Mayor Patrick Murphy, event moderator
Yesterday morning at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce held its 17th Annual Municipal Breakfast. Moderated by Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy, the event featured the city/town managers of Lowell, Westford, Dracut, Chelmsford and Billerica each giving an overview of the important civic and fiscal issues confronting their respective communities.
Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch led off, saying that there has been and are many positive things happening in Lowell despite the on-going recession. Building permits are up. The remaining space in the Boott Mill complex is moving forward with both commercial and residential uses. The portion of the Massachusetts Mills closest to the intersection of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers, a prime location that has languished for decades because of questions about fire equipment access and historic preservation seems set to move forward after the city mediated a solution to the various concerns. Other major developments at Western Ave and Jackson Street are also progressing. The Lowell Community Health Center has consolidated its operations on Jackson Street which is vitally important since 25% of Lowell’s residents obtain some form of health care from that entity and the merger of Lowell General and Saints Memorial is a key development in the city’s health care infrastructure. Lynch said “we don’t have time to talk about all the great things underway at UMass Lowell, but it’s certainly the busiest time in that institution’s history.”
Transitioning to other topics, Lynch informed the audience that despite losses at the height of the recession, the number of private sector jobs in the city is the same in 2012 as it was in 2006. The manager also gave a shout-out to Howl-in-Lowell, calling it a “great new online publication about the city” and urging business leaders to take a look at it. Infrastructure-wise, work on the Hunt’s Falls and Central Street bridges was complete, the new bridge at University Ave is underway and the National Park recently received a major grant to extend the city’s trolley line.
Lynch said that city government was “in good shape.” There is a Capital Plan for the first time in the city’s history and the city is in better financial shape than it was six years ago. The city took advantage of the recession to make “institutional changes” need to make us more sustainable. The settlement of the health insurance issue with city unions was huge, saving Lowell 3 to 5 million dollars this year and up to $8 million per year in the future. Lynch concluded by saying “my fear going forward is complacency”, that as things get better there’s a temptation to “let loose” with spending whereas we should maintain the fiscal discipline that’s been forced upon us be the recession even though good times return. read more »
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