LDNA 10/22/18
7 PM, LTC
Present:
Carolyn Alphen
Jack Moynihan
Sam Litvin
Meeting called to order at: 7:01.
Opening greeting
Approval of minutes
Approval of Sept minutes; Motion made and 2nd from floor; approved.
Police Report
Capt. Sullivan – A Sector Commander
- Was Downtown commander about 10 years ago; Since then was old east sector commander and then in charge of detective unit.
- Recent downtown shooting was solved due to eye-witnesses and video cameras.
- Major problems downtown:
- 1:00 – 3:30 AM after bars close
- Morning issues with homeless
- Downtown high-vis patrols supported by grant funding will continue.
Q&A:
- Councilor Leahy invites all residents to contact the council with any issues facing downtown.
- Maybe we should do a downtown survey to see what everyone thinks about issues such as rolling back bar hours.
- What is the status of City’s effort to get more
latitude for dealing with homeless issues?
- There was a meeting earlier today with Court officials. Will report results next meeting.
- What is the deal with pub crawls? Is this really good for the city?
- Police detail not paid by promoter, but there was no violence or major issues.
- Need to coordinate with other events in the city.
Special Guest: Lowell City Councilor and Vice-Mayor Vesna Nuon
- Worked with Capt Sullivan for many years.
- If council decides to do something about changing bar hours, public support/input will be crucial.
Q&A
- Lots of lights out along canal and river walks.
- Mayor Samaras: I’m interested in looking at
overall climate in downtown:
- after-hours drinking establishments.
- Homeless issues and pan-handling.
- Will work to start an open discussion about these issue with residents.
- Some homeless issues are really mental health
related.
- It would help if shelter had daytime activities instead of dumping everyone on the street for the day.
- What about pedestrian safety in the downtown?
- People routinely run red lights.
- What about red light cameras? This would also help with gridlock.
- Council will look into a motion to study the cost and feasibility.
Treasurer’s Report
Deferred to November meeting.
Discussion
- School Committee has motion pending to revisit
neighborhood schooling. What do we
think?
- Not enough info to know. That’s why we need to study the issue.
- Would city-wide specialty schools still work?
- School Dept would have to work hard to maintain parity among the various schools.
- Councilor Leahy strongly in favor of neighborhood schools.
Meeting Adjourns at 7:56.