January 20, 2020
City Council Agenda Format
Tuesday’s Council meeting got off to a confusing start. Councilors moved to take several motions and other matters on which people had registered to speak at the start of the meeting rather than in their normal agenda order. Doing this is a thoughtful courtesy to those who come to the council meeting to speak on an issue since it lets them address the council and go home rather than wait until the matter is reached in the normal flow of the agenda. Tuesday, however, there were multiple matters brought forward, some related, some not, so it was difficult to follow what items were to be discussed when.
Most of the speakers were there on the proposed Community Preservation Committee awards but when that item was called, several councilors sought to dissuade the speakers from addressing the council, repeatedly stating that while those in attendance had the right to speak that evening, they might want to wait for a future subcommittee meeting or public hearing. Finally, Councilors Paul Ratha Yem and Erik Gitschier said that they wanted to hear the speakers who had signed up so that’s what happened.
When members of the public speak on an issue at a city council meeting, they inform the council of their opinions, but they also educate or persuade members of the public who might be watching the meeting or reading subsequent media coverage of it. Consequently, speaking at a public meeting is a valuable advocacy tool so Tuesday night’s speakers were wise to go ahead with their remarks.
As for the practice of taking things on the agenda out of order, it might be time for the council’s rules subcommittee to reconsider how the council agenda is structured. It could be helpful for the council to clarify when things can be taken out of order and the procedure for doing it while at the same time considering any structural changes to the agenda that might be advisable. Just because the agenda has always been that way doesn’t mean it must remain so. This coming Tuesday, Councilors Gitschier and Wayne Jenness have a motion that the Rules Subcommittee meet and update council rules. Hopefully the issues noted above will be addressed at that meeting.
Powers of the City Manager and City Council
My attention was fading towards the end of the meeting until I heard Councilor Jenness ask City Manager Eileen Donoghue, “We aren’t supposed to tell you how to spend money, are we?” that woke me up. Donoghue gave a tactful non-answer. Jenness repeated the same question. Donoghue repeated the same answer.
Legally, I’m pretty sure the answer is an unequivocal “No, councilors may not direct the city manager to spend money.” I think the reason Donoghue didn’t answer it was because whichever councilor spoke before Jenness may have asked the city manager to spend money for a particular purpose. Had Donoghue answered the question directly, she risked angering whichever councilor made that request, so she side-stepped the question.
That minor episode touches on the much bigger question of what is the role of a city councilor under the Plan E form of government?
Cities and towns in Massachusetts are “political subdivisions” of the Commonwealth and the state legislature dictates the structure of local government. In 1916, the legislature enacted General Laws chapter 43 which provided several city governmental options. In 1943, the voters of Lowell chose Plan E which is essentially what we have now.
Chapter 43 provides some clear statements of who has what authority. Section 95 states that the city council is responsible for “the general management and control of all [the city’s] affairs” and section 97 says the city council “shall have and exercise all the legislative powers of the city.” Generally, “legislative power” means adopting the budget, adopting ordinances and regulations, approving bonding, and approving some appointments made by the city manager.
While chapter 43 does not expressly ban councilors from asking the city manager to make an expenditure, it is clear that when the city manager presents a proposed budget to the council, councilors may adopt it as presented or they may cut it, but they may not add to it, so the prohibition on a councilor directing an expenditure may reside there.
Section 19 of chapter 43 says that councilors may request from the city manager “specific information on any municipal matter within its jurisdiction,” so when a councilor asks the city manager for a report, that is squarely within the power granted to the councilor by the legislature.
Moving on to the city manager, section 103 identifies the manager as “the chief administrative officer of the city [who] shall be responsible for the administration of all departments, commissions, boards and officers of the city.” The major tasks of the “chief executive” are to appoint employees and board members, prepare a budget and submit it to the council, approve contracts, negotiate with unions and oversee the working of city government.
Section 105 repeats that the city manager is the one who appoints and removes city employees while section 107 emphasizes that councilors shall not direct or request that the city manager hire or fire someone. Notably, violation of this section is a criminal offense punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine of $500 or both.
In the coming weeks I’ll write more about the role of a city councilor under Plan E in Lowell.
Cambodia Town
The council endorsed a joint motion by Councilors Kim Scott and Vesna Nuon urging the city to apply for a “transformative development grant” for Cambodia Town.
According to MassDevelopment’s website, the “Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) is a program for Gateway Cities designed to accelerate economic growth within focused districts. The program works with cross-sector partnerships to engage community members in actionable planning, implement local economic development initiatives, and spur further public and private investment.”
The city of Lowell officially designated the portion of the Lower Highlands neighborhood in the vicinity of Clemente Park and of nearby Cupples Square as Cambodia Town back in 2012 when Patrick Murphy was mayor and Bernie Lynch was city manager. The city placed Cambodia Town signs on light posts and upgraded facilities at Clemente Park and did a big marketing and branding push for this area. However, after Mayor Murphy and Manager Lynch left the scene, the Cambodia Town name for some reason fell out of favor at City Hall and momentum stalled. It’s nice to see that name being revived.
I’ve long said that if you want to see a thriving neighborhood economy, visit Cupples Square or Pailin Plaza on a Saturday morning. The area is a model for neighborhood-based business districts in every section of the city. Best of all, this is another example of Lowell reaching into its past for solutions to modern problems. Back before families had two cars (or even one) and drove elsewhere to shop, most people in Lowell were able to fulfill their shopping needs at stores that were within walking distance of where they lived. Reviving local shopping districts today could bring back that behavior with the resultant reduction in traffic and increase in the sense of neighborhood.
In her response to this motion, City Manager Donoghue notes that the city submitted a TDI application for upper Merrimack Street last October with a decision on the application due in the next few months. She also states that there are limits on the number of TDI applications a city may submit but that whenever Lowell next becomes eligible to apply for one, Cambodia Town would be a strong applicant.
It sounds like a TMI grant application for Cambodia Town won’t happen soon but the broader objective of finding outside economic assistance to help grow and promote this vibrant neighborhood business district should be aggressively pursued.
Basketball Not Baseball
Thanks to everyone who pointed out my error last week when I wrote that Maura Healey had played professional baseball when it was basketball that she played. I knew that. In fact, the only time I’ve ever spoken to Charlie Baker, that was the topic. It happened at the Lowell St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in March 2014.
Back during the foreclosure crisis that plagued Lowell and the Commonwealth in the aftermath of the bursting of the real estate bubble, I worked closely with the Attorney General’s office in my capacity as register of deeds to mitigate the harm done to neighborhoods by the flood of foreclosures. Healey supervised the Assistant Attorneys General who worked on this issue. I was very impressed with her so when she decided to run for Attorney General, I immediately signed up for her campaign.
When Healey came to Lowell for the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast, I walked around the room with her, introducing her to attendees. Charlie Baker, who was then a candidate for governor, was also there doing the same thing. Our paths crossed and small talk broke out. Knowing that both Healey and Baker had played basketball at Harvard, I asked the future governor who was better. He replied that in a game of HORSE, Healey would win but that he could probably beat her in a game of one-on-one.
That fall, Baker was elected governor and Healey was elected attorney general. Shortly after that election the Globe brought them together to answer the basketball question.
On richardhowe.com
I posted a follow-up to the recent WBUR story on racist deed covenants. My piece focused on a covenant that banned the sale of a parcel on Fairmount Street to any person from Ireland and reviewed all the Lowell historical connections running through that one piece of land.
Motions on February 1, 2022 Council Agenda
9.1. C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Have The Proper Department Look Into Installing A Crosswalk Across Westford Street From Rutland Street To Tyler Park.
9.2. C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Reach Out To The Superintendent Of The Lowell School Department And The Greater Lowell Technical High School To Collaborate In The Purchase Of A Bookmobile.
9.3. C. Jenness/C. Gitschier - Req. Rules SC Meet To Review And Update City Council Rules.
9.4. C. Mercier - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Install A Crosswalk On Middlesex Street From The Corner Of Durkin’s Carpet To The Sidewalk At The Corner Of The Judicial Center At Appropriate Time In The Spring.
9.5. C. Nuon - Req. City Mgr. Have Appropriate City Department Address Problematic Parking Within 20 Feet Of Intersections.
9.6. C. Nuon - Req. City Mgr. Update Council With Status Of Collaboration With Non-Profits (CTI, CBA, Life Connections, Etc.) Regarding Homelessness And Affordable Housing.
9.7. C. Nuon/C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Have City Solicitor And Supt. Of Police Report To The Council On How Law Enforcement Trust Funds Have Been Received And Spent Over The Past Five Years.
9.8. C. Nuon/C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Provide Council With A Report Concerning The Training Received By The City’s Police Officers.
9.9. C. Robinson/C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Work With Youth Program Providers To Identify Areas Of The City With Programming Gaps And Work On Plans For Information Sharing To Our Residents.
9.10. C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Provide A Status Of The Broken Wall At McPherson Park On Bridge Street And What Is The Time Frame For Repair.
9.11. C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Work With Parks And Recreation Department As Well As The Lowell Public Schools To Establish A “Drop-In” Basketball Program At The Robinson School For Youth During Colder Weather.
9.12. C. Robinson/C. Gitschier - Req. Municipal Facilities SC Meet Jointly With School Side Subcommittee To Begin Conversations Around Establishing A Centralized Facilities Department.
9.13. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Meet With The School Department Concerning The Cawley Stadium Engineering Report, Along With The Associated Costs For Renovations.
9.14. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Update Council On The Communication Between Treasurer's Office And Lowell Homeowners Concerning The Late Issued Tax Bills.
9.15. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Update Council On The Timeline For Construction At The Hamilton Canal District.
9.16. C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Explore Granting Exclusive Use Of An Agreed-Upon Portion Of The South Common To The STEM Academy To Fence Off For Use As A Safe Play Space For Students.
9.17. C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Investigate Installing A Stop Sign Or Other Traffic Calming Measures At Bowden/Chippewa Streets To Slow Fast-Moving Traffic Traveling To The Cabot Crossing Apartments.
9.18. C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Investigate Potential Traffic Calming Measures For Traffic Traveling From Woburn St/495 Area Over To Boylston St. And To Delmont Ave Apartments.
9.19. C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Provide An Update On The Current Schedule For Pickup Of Public Trash Barrels.
9.20. C. Yem/C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Consider Developing A Small Business Recovery Grant Program From ARPA Funding; Also, To Develop Informational Materials Available In Multiple Languages That Includes All Known Business Recovery Options.
9.21. C. Drinkwater - Req. City Mgr. Consult With Our State Delegation And The Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education Regarding Grant Funding Allocated Through “An Act Relative To Immediate COVID-19 Recovery Needs”; For The Purpose Of Addressing Repairs For Improved Ventilation And Indoor Air Quality In Districts And Schools With High Concentrations Of Economically Disadvantage Students.