Left In Lowell

After reading ER’s comments on the post on election results, I decided to also review the numbers for Lowell.

According to the U.S. Census, there are 103,229 individuals living in Lowell. (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey has the population at a much lower number; but that is a story for another post).

If we apply the demographic profile of the 2000 Census, 73.1% of Lowell’s population is over the age of 18; and 15.4% of population are not U.S. citizens. So we have approximately 63,840 Lowellians over the age of 18 and citizens of the United States. .

According to the Boston Globe’s web site, there were approximately 31,472 votes cast in Lowell last Tuesday and there are 51,234 registered voters in Lowell.

What did the 20,000 or so registered voters do last Tuesday that they could not go to the polls? What could have been more important? Less than half of the eligible adults in this City voted in this crucial election. No wonder we cannot get anybody to run for public office.

Why do so many Lowellians do not believe in civic duty and obligation? Is because they feel that their voice does not matter or that they really do not have a choice? Or is it that our institutions (schools, media, fraternal organizations, non-profits, churches) are not doing their job to organize, inspire, educate, motivate and mobilize?

I suppose this was, in effect, inevitable, with the credit crisis…Trinity now says it needs the state to come through with its earmarked (though not completely committed) monies in the bond bill the state passed this year.

It’s another Matt Murphy article and it’s full of meat and lays out the situation clearly and fairly. Go read the whole thing.

Keefe, in a letter to Panagiotakos dated Oct. 15, told the senator he was counting on three key sources of state funding to move forward with construction. The timing of the request and amount of money being sought could prove to be very difficult to secure at a moment when the state is monitoring every penny closely.

Apparently this took the Lowell delegation by surprise, as they were not really ever told (by Trinity presumably) how much exactly Trinity was expecting in help from the state. The Appleton Mill itself is in such bad repair, I’d expect no developer would ever touch it except to demolish it without incentives…though how suddenly now telling us that the funding is urgent helps their case I don’t know.

Presumably (though I am making an assumption here) Trinity thinks or knows its investors are a bit spooked by the markets, but would be encouraged by city and state investment if it comes through quickly. Hopefully by spring the credit crisis is somewhat abated, but it is an extremely difficult atmosphere to develop in, even though the live-work spaces would be in demand (affordable housing rental units always are) and wouldn’t be available for two years, when it’s likely we’ll be in better shape economically.

Still, this isn’t the best news for the project, though rescue of the proposed schedule is still possible. Let’s hope that the Lowell delegation can work their magic and with a progressive and decidedly-pro-growth Governor and staff, I’m still not too worried yet.

I’ve already signed up to appear at the Lowell School Committee Curriculum Subcommittee regarding the replacement of abstinence-only education for our students with the Planned Parenthood’s Get Real program, a sane age-appropriate curriculum. Which, by the way, which would not cost our schools a dime. We really need your support on Wednesday, November 12th at 7pm at the School Department building on 155 Merrimack Street, 2nd floor. If you can come, you can RSVP to Planned Parenthood here.

Our kids will thank you.

Bernie has his report on the energy audit company which has been hired under a performance contract with the city published on his blog. Take a read.

Très super cool.

I’m not sure what to make of this article about the Tsongas Arena and Meehan’s sudden public announcement that the University is unwilling to move forward on discussing the possibility of taking over the property.

I mean, what would give the city, and Lynch reportedly, the impression that the University was at least interested in proposals put forth, only to suddenly reverse course?

UMass Lowell does not want to take over control of the Tsongas Arena, nor the abutting property, Chancellor Marty Meehan told a joint meeting of the City Council’s economic development and arena subcommittees last night.

[…]

“We really should end discussions,” Meehan said repeatedly. “From the university’s perspective, the best thing … is the lease agreement we already have in place. We would probably like to withdraw rather than move forward.”

[…]

Meehan’s statements came as a surprise to Lynch, who said he was under the impression that the discussions were going well. He and Meehan are scheduled to meet with Sen. Steve Panagiotakos and staff from Gov. Deval Patrick’s office in Boston on Friday to explore financing options.

Meehan said the governor’s office wants an appraisal of the arena that justifies paying $2 million for a venue that loses $1 million annually and needs $5 million in capital improvements.

So why the charade to this point? Does Meehan have more information than he did, suddenly, or is there something else going on?

Meehan says that without $5M in improvements, citing some study done for the U, the existing arena isn’t “viable” for UML; that it would need a practice rink, more parking, and other improvements.

So what is the University doing now with the arena, playing air hockey? If it’s not adequate for UML to own, how is it viable for UML in the next 10 years of lease it has? Am I the only one who’s confused here?

Someone is screwing the pooch here. Either Lynch and the city is expecting too much in its asking price, or else Meehan is in his demands for upgrades. The point of view between the two is too different for this to be a mere negotiation sticking point. I mean, WTF? People, straighten this out. It’s costing the city money (let’s hope the indy audit of the operations of the Arena help us find out why) and the situation isn’t “viable” as is. And if the adjacent property can get on the tax rolls, why not explore it?

And is this Meehan (pardon the pun) going for a power play here? I can’t see any other explanation for this public turnabout.

Or maybe I am just completely confused about what’s at stake here.

The city council will meet tomorrow night instead of next week (it was either election night, Veteran’s Day, or wait until Nov 18th, skipping three weeks instead of the newly customary two). The communications from the Manager include information on the new trash bin rollout affectionately named “Bin-Dependence Day”.

There will be an LTC-produced video for airing on LTC, as well as a kickoff press conference sometime this month in one of Lowell’s neighborhoods, including a demonstration of the bins, PAYT bags, and collection system (presumably complete with the new garbage trucks). We’ll post more details on the demo when we get them, and hopefully we can grab some video from it, as well as the one LTC is producing.

Other items of note on the docket this week, the city manager is appointing the members of the Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee. I am pleased to see some names I know on there, people who I know will do good public service. I won’t name them just in case they don’t want to be associated with me.

Also interesting is that the city has now selected a energy services company to audit the city’s energy efficiency. Other communities have saved up to 25% of their energy costs. This will begin by auditing the city’s properties and use of energy, and then making infrastructure improvements based on the recommendations. The improvements are paid for by the savings gained, in a method called performance contracting. This means there will be no outlying cost to taxpayers, and no borrowing. If the promised savings do not materialize, the contracted company will pay the difference. The company chosen for this project is Ameresco. Note they have worked for the city previously doing energy efficiency with LHA.

Energy efficiency is key towards energy independence and the use of renewable energy. I for one am glad the city is taking such a step.

The suggested FY 2009 Tax Classification Public Hearing is November 25, 2008, in case anyone is interested. This still has to be accepted by the CC, of course, so this is not official notice.

There’s also an item of curiosity under the CM’s portion of the meeting - “11. Ordinence-Amend Chapter 4, Dangerous/Vicious Dogs.”

There does not seem to be any motions from City Councilors on the agenda.

I have to frontpage this exchange in comments of our first Bernie Lynch podcast, because it’s a perfect example of how people who are engaged and interested, and government officials who are true public servants, can work together to make sure Lowell keeps moving forward. Who needs the agenda filter at the Lowell Sun? (Some typos fixed, and the comments are mixed together into Q&A format.)

waittilnextyr: On the subject of the health care trust fund, and the need to recover that to be sufficient given the escalating cost of healthcare, I understand his approach to raise the current rates into the account, but I would have a concern that a 10-12% rate of increase is unsustainable, both for the City as well as the employees who pay their share of the bill. Is there hope that State and Federal approaches to healthcare could limit this cost escalation?

Bernie Lynch: On Health Trust Fund. The idea of 10-12% is tough and hopefully will not need to be sustained for a long period. It is what we’ve essentially been doing the past couple of years and generally in line (maybe a bit higher) than other communities. Our problem is basically a number of years in the making. For about three years, 05-07, the Trust Fund was underfunded likely to put off the budgetary impact and to keep rates low for employees. During this time rates should have gone up by 8-9% but instead grew by only about 2%. Ultimately, there is a day of reckoning. There is a risk of the fund running out of money….a problem that has caused major issues in other communities. Because of this the state now enforces certain funding levels. Certainly, some state or federal changes could effect future costs.

waittilnextyr: On the subject of the risk to State aid for FY2009, and the likely reduced amount for FY 2010, what actions are the City taking now to build reserves to smooth out the effects of potential cutbacks? Does the City Council get quarterly financial reports to compare with the budget plan?

Bernie Lynch: On Finances, we have been issuing quarterly reports to the council for the last couple of years. We just provided a report on the first quarter that is fairly positive. Costs are running essentially as projected and revenues are doing okay primarily because of conservative budget estimates. We did anticipate some of the economic problem…but certainly not to the extent that we’ve seen over the past six weeks. If we’d have seen that coming we probably would be doing something different career-wise. I am hopeful that we will make it through this year but the bigger problems are in FY10 and FY11. We are well into preparing for various scenarios and have put certain steps into place to control costs in the hopes of making future cuts easier and building some budget surplus to help cushion the pain. Obviously, we’d be better off if reserves were already in place. I would add that we always seek cost savings through careful spending and evaluating filling positions. We are now at a point of not only seeking savings but evaluating service needs at this time given conditions.

waittilnextyr: On the subject of the Hamilton Canal, it was good to hear that the City and Trinity were to sign off on the plan today. But, will the reductions in spending by the State affect the progress with fewer or smaller grants? The manager seemed to say the Trinity’s financing was solid, so can we be sure that the design planning will start immediately and construction will begin in the Spring as planned?

And to the degree that funding is required for infrastructure development for the Hamilton Canal, is there a possibility that Federal Stimulus round 2 will be an opportunity to finance the work in the short term?

Bernie Lynch: On the Hamilton Canal project we remain confident that the project will commence in the spring. To date the developer has been successful in interesting investors. They seem to be impressed with the project, the experience of the developer and the stability/potential of Lowell. Of course things could change but so far things are moving forward. State support is in the works and we are optimistic that the current operational budget issues will not be a major impediment as the needed funding is through borrowings, and there seems to be support for projects that grow the economy.

We are watching the federal stimulus package to see what develops. Certainly the HCD project is one possibility but we also have some other infrastructure projects that are needed. We’ll likely have to see what the parameters of such a program look like.

Hope I’ve addressed all the questions raised.

Yup, I’ve got some of the most thoughtful and engaged commenters ever. You rock!

The highlight of last night’s, regularly scheduled bi-weekly meeting of the Lowell City Council was City Councilor Jim Milinazzo reminded Mayor Bud Caulfield that Lowell operates under the Plan E form of government.

So if he wants to appoint an ad-hoc committee to “Monitor the Wastewater Upgrades/Improvement” that is fine; but the definition of “monitor” does not mean that the Chair, A. Kazanjian, will be the one to assess and evaluate.

By the way, one of the reasons the Mayor gave for appointing CC Kazanjian, was that he was available in the day time. I guess those of us who have a demanding career would not qualify to be on the City Council.In addition to CC Kazanjian; the Mayor appointed CCs R. Mercier and R. Elliott. Yes, all of them his allies in the sewer fee increase/waste water improvement City Council drama. I wonder how the Waste Water Department feels about this oversight committee.

Another item that caught my attention on yesterday’s agenda was the discussion on whether to “declare surplus” City owned land on River Place so that it an be sold and developed. That in itself is innocuous but I guess there is a back story. I was a bit confused because I have heard the CC on many occasions encourage the Administration to sell excess land so that it can go on the tax roll.

Things will become clearer on Monday when a joint Sub-Committee (I think Economic and Arena) meeting will take place.

In politics, shifting alliances are not unusual. For those of us who watch the City Council meetings regularly, I think the seats are being rearranged.

Trinity Financial, which has now officially signed an agreement with the city as of last Friday, has released the Master Plan online. Bernie gives us the numbers:

The agreement features the sale of approximately 11 acres of land to developer Trinity Financial for $7 million. In a seperate agreement the state has agreed to purchase 4 acres for the new courthouse for $3.8 million. Combined, the sales nearly recoup the $11 million investment the city has made to acquire the land, demolish the existing structures and address environmental concerns. Once the project is fully developed the city could expect to see an annual $4 million dollars in taxes.

Kudos to everyone involved for moving this forward.

(By the way, there’s some other posts of interest on the CM’s blog. Including info on Halloween fun to be had.)

[Bumped in case people missed it!]

I am hoping to generate more original content for this blog, and one of the easiest ways, if I’m not too concerned about perfect production values, is to take my little digital recorder around and interview people.

One series I would like to conduct I’m calling “Conversations with Bernie” where I take 15-20 minutes to walk over to the office of the City Manager and conduct an informal interview.

My interview style is still a little jarring if you ask me (one benefit of having to listen and edit is having to listen to yourself, unfortunately) and the recorder picks up everything, but here it is. Today, Bernie and I talked about the economic and budgetary outlook for the city, as well as the fuss over the sewage treatment plant. Click below to play the interview, which is just under 18 minutes.

 Conversations with Bernie - 10/24/2008 [17:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download