Author: Ryan Gilday

1. MORE ROURKE BRIDGE Motion response to the following recent motions relative to the Rourke Bridge: C. Rourke – Req. City Mgr. Contact MassDOT Concerning Rourke Bridge Inspections And AnyUpcoming Plans For Redesign And Construction Of New Bridge C. Robinson/C. Rourke – Req. City Mgr. Contact MassDOT And Request EmergencyInspection Of The Rourke Bridge, To…

As always, the full agenda can (and should) be viewed:

1. A FULL AGENDA It took nearly three hours to work through a relatively heavy agenda. There were six motion responses, two substantive informational reports (CPA Funds and Cawley Stadium), and a whopping twenty four motions. Why it matters: There was some healthy debate last week as to whether new councilors should undergo something of…

As always, the full Agenda can (and should) be seen by following the button below:

1. ARPA PUBLIC INPUT A discussion was held relative to a city response to motions filed by Councilors Mercier, Drinkwater and Nuon on the topic of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In sum, the City is still in the process of figuring out what spending is allowed under the American Rescue Plan Act and…

The full Council Meeting Agenda can (and should) be viewed:

Focus on Personnel & Maintenance Issues New councilors dominated the discussion on issues of maintenance, personnel and the relationship between the two. Motions on building HVAC systems, the LHS project, catch basin cleaning, and pools all touched on the city’s recruitment, hiring, training and retention of qualified personnel. However, the motion garnering the most attention…

As this is the first council elected via a hybrid system, I thought it would be interesting to review the last campaign season.   Headed into the last election, I was interested to see whether the new system would make the financial barrier to seeking city office a bit more palatable for those seeking district…

This week’s full Agenda can (and should) be viewed at:

First meeting of the new council. No need for a recap as Jacob Vitali of the Sun has an excellent summary: Nice WBUR article on Mayor Chau: https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/01/04/sokhary-chau-lowell-mayorcambodian-american