Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The former school committee member and current Attleboro Redevelopment Authority board member unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2011.
This year's election to determine the Ward 2 representative on the Attleboro City Council could be a rematch. City native Rick Correia, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in a 2011 special election, announced this week he would try again this fall. His opponent in the contest two years ago was current seat holder Mark Cooper, who has not said whether he would run for re-election. Correia, 63, served four terms on the school committee and currently sits on the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority board. Correia said this experience makes him a good person to be on the top governing board for a changing city. "We are in a new era of revitalization and redevelopment in Attleboro," Correia said. "The council would benefit from a new view to …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Leaders disagree on whether ARA board members should have made a presentation to the city council and whether the board members gave enough notice saying they would not do it.
Attleboro city councilors did not hold back their frustration Tuesday night when no Attleboro Redevelopment Authority board members appeared for a planned presentation of updates on various development projects. There was disagreement on whether board members gave adequate notice they would skip the meeting, but this did not appear to change the bigger picture that councilors said they should have been there and ARA board members said they had good reason to delay a presentation. Councilor Richard Conti, the council's liaison to the ARA and chair of the committee on capital improvements & city development, announced toward the beginning of Tuesday's council meeting he had received an email from Judy Robbins, ARA chair and former mayor, the…
Friday, February 22, 2013
The City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association will write an amicus brief in support of the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority's opposition to a state commission and judge's order that it rehire fired employees.
It is not exactly an independent and unbiased source, but the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority has found a supporter in its legal battle to legitimize the 2009 firings of the agency's executive director and chief financial officer. The court recently approved the request of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association to submit an amicus brief in support of the ARA's case. ARA Chair Judy Robbins announced the development at an ARA board meeting earlier this month. The CSTCA is made up of attorneys who represent cities and towns, including City Solicitor Robert Mangiaratti. Robbins said the organization's board voted 11-1 to write the amicus brief. The ARA fired Michael Milanoski as executive director and Meg Ross as chief financial …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Vehicles were allowed back on the downtown detour by sundown Thursday.
Everybody's favorite downtown shortcut is alive again in Attleboro. Wall Street, the road connecting County and North Main streets, reopened by sundown Thursday after being closed for several weeks as part of an Attleboro Redevelopment Authority project. Attleboro Patch will have more information on this story soon.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Plans for the building include up to 80 condo units and 6,000 square feet of commercial space.
The corner of South Main and Wall streets could soon be the site of a mixed-use development that local leaders say will be a major part of the revitalization of the city's downtown. The Attleboro Redevelopment Authority and Mansfield-based Crunagle Properties finalized an agreement last week for the development of a six-story building featuring condos and commercial space. Construction of the $6.8 million development could begin in July. The preliminary plans call for underground parking, 6,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and up to 80 condo units on the remaining floors, with at least five units designated as affordable housing. ARA board Chair Judy Robbins and Mayor Kevin Dumas announced the agreement to an …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A ceremony takes place for the groundbreaking of the first phase of Attleboro's downtown revitalization project.
Local, state and federal officials shovel some dirt Wednesday morning at the groundbreaking of the Intermodal Transportation Center project, the first phase of the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority's downtown revitalization plan. Look for more information on this story soon.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
The money will be used to clean up two former industrial sites that are expected to be replaced with development intended to revitalize downtown Attleboro.
More financial news came out about the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority on Friday, but this information probably wasn't going to anger anybody. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially announced it was awarding two grants totalling $400,000 to the ARA to clean up two former industrial sites that are expected to be part of a revitalized downtown Attleboro. Also, the local agency will receive an additional $365,000 from MassDevelopment to complete the effort. The grant money will be used to clean up the former Automatic Machine Product and American Metalcraft Co. properties. "I can't even tell you how we feel about the fact that those two grants are going to help us do the final bit of cleanup on this site and that we are already…
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Chair Judy Robbins says the ARA will be discussing a possible settlement during the appeal period.
By a unanimous vote, the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority board decided Thursday afternoon to appeal the recent decision by a Bristol County Superior Court judge that two employees were wrongfully fired in 2009 and must be reinstated with back pay, including benefits and interest. The decision to appeal does not necessarily mean the case will be heard by the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Board Chair Judy Robbins said the ARA would try to reach a settlement. The agency will have some time to do that because the appeal process could take a year or more, City Solicitor Robert Mangiaratti told the City Council on Monday. "The time given to appeal is very short; you have 30 days to make up your mind," said Robbins after the announcement of the …
Any city councilor that cows to the public humiliation of being spoken to like they were children by the city solicitor and who believes for one minute that they have no say in this matter should either resign in shame or not run for elected office again.
Let me introduce myself, my name is John Q. Taxpayer and I reside in the city of Attleboro. I am also affectionately known by some city officials as "a funding source" for all the ARA lawsuits. I attended a public meeting at City Hall Monday evening, the purpose of which was to recap the ARA's latest failed lawsuit. We, the taxpayers, are obligated to pay out $600,000 for this latest lawsuit. And the figure grows larger every day because of a very high interest rate tacked on to this figure. I found this meeting to be very strange, to say the least. I felt somewhat like Alice in Wonderland. Things grew more and more curious by the minute. The first thing that happened was that the City Council president thanked us all for attending, but …
A public comment period may be included.
Jerry Chase
1:37 am on Sunday, March 24, 2013
In regards to the ARA: we should not be nay-sayers automatically. I confess that on a few occasions, I may have done this. That being said, however, I continue to believe that the CITIZENS and CITY COUNCILORS have the RIGHT to critique the ARA or any arm of city government. There does seem to be a bit of projected attitude by some that the ARA should be considered above criticism. Not. more ›