American Rescue Plan and Lowell
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting there was much discussion on a report from the City Manager to the Council on the future expenditure of ARPA funds. ARPA stands for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion bill passed by Congress in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the recession caused by it. The city’s share is $76 million dollars. The money must be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026. The money may be used for several broad categories including Covid-caused loss of city revenue, public health, and “premium pay for essential workers.”
It will come as no surprise that everyone on the council has an opinion on how this money should be spent. The feeding frenzy that will be unleashed once the money is ready to be spent will be worth watching. When that is going to happen seems dependent on the city hiring someone for the position of ARPA Finance Manager. City Manager Eileen Donoghue said that hire was imminent.
Too bad the city doesn’t have a Comprehensive Master Plan that would help guide the expenditure of this money in a strategic manner that helped advance established goals.
Wait, the city does have a Comprehensive Master Plan; it’s just that no one on previous councils seemed to have read it or paid any attention to it. Hopefully this council will be different. The Master Plan is called Sustainable Lowell 2025 and it’s available on the city’s website.
Community Preservation Act
Friday’s Lowell Sun carried a story on the recent award of grants by the city’s Community Preservation Committee. The Community Preservation Act was created by the state legislature 22 years ago as a mechanism for cities and towns to preserve open space, create affordable housing, preserve historic sites, and improve outdoor recreational facilities. The law requires voters of a community to adopt the Act which adds a surcharge to property tax bills. As an incentive, the Act created a state fund that “matches” the amounts raised within a community. (When first enacted, the match was dollar-for-dollar but as more communities enacted the CPA, the matching amount became less).
In the November 5, 2019, city election, the voters of Lowell adopted the Community Preservation Act by a 58% to 42% margin.
I had long argued in favor of the Community Preservation Act because everyone who owns real estate in Lowell was already paying into the state matching fund. That pool of money is funded by a surcharge on documents recorded at the registry of deeds. From the start of the CPA in 2000 until the end of fiscal year 2021 last summer, city property owners had paid more than $7.3 million into the Community Preservation fund. It’s about time that we get some of that money back.
The Community Preservation Committee decisions are dependent on approval by the city council so the awards are not yet final. Still, here are the Committee’s recommendations:
1. Whistler House Museum of Art - $100,000 - Improvements to park on Museum property.
2. Clemente Park Committee - $110,000 – Improvements to playground, benches and basketball court.
3. Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust; Mass Audubon; Mill City Grows - $1.5 mil (20-year bond paid by CPA) – purchase and preserve Rollie’s Farm.
4. Coalition for a Better Acre - $220,000 – (Help) create 27 housing units at 555 Merrimack Street for individuals or families with substance abuse disorders.
5. Community Teamwork Inc. - $72,800 – (Help) create 24 to 30 single occupancy affordable housing units at 21 West Adams Street.
6. Acre Crossing LLC - $763,000 – (Help) created a mixed-use building with 17 affordable home ownership units.
7. Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership - $500,000 – Create affordable homeownership program on the One+ Boston model.
8. First United Baptist Church - $12,000 – Repair bell.
9. Lowell Development & Financial Corp. - $500,000 – Create loan fund to be used for historic preservation projects in downtown Lowell.
10. City of Lowell - $473,713 (20-year bond) – restore stained glass within City Hall.
11. New Gorham LLC - $178,000 – restore damaged façade at 80 Gorham Street.
I’m especially interested in the Rollie’s Farm recommendation (Number 3 above). One of the primary goals of the Community Preservation Fund is to preserve open space. In a city as built up as Lowell, there’s not a lot of open space left to preserve. Rollie’s Farm which is off Varnum Ave near the Tyngsborough line, is one of the largest, if not the largest, privately owned parcel of open space left in the city which makes it a prime candidate for the use of CPA funds.
The Rollie’s Farm proposal would also advance several of the objectives of the above-mentioned Comprehensive Master Plan:
· p. 12 – Identify parcels of land to permanently protect, prioritizing parcels that contain high value natural resource benefits.
· p. 16 – Develop policies and programs that facilitate the production, distribution, and consumption of locally grown food in the Greater Lowell region.
· p.34 – Preserve existing open spaces in sensitive environmental areas and those which support the City’s recreational objectives.
· It is also consistent with the city’s Open Space and Recreation Plan and with the Pawtucketville Master Plan.
According to the Sun article, the $1.5 million funding recommendation would cover 37% of the $4 million purchase price of the property but the CPA funds would provide great leverage in getting the balance of the funds from other sources.
As for whether such a big award would constitute a disproportionate share of the city’s overall CPA funds, the $1.5 million would be amortized over 20 years meaning the annual payout from CPA funds would be closer to $100,000 per year which is right in line with many of the other awards recommended this year. And as Adam Baacke, the chair of the Community Preservation Committee, said according to the same Sun article, the CPA law requires the city to devote 10% of its annual funding to open space preservation so given the great scarcity of open space in the city there will be few other opportunities to meet that 10% requirement. Having money committed to this project on a recurring basis will help meet that obligation.
Finally, when I was researching my Legendary Locals of Lowell book, I tried to include a person or family representative of the various ethnic groups that made Lowell their home. I found that every group came from an agrarian environment, not from a city. And while most everyone who came to Lowell worked in the textile mills, they never lost their connection with the land. My own great grandfather, James Howe, who came to Lowell from Ireland in the 1890s and who died a few years before I was born, spent his later years walking from his Acre apartment to his son’s home in the lower Highlands because that home on Shaw Street had a small back yard in which Mr. Howe planted row upon row of potatoes which he fertilized with ash from the coal-fired furnace.
The late George Tsapatsaris (one of the greatest Superintendents of Schools in the history of Lowell), told me how his parents, Nicholas and Demetra Tsapatsaris, bought an acre-sized lot on Mammoth Road in Pawtucketville just a few years after arriving from Greece. Nicholas built two houses, rented one and half the other and then used the rest of the parcel to grow vegetables to supplement the family’s food supply. George always referred to that property as “the farm.”
There were countless other examples of this. It occurred to me that farming, even on a postage-sized lot, was a thread that united every immigrant group that came to Lowell, whether it was the early Irish who arrived 200 years ago or the Southeast Asians who arrived more recently.
If the Community Preservation Act can help preserve Rollie’s Farm and in the process support the efforts of such great local organization as the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and Mill City Grows, then we will fulfill the objectives of this program.
Lowell High School Construction Update
At Tuesday’s council meeting, a representative of Suffolk Construction, the general contractor on the Lowell High addition and renovation, gave an update on the project. He said there’s been “tremendous progress” made on the new gym which is built upon the 75 Arcand Drive lot which was taken by eminent domain. The new gym is on track to open with the start of school this September.
He did say admit that the rest of the project which will involve renovating an existing buildings while classes continue in adjacent structures will be more complicated. However, much of the preparatory work for the next phase of the project, the renovation of the 1980 Building, is already underway and is on schedule.
In response to questions from several councilors, the Suffolk representative said thus far the project is on time and on budget. Some councilors seemed disappointed by that. The 2017 struggle over the location of Lowell High was the bitterest Lowell political fight in at least half a century and the scars from that will affect this project well after all the construction is completed.
Several councilors (Erik Gitschier and Kim Scott) asked why rooftop solar panels weren’t part of the project. City Manager Donoghue said that while the buildings are being outfitted and wired for solar panels, none are in the current plans because the state does not reimburse for the cost of solar and so the city would have to pay for it entirely out of city funds.
Putting solar panels on Lowell High (and on or near other schools) would be a good idea that would advance the goals of Sustainable Lowell 2025 (p. 112 – The city of Lowell will set an example by prioritizing environmentally sustainable policies and practices; p. 118 – Produce energy from renewable sources). While solar panels are desirable, how to pay for them will be the challenge. With some number of councilors ready to pounce at any overrun of the construction budget, we don’t want to devote limited city funds to something that indirectly benefits education (solar panels) at the expense of direct benefits (science labs). On the other hand, if the council is serious about sustainability, at some point, that has to be a priority. As Joe Biden says, “when someone in government talks of their values, I say ‘show me your budget.’” Perhaps there’s a way that some of the $76 million ARPA windfall can be diverted to this project.
This is also an example of inconsistency from state government which promotes the use of renewable energy but then fails to include it as a reimbursable item in school building funding.
State Election
Early on Thursday, Attorney General Maura Healey announced that she would be a candidate for governor this year ending months of speculation. Healey, a native of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, and a former professional basketball player, was elected Attorney General in 2014. Healey has always had strong support in Lowell. In that year’s Democratic primary in the city, she defeated former State Senator Warren Tolman by a margin of 2,289 to 1,970. In that year’s general election and again in 2018, Healey defeated her Republican opponents by landslide margins, both in Lowell and statewide.
Lowell Trivia: What was the first newspaper anywhere to endorse Maura Healey for Attorney General in 2014? Answer: the Lowell-based Khmer Post USA.
City Council Agenda
The following motions are on the agenda for the January 25, 2022, Lowell City Council meetingn:
9.1. C. Nuon/C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Update Council, Through Executive Session, Regarding LeLacheur Park.
9.2. C. Nuon - Req. City Mgr. Report On The Physical Status Of All Fire Stations And Consider Having The Chief Appoint An Officer As A Dedicated Project Manager For Capital Improvements.
9.3. C. Scott/C. Nuon - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Consider Applying For A Transformative Development Grant To Be Used To Develop Cambodia Town.
9.4. C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Work With DPD To Develop A Plan For Implementation Of An ADA Compliant Canoe And Kayak Launch At Muldoon Park.
9.5. C. Scott - Req. Mayor Send A Letter From The City Council In Support Of Bills H 3345; H3332; H3284; And S2159 To House Chair Jeffrey Roy And Senate Chair Michael Barrett To Support The Proper Disposal Of Miniature Beverage Containers In The City.
9.6. C. Scott/C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Prepare A Report With A Plan To Implement Multiple Polling Places In Each District, To Provide Adequate Poll Supplies, And A Timeline For Outreach In Multiple Languages That Will Be Sent To Residents For 2024 Election.
9.7. C. Rourke/C. Scott - Req. City Mgr. Have Organizations That Were Granted Community Preservation Act Monies To Present A Detailed Plan Concerning The Use Of Funding To The Council.
9.8. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Have DPW Provide A Report Consisting Of Start Date And Completion Date Of Vivier Way Redesign Stemming From Original Motion Response From September 28, 2001.
9.9. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Have Neighborhood Services Provide The Council An Official Updated Neighborhood Groups List In The City Along With Contact Information And Meeting Locations For Each Group.
9.10. C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Provide Council With The Cawley Stadium Engineering Report.
9.11. C. Robinson/C. Rourke - Req. City Mgr. Contact MassDOT And Request Emergency Inspection Of The Rourke Bridge, To Provide Any And All Weight Restrictions That Might Apply So The City Can Post Accordingly, And To Also Request To Place Bridge Into The State Transportation Improvement Program.
9.12. C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Have The Proper Department Explore Any And All Grant Funding Mechanisms Available That Would Allow The City To Offer An Increased Amount Of Summer Employment Possibilities For Our Youth.
9.13. C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Provide The Council With A Report On Current Status Of Parking Kiosks And The Current Maintenance Plan In Place.
9.14. C. Robinson - Req. City Mgr. Provide The Council With A Report On What Are The Current Plans To Increase Foot Patrols And Identify Community Based Policing Opportunities For The Upcoming Spring And Summer Sessions.
9.15. C. Rourke/C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Have Wastewater Department Provide The Council A List Of Roads In Each District In Which Drain And Sewer Lines Have Not Yet Been Separated.
9.16. C. Rourke/C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Present A Monthly Value Engineering And Material Procurement Report To The Council Concerning The Lowell High School Project.
9.17. C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Provide City Council With An Inventory Of City Owned Vehicles That Have A Purchase Price Of Over $25,000 And A Life Expectancy Of 10 Years Or More; Include In Report The Year, Make, Model, Age, Expected Replacement Year, And Projected Cost Of The Vehicle At The Time Of Purchase.
9.18. C. Gitschier - Req. City Mgr. Provide City Council With An Update On The Bulk Pick-Up Schedules For Large Items.
9.19. C. Drinkwater - Req. City Mgr. Convene A Meeting With Representatives From Skanska, Suffolk Construction, Subcontractors And Other Relevant Parties For The Purpose Of Taking Corrective Action Relative To The Low Number Of Women Working On The Lowell High School Construction Project, And To Formulate A Plan To Meet Or Exceed State Set Hiring Benchmarks.
9.20. C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Give An Update On The Development Projects In The Acre.
9.21. C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Give Details On Funded Projects Approved By The Community Preservation Committee Recently.
9.22. C. Jenness - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Engage With Trinity Management Company To Discuss And Formulate An Action Plan For Snow Removal From The Path Between The Hamilton Canal And Jackson Street.
9.23. C. Yem - Req. City Mgr. Have Appropriate Department Give An Update On The Status Of The Collapsed Retaining Wall Of CityPoint Condominiums At The Corner Of Middlesex And School Streets.
9.24. C. Jenness - Req. City Mgr. Have Proper Department Investigate Potential Traffic Calming Measures For Traffic Traveling Over The New HCID Bridge From The Dutton/Broadway Streets Intersection Toward Canal Street.
On richardhowe.com
Emilie-Noelle Provost joined our contributors this week. Emilie’s Living Madly column appeared in Merrimack Valley Magazine from January 2017 until the publication’s closure in December 2021. She’s moved Living Madly to richardhowe.com where it will appear on the third Thursday of each month. The first installment is Nothing Doing.
Tom Sexton, a graduate of Lowell High and the former Poet Laureate of Alaska, published a new poem, Walking in New Snow.
If you haven’t already seen it, please read my review of Hidden in Plain Sight: Stories of Black Lowell.
Thanks to CAJ for catching the "baseball" typo. Healey was definitely a BASKETBALL player. She was captain of her college team at Harvard and then played pro in Europe for several years before returning to the US to attend law school at Northeastern.
Excellent view of ARP and the Comprehensive Master Plan for city.