FALL RIVER The Fall River City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 27, takes up four state, federal and county grants worth $7.4 million that would rebuild Alden Street, rehabilitate Columbia Street and keep replacing lead water lines that run into homes. The council has not yet voted to accept the money.
Mayor Paul E. Coogan sent the four awards to the council for its "consideration and formal acceptance," writing that the city "has been notified" of each one. The largest is $5 million from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Two more come from congressionally directed federal spending, $1.3 million through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $1,092,000 through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The fourth is $4,500 from the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Together they total $7,396,500.
Alden Street
The state money comes through the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program and would pay to reconstruct the streets, sidewalks and sewer infrastructure along Alden Street. The work is meant "to support recent and upcoming housing developments," the city says. The grant runs through June 30, 2029, and requires a 10% local share, which the city plans to cover with $500,000 of its Chapter 90 state road money.
Columbia Street
The $1.3 million from HUD would rehabilitate streets, sidewalks and an underused parklet on Columbia Street "to support the revitalization of the Waterfront Cultural District," the order says. It needs no local match and runs through Oct. 1, 2027.
The same $1.3 million project appears on U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss's list of fiscal 2026 community project funding requests as the Fall River Street Parklet and Streetscape Rehabilitation Project. That description calls Columbia Street the primary route through the historic Waterfront Cultural District and lists new roads, sidewalks, lighting, trash cans, signs and trees. It says the city would also acquire the parklet at the corner of Columbia and Canal streets and turn it into an accessible public space for outdoor recreation and community events.
Lead service lines
The $1,092,000 from the EPA would continue the city's lead service line replacement program, in which residential service lines are replaced "to reduce lead exposure from drinking water," the order says. It also runs through Oct. 1, 2027, with no local match. The city had asked for $4 million for the program on that same request list.
The program builds on earlier federal money. In December 2022, the EPA announced a $10 million federal grant to help the city replace public and private lead pipes connected to homes. The agency said that money would also help Fall River meet a settlement with the state, announced Nov. 29, 2022, that requires the city to remove lead service lines throughout Fall River after a lead action level exceedance.
Training for Scout
The smallest award, $4,500 from the district attorney's Community Funding Program, would pay for a specialized search and rescue training session for Scout, the comfort dog of Fall River Emergency Medical Services. That grant runs through Dec. 31, 2026.
What happens next
The grant orders are the first priority item at the council's regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the City Council Chamber at One Government Center, or right after the 6 p.m. Committee on Finance meeting if it runs past 7. Each order would authorize the mayor to accept and spend the money and to sign the documents that go with it. The same agenda carries the city's new agreement with Teamsters Local 251 and a $3.1 million snow and ice deficit transfer, which SC360 reported Oct. 23.
The Committee on Finance meeting opens with citizen input. The City Clerk's office can be reached at 508-324-2220 or city_clerk@fallriverma.gov, and the mayor's office at 508-324-2600 or mayor@fallriverma.gov.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact about the four awards comes from the Fall River City Council's Oct. 27 agenda packet: the agenda, the mayor's Oct. 7 letter, the four grant orders and the summary table. The Columbia Street project details and the $4 million lead line request come from U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss's fiscal 2026 community project funding page, and the 2022 grant and settlement from the EPA's December 2022 release. We read them on Oct. 25. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. We are asking the mayor's office for comment and will add the answer.
Corrections
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Sources (3)
- City of Fall River: City Council agenda packet, Oct. 27, 2026 (agenda, mayor's Oct. 7 grant letter, grant orders 1a to 1d, summary table)Clerk's stamp Oct. 23, 2026, 1:21 p.m. Read Oct. 25, 2026.
- U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss: FY26 Community Project Funding Requests (Fall River Lead Service Line Replacement Program; Fall River Street Parklet and Streetscape Rehabilitation Project)Read Oct. 25, 2026.
- U.S. EPA: EPA and Massachusetts Officials Celebrate Nearly $15 Million of Public Health Protection Investments in Fall RiverLast updated Dec. 12, 2022. Read Oct. 25, 2026.