{"id":966,"date":"2025-08-29T08:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T12:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/?p=966"},"modified":"2025-08-29T09:53:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:53:50","slug":"august-meeting-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/?p=966","title":{"rendered":"August Meeting Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association (LDNA) Meeting Minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date: August 25, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location: LTC, Lowell, MA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Call to Order & Approval of Minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting was called to order by the President at 7:00 PM. Minutes from the previous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

meeting were approved at 7:03 PM.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2. Treasury Report<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treasury balance: $2,302.29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No expenses or deposits this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discussion: LDNA discussed supporting Victorian Garden improvements through DCR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans include adding benches and trash barrels. Bob Casey has been leading this initiative. LDNA approved a $1,000 contribution. Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Police Report \u2013 Captain Desmarais<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No report in July since no meeting was held. June & July statistics remained fairly static:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20224 aggravated assaults<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20224 burglaries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20227 car breaks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20221 disorderly conduct<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u20229 vandalism incidents<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updates: School starts tomorrow, with increased police presence planned to deter negative<\/p>\n\n\n\n

activity from high school traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second bike operation targeted downtown and Centerville\u201410 bikes seized, 1 disorderly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

conduct charge. Police will continue outreach with schools and parents. Reckless bike<\/p>\n\n\n\n

activity can be reported through the main police line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Around 70% of car break-in attempts remain Hyundai\/Kia theft attempts. Updated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dealership software has reduced theft success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folk Festival: Overall successful with minimal incidents. Some drone and bicycle issues were<\/p>\n\n\n\n

addressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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4. Boott Hydro Electric & Waterways Team \u2013 Peter & John<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discussion on relicensing of Boott Hydro, which owns and operates the canals. LDNA will<\/p>\n\n\n\n

submit a letter of support with key requests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. A comprehensive canal operating and maintenance plan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A historic properties management plan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. A recreation plan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. An inventory of deferred maintenance items<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Boott proposes continued downtown canal management and reactivation of hydro power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ownership changes have led to shifting players and legal representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motion to send a letter of support was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Letter deadline: September 12, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Members encouraged to submit individual comments by September 8, 2025. For information see: https:\/\/www.lowellprojectrelicensing.com<\/a>. Send letters to PETER AUCELLA\u00a0peteraucella@comcast.net<\/a>\u00a0by 9\/8 in an electronic format. A copy of the LDNA letter is below.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Amended license documents available at: https:\/\/www.lowellprojectrelicensing.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signed letters should be sent to Peter Aucella (peteraucella@comcast.net) by September 8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in electronic format for submission to FERC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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5. School Committee Candidates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two candidates (Connie Martin and Zoe Dzineku) addressed the LDNA:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Connie (incumbent): 24 years of service, emphasized experience and consensus-building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Zoe: Running at-large, background in Lowell Public Schools. Advocates for diverse<\/p>\n\n\n\n

representation, increasing student engagement, and modern leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q&A Highlights<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Biggest issue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Connie: Budget is the main driver; make best decisions with available funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Zoe: Address truancy and improve engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022School food program:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Zoe: Supports free food for all students, but suggests reviewing provider to reduce waste<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and improve quality, and student choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Connie: Also supports free food, acknowledges waste and quality concerns. Notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ongoing work with Aramark but room for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voter Reminder<\/strong>: Check registration status before Saturday 8\/30. Some voters purged or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

made inactive. No preliminary election for downtown (only two candidates). Inactive voters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

should complete a form to restore active status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

6. Upcoming Events & Community Updates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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\u2022Councilman Jenness: Q&A session held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022Representative Howard: Legislature in informal session. Preparing to review ~6,800 bills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Office hours scheduled Thursday 8\/27 at Brew\u2019d Awakening from 2:00\u20133:30 PM.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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7. Adjournment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motion to adjourn made and seconded at 8:30 PM. Motion passed unanimously.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

NEXT MEETING: September 22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LDNA letter in support of Boot Hydro plan – you may use the text of this letter as the basis for your own letter to send:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Via eFiling
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20426-0001
August 25, 2025

RE: Comments on Lowell (Boott) Hydroelectric Project (P-2790-074) Amended Final License Application
Dear Secretary Reese:
On April 30, 2021, Boott Hydropower, LLC, (Boott) filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (The Commission) for a 50-year license to continue operations of the Lowell Hydroelectric Project (P-2790), located on the Merrimack River ni Lowell, MA. The Commission issued a Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA) on May 20, 2025, initiating the comment period for filing comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions. During this comment period, Boott subsequently filed an Amended Final License Application (AFLA) on June 19, 2025, which proposes to retain the downtown canals within the Project Boundary and reinitiate generation at several of the downtown canal powerhouses.
This letter from the Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association (LDNA) is to express support for the approach proposed in the Amended Final License Application and to provide comments regarding section E.6.2 Proposed Action Measures. The vote to approve this letter took place at our August 25, 2025 meeting.
Lowell is known for its partnerships and collaborations among local organizations and government. Boott’s coordination with the leading stakeholders: City of Lowell, National Park Service (NPS), Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (MDCR) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) as well as other community organizations is critical to arrive at a final license that addresses the many needs identified in the Amendment for further implementation: the Canal Operations &
Maintenance Plan, the Historic Properties Management Plan, a Recreational Access and Facilities Management Plan and a Deferred Maintenance Plan.
c\/o Stephen Greene, Treasurer, 200 Market St #614, Lowell, MA 01852 www.ldna01852.org
Page 1 of 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n



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Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association (LDNA) Meeting Minutes Date: August 25, 2025 Location: LTC, Lowell, MA 1. Call to Order & Approval of Minutes The meeting was called to order by the President at 7:00 PM. Minutes from the previous meeting … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=966"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldna01852.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}