City Council — March 31, 2026

02:40 Transparency in Board and Commission Communications

Councilor Noon requested that all supporting materials for city boards, commissions, and advisory committees be made available online for public viewing to ensure transparency and compliance with the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker, Councilor Noon, Councilor Duran, Councilor Chau

05:59 Pothole Repair and 311 Reporting

A discussion regarding the frequency and tracking of pothole repair requests via the 311 system and upcoming technology upgrades to provide public dashboards.

Speakers: Councilor Noon, City Manager Golden, Councilor Robbins, Councilor McDonough

12:05 Lowell Public Schools Chargeback Expenditures

A request for an itemized report on year-to-date chargeback expenditures for the Lowell Public Schools.

Speakers: Councilor Noon, Councilor Scott, City Manager Golden

13:04 Jindac School Building Rehabilitation

A request for an update on the progress and timeline for rehabbing the old Jindac School building, specifically regarding elevator work.

Speakers: Councilor Noon, Councilor Dakota

16:00 Hamilton Canal Innovation District Development

A presentation regarding a land disposition agreement with Wexford Development LLC for a 75,000 square foot research and development building to be leased to Draper.

Speakers: City Manager Golden, Chancellor Julie Chen, Mike Demeritt, Stephanie Valerio, Councilor Duran, Councilor Robbins, Councilor Roth, Councilor Henderson, Councilor Murcia, Councilor Garcia, Councilor McDonough, Councilor Chau, Councilor Liang, Councilor Scott

46:00 Christian Hill Apple Orchard Development Concerns

A public speaker raised concerns regarding the state of the Apple Orchard development site, including erosion, lack of landscaping, and potential developer funding issues.

Speakers: John Moose, Councilor Robbins, City Manager Golden, Assistant City Manager Machado, Councilor Scott

57:06 Gateway City Collaboration

A motion to convene meetings with other gateway cities like Lawrence, Methuen, and Haverhill to discuss collaborative opportunities and shared challenges.

Speakers: Councilor Robbins, Councilor McDonough

1:01:07 Opposition to Vocational School Lottery Mandate

The Council discussed motions to oppose the state-mandated change to lottery admissions for vocational and technical high schools, specifically regarding Greater Lowell Technical High School.

Speakers: Councilor McDonough, Councilor Dakota, Councilor Duran, Councilor Robbins, Councilor Chau, Councilor Scott, Councilor Liang

1:21:09 Monument for Nancy and Bernie Judge

A motion to identify a location in Tyler Park for a monument recognizing the lifelong community contributions of Nancy and Bernie Judge.

Speakers: Councilor Dakota, Robert Hunt, Councilor Roth, Councilor Garcia, Councilor Chau

1:24:00 Council Rules and Public Participation

A discussion regarding a request for the Rules and Elections Law Subcommittee to meet and discuss ways to encourage and streamline public participation in council meetings.

Speakers: Councilor McDonough

1:26:00 Downtown Parking Signage and Regulations

Discussion regarding unclear parking signage, particularly regarding paid parking indicators and conflicting signage for handicapped drop-off zones and bus stops.

Speakers: Councilor McDonough, Councilor Duran, Councilor Scott

1:31:00 Lowell Housing Authority (LHA) Trash Violations

A debate concerning a request for a report on trash violation fines issued to the LHA, with discussions on fairness, equity, and city-wide enforcement.

Speakers: Mayor Gitche, Councilor Murcia, Councilor Scott, Councilor McDonough, CFO Baldwin, Assistant City Manager Machado, Councilor Robbins

1:58:09 Municipal Trash and User Fees

Discussion regarding the transition of trash collection to a user-fee model to appropriately fund enterprise funds and reduce the burden on the general fund.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker

2:24:04 Space Consolidation Report

Presentation of a report regarding potential smart consolidation of spaces to benefit taxpayers and city/school employees.

Speakers: Councilor Robbins

2:24:54 Street Sweeping Operations

Informational report on the challenges of street sweeping, including staffing shortages (13 employees) and equipment limitations.

Speakers: Unidentified speaker, Councilor Scott, Councilor Robbins

2:26:31 Community Project Funding Grant

Discussion on a $750,000 federal grant being transferred to UMass Lowell for the Lowell Asha Ballpark.

Speakers: Councilor McDonough, Manager Golden, Councilor Chau

2:29:09 Human Resource Demographic Report

Review of the city's workforce diversity data, noting a predominantly male and Caucasian workforce and discussing efforts toward inclusive hiring.

Speakers: Council Liang, Councilor Noon, Councilor Chau, Councilor Robbins

We are looking for April fourteenth to hit that milestone [for the 311 dashboard update]. — City Manager Golden · Responding to a question about public 311 request trackers. 11:05

The building will be one hundred percent leased to Draper as our tenant. — Mike Demeritt (Wexford) · Explaining the business model for the new Hamilton Canal Innovation District building. 19:00

They have taken a broad brush corrective action and applied it to every votech district in the state. — Councilor McDonough · Arguing against the state-mandated lottery for vocational technical high school admissions. 1:02:10

The state has taken a broad brush corrective action and applied it to every votech district in the state. — Councilor McDonough · Arguing against the state's lottery mandate for vocational schools. 1:02:05

The goal of DESE is to make admissions to these schools more equitable... whether this school or others have a representative student body. — Councilor Duran · Providing a counter-argument regarding the intent of the state's lottery policy. 1:07:00

If it's not broken, why attempt to fix it? — Councilor Robbins · Commenting on the state's intervention in local vocational school admissions. 1:09:00

This is a great example that you don't have to be in the limelight... there are people in the community that give and give and dedicate their lives to make this a better city. — Councilor Garcia · Supporting the monument for Nancy and Bernie Judge. 1:21:00

If you had a tree committee with bylaws, you wouldn't have that problem. — Councilor Robbins · Reacting to the clear-cutting issues at the Christian Hill Apple Orchard site. 1:28:41

I'm not picking on someone... I'm just asking can we please get the trash cleaned up. — Mayor Gitche · Defending his motion to investigate trash violation fines at the LHA. 1:39:00

Trash by 2030 will be a probably a major driver in municipal budgets. — Manager Golden · Discussing the rise in municipal costs and the shift toward user fees for services. 1:58:09

We could look at a consolidation between the streets and parks where you cross-train all the employees. — Councilor Robbins · Suggesting solutions to staffing shortages in the street sweeping department. 2:22:11

DEIEEOC or Fairness Employment cannot be just a posted statement, but shall be a daily practice. — Councilor Liang · Commenting on the Human Resource Demographic Report and workforce diversity. 2:29:49