeting on Tuesday, to explain his plan to RA members, which now has about $3.9 million dollars from the sale of property in the biopark.
According to a report in today’s Fall River Herald News, Redevelopment Authority member Joseph Oliveira says there was too much information to absorb before agreeing to break the contract with FROED, which it has has renewed from time to time since the two groups began working together in 2000. Traditionally, the Redevelopment Authority has had assets, but little money.
Dubbing his plan the Office of Economic Development and Tourism, Correia referred to a handwritten chart that showed funding his new initiative annually would come from $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant money, and $11,000 paid by the Redevelopment Authority to the new office.
Another $30,000 would be paid to the city-run economic development department from the Redevelopment Authority as a payment in lieu of taxes.
The board did indicate it would hold a special meeting to allow for further public input.
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