Remarks by Linda M. Pereira
56 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 3
“DJ, I have also talked to the chief and he was sending cops out there consistently to keep checking. I had talked to Al Alvarez about it. And one of the problems is that people will go in to Seven Hills to get stuff and then they don't leave. I also talked to Nikki Fontaine, because what I was told was Seven Hills is responsible for people when they're in the building, not when they're outside of the building. And Nikki Fontaine said she knew the people that ran that, that she would talk to them. They can't hang around there after. And if you go behind Seven Hills building or behind Alvaro's,…”
“I mean, I think it's a balance because you want to try to help people.”
“But at the same time, you don't want to enable people. And I feel Fall River has lots of services for people. And sometimes I wonder, are we enabling people where they're not hitting rock bottom to get the help that they need?”
“I know it's even gone down further, even towards the library, there's been problems there, to the point that Jerry Donovan, who owns property down there, has offered to give the police department one of his storefronts where they could just stop in and out, and they would have a location there so that they could better circulate the whole South Main, North Main area. So it's not like people aren't working on things. They're inundated.”
“Especially there. You have a lot of young people that are going to learn how to sing. It's young children. And parents are afraid. I don't blame them.”
“But thanks for coming down and sharing that, TJ. Thank you.”
“I look at this in a bit of a different way. I agree that, you know, the grant is to supply people with clean syringes so that they don't get sick or get hepatitis. But again, I wonder if that's enabling or really assisting. What really gets me mad when I found out about this, I called some of the locations, Star, Stepping Stone, Seven Hills, the Diabetes Association. You're giving somebody 12 syringes. You can't return them. Where are you going to return them? Some places you can return between certain hours. You think they're returning them? They're not returning them. They're all over the…”
“I just want to add on to what Councilor Kadeem said about the money that was appropriated, and at one point when, I think career number two, when Jaisal Correa was mayor, We had purchased, or the city had purchased, or through some grant or through that funding, machines that we had. I want to say Globe Street and Flint, or maybe it was the North End, two fire stations that had these machines. You could bring back your needles, they'd melt them down, and then you could dispose of them, even if somebody was a diabetic and had syringes. But all of a sudden, those machines, I heard that they…”
“With that idea. Thank you, Mr. President.”
“I just say if they were supposed to get an answer within 30 days, that the council send a letter to the administration, to the law department, to the engineer, planner, that they come together, have a meeting, and let us know an update on this within two weeks by our next meeting. They've had 30 days. Let them come up with what it is. You can't tell people you're going to do something in a certain amount of time and you don't do it.”
“It's ironic that we're talking about these bags. I know that when Helen Regal told me about it, she was out of her mind. But somebody called me just yesterday, because this had been on the news, that they're having a puff and paint party where you can go and smoke your marijuana or smoke whatever you want to smoke. And you're going to puff and paint, and liquor will be for sale. But I thought that you couldn't just go to an establishment like that. And that's going to be happening in Fall River again on some place on South Main Street. But I thought that that was not legal.”
“Yeah, there's no social. Well, but it was it was on they showed me the they sent me the puffin and paint.”
“I don't know what they're painting. But it was a puff and paint. And you had to buy your own liquor. I've heard of restaurants, you bring your own booze, you bring a bottle of wine. But I didn't even know you could buy liquor from someone. up just something else you know not if they don't have a liquor license to sell you well yeah exactly so i was like i have no idea who's doing this with that i yield uh councilman thank you so i appreciate my colleague with the follow-through on the resolution i think it's you know a conversation needs to take place um i don't know that my mind's going to…”
“I know that they didn't ask for name or whatever, but I'm really surprised you wouldn't even ask for an ID for somebody's age. So does that mean somebody 17 or 16 could go in? if they you know look a little bit older like not even an age requirement I don't know I just kind of concerning they could be giving them out to younger people with that I yield thank you anything further Council and C3 consulate annual”
“The only one that I have a question on is 23, the armory with all of the curb removal that they want. Does anybody know why they need that? I thought they were looking at closing that place, and now are they going to be doing something else there?”
“Just for the rehab? Just for the rehab? Okay.”
“I would ask if that vehicle is registered, the van, and if it has gotten the lettering on it that it was supposed to get. Because the tires were flat from it just sitting there and nobody using it.”
“They were supposed to be lettering it. Is it lettered yet?”
“And they do have drivers. And the other driver that they had said he would come back as soon as you let him know what the hours were going to be because they kept switching hours. But I have been inundated with calls from veterans and from seniors waiting to get to a grocery store and not being able to. I mean, I don't want to bring everybody, but I have had to give a couple of people a ride because I felt bad. They had no way to get there. It's no excuse. But it was a good resolution to file, Council. Ken, you'll appreciate it. With that, I yield.”
“I just wanted to clarify something you said.”
“So while I'm talking, just keep your mouth shut. I was giving him a point of order. Sorry, he doesn't take point of orders.”
“I'm going to give a point of order, even though the point of order wasn't given. What I was going to say.”
“Well, I didn't want him to be upset. I said, do you mind if I give a point of order? Don't tell me I don't give you point of orders. He didn't want to give a point of order.”
“Well, but I wanted to ask permission to give a point of order, because he seems to be touchy tonight. That's all. The point of order that I wanted to give is the fact that some of the drivers... Councillor Pereira has the floor. SOME OF THE DRIVERS, ONE OF THE CONCERNS WERE THAT BECAUSE THE DRIVERS WERE NOT CITY EMPLOYEES, WE WERE NOT COVERED LIABILITY-WISE, WHICH I DON'T UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU CAN 1099 THEM OR MAYBE YOU CAN EVEN HAVE THEM AS PART-TIME EMPLOYEES WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY EVERYTHING AND THEY WOULD BE COVERED BY US. but that was one of the rationales of why they stopped it,…”
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.