Left In Lowell

Jen Myers has a post outlining the accomplishments of the departing Kendra Amaral, Deputy Director at DPD in charge of Development Services (formerly Inspectional Services).

Violation notices were issued, but never pursued; the plumbing and gas inspector was sleeping on the job, working a second job on city time, and forging inspection records; health, fire prevention and building inspectors rarely communicated.

Welcome to the City of Lowell Inspectional Services Department circa 2009. […]

Amaral may be leaving Lowell City Hall, but her legacy will live on for years to come. In two years the culture and operations of the Development Services office has improved dramatically. […]

No longer do violation notices get tossed in a drawer with no follow-up – cases are seen through to resolution. Some are taken to court. Back violations, some going back five or 10 years have been resolved.

For the first time in its history, the city began attaching liens to properties with outstanding fines, resulting in the collection of more than $100,000.

Go read the whole post. Amazing to think where we were, and how far we’ve come. Thanks Kendra! Best of luck on your future endeavors.