Redevelopment authority approves $36,000 contract amendment to advance City Pier cathodic protection bids

The Fall River Redevelopment Authority on an open-session vote approved Amendment No. 1 to the agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment LLC, authorizing up to $36,000 in time-and-materials support for bid support and construction management of a cathodic-protection project at City Pier.

The authority’s project manager, Karen Martin, told the board that the bid package will be posted on COMMBUYS and published in the Central Register with the package available April 2, a mandatory on-site pre-bid April 9 and bids due April 17. Martin said the base design calls for 109 impressed-current anodes along the pier’s sheet piling to reduce corrosion and extend the life of the pier’s steel pilings.

“We are getting into the thick of it with cathodic protection,” Martin said, describing the anodes as roughly 5 inches by 5 inches by 3 feet, weighing about 90 pounds each, and installed about a foot above the underwater ground. She said the base bid includes continuity/knuckle welds, tab welding, epoxy protection on welds and testing. The engineered system is expected to provide about 20 years of protection, she said.

Martin described two priced alternates the authority will solicit: a square-foot unit-price epoxy coating for priority southern-exposure areas above mean low water, and a splash-zone/intertidal “mastic” epoxy for the zone repeatedly wetted by tides. She said alternates were added because preliminary pricing suggests the base anode installation alone may exceed the authority’s grant budget; alternates can be accepted depending on final bids and contingency funds.

During discussion board members asked whether the installation could have been completed earlier; Martin and other participants attributed earlier delay to funding. Martin said permitting was written to cover the entire project so the authority would not need to reapply if alternates are later accepted.

The board approved Amendment No. 1 to the Foth contract—time-and-material not to exceed $36,000—and authorized the chair to sign. The motion passed on recorded voice votes during the open session. Board members recorded voting “yes” during the roll calls included John Erickson, Joan Maderas and Anne Keane; the meeting transcript records those yes votes as part of the motion to approve the amendment.

Votes at a glance

• Motion: Approve open-session minutes from February 26, 2025. Outcome: Approved (recorded yes votes: John Erickson; Joan Maderas; Anne Keane). Motion/second recorded; full roll call not specified in transcript.

• Motion: Approve March 2025 warrant totaling $56,746.65. Outcome: Approved (warrant amount announced by staff; vote recorded as part of roll call sequence).

• Motion: Approve Amendment No. 1 to Foth Infrastructure and Environment LLC contract for cathodic protection bid support and construction management, time-and-materials not to exceed $36,000; authorize chair to sign. Outcome: Approved (recorded yes votes: John Erickson; Joan Maderas; Anne Keane).

Why it matters: City Pier is a major capital asset for Fall River’s waterfront. The cathodic protection work targets the sheet piling that receives the most splash and wave action; engineering staff said the design and alternates aim to preserve the pilings and avoid more costly repairs later.

Other meeting items and development updates

Karen Martin and staff also announced the City Pier project has been nominated by the engineering team to receive a brownfields remediation award from the Environmental Business Council of New England. The authority was invited to an awards ceremony at City Winery in Boston on Wednesday, June 4; the authority discussed sending a delegation of up to eight complimentary seats and coordinating which contractors and partners to recognize on stage.

On other development topics, staff updated the board on several neighborhood and grant efforts. Northfield and mooring-field work are proceeding: permitting is expected to wrap up soon and the authority continues to pursue a federal Marine Fisheries grant (staff cautioned that federal staffing reductions may delay awards, potentially to August). For Pleasant Street, the authority submitted expressions of interest for competitive planning grants, including a $150,000 planning grant and a $50,000 real-estate-feasibility grant to prepare properties for future development and demolition as needed. Staff also applied for a revamped vacant-storefront program that would provide up to $50,000 of flexible tax-credit funding to incentivize tenants to occupy and fit out storefronts; staff noted the credit typically goes to the business/tenant and said program details and eligibility will be clarified if the authority is invited to apply.

Downtown and North Downtown initiatives were discussed: a near-final Duval Street corridor master plan and an active North Downtown initiative with a new fellow organizing business and property-owner participation. Staff cited restaurant week (about 25 restaurants participating) and heightened engagement from property owners and institutions such as BankFive. The group identified trash collection, lighting and pedestrian safety as recurring concerns; staff said they will coordinate with the city’s planning and engineering departments and regional planning (SRPEDD) for traffic and safety studies and potential SERPed grant applications.

What’s next: Staff will publish the cathodic protection bid documents and bring recommended bid responses back to the authority for contractor selection. Staff will also continue to coordinate grant applications and report progress at upcoming meetings. The authority moved into executive session at the end of the open session to discuss a potential real-estate transaction and did not return to open session.