Lowell City Council members gather in the chambers of City Hall ahead of their first meeting of the term on January 2, 2024. Front row from left: Councilor Kimberly Scott, Vice Mayor Paul Latha Yem, Mayor Dan Rourke, City Councilor Sokary Chau and Councilor Rita Mercier. Back row, from left: Rep. Corey Robinson, Rep. Eric Gicchia, Rep. Wayne Genes, Rep. John Leahy, Rep. Vesna Nuon, and Rep. John Descoteaux. (Alia Landry Photo)
LOWELL — The City Council deliberated intensively on city business during Tuesday night's meeting at City Hall. He filed only seven motions, a significant shift from City Manager Tom Golden and his team's history of monster-sized agendas of at least 25 motions per meeting.
And, unlike in previous terms, this council has excerpted some of the School Committee's operational strategies, returned more matters to the front office for clarification or modification, and referred more matters to subcommittees for consideration. I am.
Two ordinances were returned to Golden's office: a residential parking sign fee schedule amendment and a parking fee amendment. An ordinance creating the position of Deputy Chief Information Officer in the Department of Management Information Systems was sent to the Technology and Utilities Subcommittee for further discussion.
Golden has been updated with ongoing recovery efforts from last April's cyberattack that took the city's network offline.
“Disaster recovery is now over,” he said. “We're 100% on the right track. We stripped down the system and rebuilt it. We were very fortunate in terms of rebuilding things that we didn't lose a lot of information.”
His comments were made during motion responses regarding the implementation of the 311 system and the Wi-Fi status at senior centers.
Chief Information Officer Milan Fernandez said the cyber attack gave the city an opportunity to rebuild its free Wi-Fi service, which had been in place since 2004 and did not follow established protocols at the time of its introduction. . The access point began at City Hall and has grown to its current location. This includes the JFK Center, Pollard Memorial Library, Senior Center, Health Department, and will eventually be located in 103 locations across the city, including school locations.
The service is aimed at bridging the digital gap, and over time Fernandez said it has grown to be used for high-demand uses such as streaming and video games.
“It was one of the items that was rendered unusable when the incident occurred,” he said.
Restoring free Wi-Fi required procuring new equipment, signing licensing agreements, and hiring a state-certified vendor to work with the city.
“The Wi-Fi visitor network is now operational throughout the city and in other buildings,” Fernandez said, without naming names, but acknowledged there were still blind spots in some locations. “There is,” he said.The service also has capacity limits, with business hours currently defined as 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
City Councilman Eric Gicchia said the effort should be reflected in MIS's capital project budget needs. The government's budget talks with Congress will begin in earnest in May.
Deputy City Manager Sean Machado told the City Council that the elevator at Pollard Memorial Library is nearing repair. The running cable, the electrical connection from the elevator car to the controller, has already been procured, and repairs to the Otis elevator are expected to begin by late April. The hydraulic jack will also be replaced.
The Sun first reported on the elevator malfunction in August 2022, with library trustee Donna Richards saying the lack of reliable elevator service was causing hardship for both staff and library users. Stated. At the time, City Councilor Rita Mercier called on Golden to “commit to this”, describing the library as “one of the city's crown jewels”.
Machado also noted that City Hall's elevator is still in the design stage.
The utility phase of the residential project at 733-735 Broadway Street was the focus of National Grid's request to install an underground conduit from Pole 37 to power a new transformer on the site.
The $30 million, four-story building will have 52 units of affordable housing and will also provide three permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless families. The council unanimously approved the request. Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll held a ceremony last May at the development site to create and preserve 1,600 units of affordable mixed-income housing in 20 communities across the state, including Lowell. announced that it would invest $246 million in state funds.
On a lighter note, the City Council recognized the accomplishments of Councilwoman Kim Scott and Councilwoman Mercier, with time left to recognize Women's History Month, with Mayor Dan Rourke awarding each woman with a plaque.
“These are amazing women who have done so much for our city,” he said, praising Mercier in particular for her longstanding contributions to the city.
“This is her 15th term on the City Council,” Rourke said. “At the end of this term, she will be the second longest-serving member of the City of Lowell.”
He also acknowledged all the women in the room on behalf of the coach's office, saying they will “make your team look good on Tuesday night.”
The council adjourned its executive meeting to review and discuss ongoing negotiations regarding the senior center.
The building is owned by the city, but has a 20-year lease with City Barns Trust trustees Nick Sallis and George Belakis. The City Council has expressed dissatisfaction with the maintenance of the property in trust.
