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Residents praise new services; board notes security, bingo machine, Wi‑Fi and bookmobile expansion
Summary
Residents and staff reported security steps, a purchased bingo machine, new Wi‑Fi in a community room, two grants for community-room purchases, and bookmobile stops scheduled for multiple sites. Board members and staff described temporary weekend security and outreach steps after resident meetings.
Residents and staff at the April 14 Fall River Housing Authority meeting described outreach and service changes at several authority properties, including additional security at Cattell, a purchased bingo machine, installation of Wi‑Fi in a community room, and expanded bookmobile service.
Resident Robert (Bob) Balo of Cocktail Heights reported he is helping other building resident leaders form similar programs and that residents at Mitchell and Beressey are organizing meetings. Balo said residents at Mitchell “want the bingo machine,” and the board later confirmed purchasing a bingo machine for community use.
Executive Director Director Spadela and staff described two separate grants: one to purchase community-room items for one building (referred to as Varesi in the transcript) and another grant that will cover Mitchell; staff said the grants would need to be allocated across multiple sites and that resident leaders should compile wish lists. The transcript does not record the grant amounts.
Following a resident meeting at Cattell the board procured temporary weekend security services for approximately 90 days and installed additional parking signs and “no trespassing” signage on the property. Staff also said they swapped site management and maintenance staff at one site to give residents a “fresh start.” Spadela said Wi‑Fi was being installed in the community room there and that a bingo machine had been purchased through the purchasing department.
Ted Gagnon, a resident speaker, described the library bookmobile schedule: the bookmobile visited Oliveira on April 4, Bishop Bede on April 9, and will be at O’Brien on April 28 and then every two weeks afterward. He also said the authority is organizing a May 7 trip to the State House and that “we're taking 16 residents to the State House” along with people from Brockton for a lobby day.
The board also noted the authority received a HUD audit review with no findings; the transcript records staff saying HUD “found no findings or question cost.”
Why it matters: the items represent direct services and safety measures for residents—security patrols, community activities, connectivity and library outreach—that may affect resident quality of life and ongoing resident-led programming.
Ending: Staff asked resident leaders to compile wish lists for community-room purchases and said staff would follow up to coordinate purchases and installations.
