Author: Ryan Gilday

Does 7-11 sell crack pipes? Apparently, we have variety stores in this city that are.  If they do, can and should the city make it illegal to do so? These are two of the many interesting questions raised last night. Let’s get into it. 1. ADUs? Not Yet There was to have been a public…

I’ve missed a couple of meetings of late. I went to Hong Kong to be accepted into the Kumite – a highly secret and extremely violent martial-arts competition. While trying to gain access into the underground world of clandestine fighters, I also had to avoid military officers who considered me to be AWOL… Wait, isn’t…

Strange night. 1. Should We Even Be Having This Meeting? Things got off to a rocky start when it was revealed that the Manager’s Office provided the Council with 50 pages of corrections to the budget just minutes before the meeting began. A visibly frustrated Councilor Gitschier took exception with the last minute changes and…

Despite the title, the actual budget doesn’t get presented. Normally, the “presentation” or outline comes out in late May as part of a regular meeting. The full budget is debated a few weeks later. This year, the schedule got disrupted by the “cyber incident,” so the council called a brief “special meeting” to receive the…

1. A Broad Motion With A Specific Intent C. Gitschier – Req. City Mgr. Have The City Solicitor Provide The City Council With A Report Outlining Haw A Resident Can Appeal A Zoning Board Decision With Estimated Cost To The Resident. I’m no big city lawyer, but I’m pretty sure you can find this answer…

1. Homelessness Is Now a Public Health Crisis – “But what does that mean?” This was the the question posed by Maura Fitzpatrick, our director of Homelessness Initiatives after the Council voted 10-0 in support of the following motion: C. Rourke/C. Robinson/C. Scott/C. Yem – Req. City Of Lowell Declare Homelessness A Public Health Crisis….

As the city had a computer issue last week, there was no new agenda for this week’s meeting. Rather, the Council used this week’s time to clean up a small handful of items that they did not reach last week. Clocking in at about an hour and a half, this was a relatively quick meeting,…

I usually try to keep these light and/or stupid, but there’s just no way to work nonsense into a discussion on human rights violations and arresting the homeless. 1. Twisted Sister The meeting was far and away dominated by the following motions: M. Chau/C. Yem – Req. City Mgr. Have Law Department Provide A Report…

Walking back into the meeting recap game after taking a week off: Unfortunately, the meeting itself was a bit of a drag, and skipping two in a row is tempting. However, I’m seeing a disturbing uptick in Dracut-politics on Inside Lowell lately. God only knows what those rubes are always fighting about but someone needs…

1. Law Department Update 2. Bad Bills Every so often, Comcast skips my monthly bill, then sends me a “double bill” the following month. There’s no extra charge or late fee – so I’m not sure as to how they’re screwing me – but I’m certain it’s happening somehow. This has nothing to do with…