Left In Lowell

It was a pretty uneventful Lowell City Council meeting with a relatively light agenda. It lasted exactly 1 hour.

At the request of Mayor Bill Martin, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray came to Lowell tonight to visit the flood area. The Mayor had been an early supporter of Murray’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor and had served on the Patrick/Murray Transition Team, so I am sure when Mayor Martin called, Lieutenant Murray was happy to oblige.

Because of the visit and a subsequent meeting with the Lieutenant Governor, the weekly City Council meeting was delayed by a half hour.

City Manager Bernie Lynch gave an up-to-date report on the 2007 Flood. As previously discussed on this blog, this is the 5th worst flood the City has ever experienced. According to the CM, the damage to personal property was not as extensive as the 2006 Flood. But the bowling alley, the luxury and the high rise condos got hit; so didn’t the Davidison Parking Lot. Apparently, the Concord River will not crest for another two days.

It was also announced that Lowell will celebrate Earth Day on April 28th and we will have our Clean Up Day on May 3rd. Mark you calendars. And for those of you (Lynne) who are following the proposal to extend the Artists Overlay to Western Avenue, that Public Hearing has been set for Communication-From Planning Bd. recommendations, Artists Overlay on Western Ave. I did not clearly hear the date, so we will have to pay attention to the agenda as it is posted on the City website.

Mr. Decio Andrade of 42 Union Street in the Back Central Street addressed the Council. He complained of drug, prostitution, loud music, out of control pit bull in the neighborhood. I admire people like Mr. Andrade who are not just passive but become activist when they have had enough.

A motion was made to move the discussion to the Public Safety Sub-Committee. The answer to the problem is simple, more cops. You will need a patrol car to drive around Union, Gorham, Linden Streets from sunset to sunrise to resolve these type of problems.

There were a couple of motion of interest both from CC Rodney Elliott. One was on the Annual Revaluation that is currently occurring in the City. CM Lynch indicated that most likely the residential tax rate will not go up. The second motion again from CC Elliott had to do with the consultant/broker fees for the City’s health insurance. CM Lynch reported that the City pays $35,000.