Commenter waittilnextyr has issued his ongoing quarterly report on whether or not the City Councilors are living up to their campaign promises. Prospects on some fronts have seen measured improvement. Others still need some work.
One person’s opinion on how our city government is performing on the list established for this council’s term in office: (quarterly update)
Quarterly Update 9/30/06
1. Control Property Taxes
( from 6/30: pessimistic, based on Budget proposed with added jobs and excess raises, and very little reduction in initial city council budget session
Now: the pessimism of 6/30 is materializing, although there is recent action by the CM to reduce the impact. Let’s hope the CC supports him in these efforts)
2. Expand Commercial Tax Base
(some improvement with the energy plant back on the tax rolls, and possibly some effect from Lowe’s)
3. Put 180 Units of Affordable Housing on-line at Julian Steele
(optimistic, phase 1 nearing completion)
4. Close an Acceptable Deal for Hamilton Canal Properties
(optimistic, land-taking completed, development plan should follow)
5. Put 900-car Parking Garage on-line on Middlesex St.
(pessimistic, going forward way over budget with no good plan to reconcile – needs attention)
6. Initiate Private Development in accordance with the JAM plan
(delayed, but should be selecting prime developer soon)
7. Initiate Private Development at the Hamilton Canal Properties
(delayed, waiting for prime developer to be selected)
8. Close Loopholes in Zoning Code to Avoid Neighborhood Exploitation
(second small step with rejection of faulty in-law plan)
9. Eliminate “Appearance” of Conflict of Interest on Local Boards
(televised meetings help, and significant changeover in board make-up in process)
10. Facilitate the Private Development of Next Phase of Mass Mills
(no apparent action, needs attention)
11. Create Significant Development Opportunity on Post Office Site
(no good proposals, but at least city didn’t jump at a bad deal. Needs action)
12. Get Courthouse project underway, without taking liability for another parking garage (looks like State will go forward with Davidson St. location, but that leaves questions relative to flooding and parking)
13. Maintain Full Funding for School System
(It looks like that has been accomplished with added State funds)
14. Establish Enforceable Contracts for New School Construction Projects
(Independent review of Stoklosa issues will be initiated soon)
15. Create Plan for Mixed Rate Affordable Housing
(pessimistic, no plan proposed)
16. Support UTECs efforts to Find New Home
(Will move to Hurd St. location shortly)
17. Improve Traffic Flow and Eliminate Bottlenecks and Safety Hazards Citywide
(still no progress, and a couple of bridges have now been put on restrictive weight notice)
18. Bring jobs to the city
(positive action with Motorola agreement at Cross Point. Also working with UMASS Lowell relative to nanotech center and possible spin-off companies.)
19. Make connection between educational institutions and new jobs
(pessimistic, no obvious effort to date. Where are you on this Councilor Ramirez?))
20. Provide more opportunities for the city’s youth
(pessimistic, no obvious effort to date)
21. Reduce crime, particularly gang activity
(crime still a major problem, although Lowell police have made some arrests and appear to be trying preventative measures)
An update on tomorrow’s Centerville and Pawtuckettville canvass: we will meet at 10am at the parking lot of the dollar store on the corner of Aiken St and VFW Highway. After canvassing we’ll meet back there, at 12:30, so that canvassers can pass their packets back to us.
Hope you can join us!
Bernie Lynch, the relatively new City Manager of Lowell made news today.
Lynch has already selected Lowell’s new Chief Financial Officer. He is Tom Moses, who has been Gloucester’s CFO since 2003. Moses, who lives in Rowley, had applied for the Lowell CM position last spring. Jim Kennedy, the CFO, for the past few years resigned this week, effective today.
As it was mentioned in on this site in a previous post, Lynch has found a way to save the City $300,000. He has informed the City Council that volunteers appointed to city boards and commissions will no longer be eligible for city health insurance. They will join all other part time employees of the City who never were eligible for health insurance.
If you read today’s Sun banner headline, “Lowell Schools Top Area Fail List,” you might be left with the impression that Matt Murphy, the writer of the accompanying story, focused on how bad Lowell schools are compared to the other schools in the area. The subheading (in smaller font) of the Sun article, “Lower-achieving student groups put city districts at disadvantage” is a better reflection of the content of the article.
Murphy was reporting on the latest MCAS scores and the Department of Education’s belief that these scores are reflective of the problems unique to urban school like Lowell. “Poverty and Limited English proficiency rank among the biggest risk factors for students struggling to meet rising state academic standards in urban school districts like Lowell…” That is how Murphy’s article begins. (more…)
It’s not the end of the battle for gay rights, but a Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of a gay couple from Rhode Island that they have a right to marry in Massachusetts. In particular, because RI doesn’t ban gay couples from marrying with one of those anti-family “DOMA” laws that a lot of backwards states have adopted.
HT: Kristin at the Fray.
We are doing a visibility TONIGHT (Friday, September 29) at Lowell High School at the LHS’s game against Westford. It’s a great opportunity to show your support for Deval and Tim, and maybe even catch the game!
We will be meeting outside Cawley Stadium, at the gate, in front of the large parking lot, 6:30 – 7:30pm.
Once again, I am really busy today, so also use this as another Open Thread.
I hate to do this to you all, but I have very little time to write today. So, if you have something you want to talk about, here’s your Open Thread!
Hi folks, just writing quickly to confirm - the campaign has called us to tell us indeed, Deval WILL be able to make it tonight to Senator Panagiotakos’ fundraiser. Last I hear it was around 6pm, we will start visibility by 5:40pm. Let’s give Deval a warm Lowell welcome!!