Governor/staff find a lot to like about Lowell
It’s been a three-fer week in Lowell in terms of attention and recognition from the governor’s office—three visits in three days! First on Wednesday, Governor Deval Patrick attended a Democratic unity meeting at the Doubletree Hotel, then he spent another two hours touring the city with Mayor Bill Martin and Niki Tsongas, before ending his visit with lunch at the Mambo Grill. Yesterday, Greg Bialecki, assistant secretary and general counsel of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, who also serves as the Commonwealth’s first Permit Ombudsman, attended the community meeting on the Hamilton Canal District project. In his remarks to the group, Bialecki noted the state government’s support for this project and how positive he was about, “Lowell taking charge of the direction it’s going in—something that can’t be said about every community.” This morning, Undersecretary Tina Brooks of the Mass. Dept. of Housing and Community Development and co-chair of the Massachusetts Commission to End Homelessness, attended the city manager’s meeting to review progress on his task force and its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Lowell. This local group, which began working on the issue in January, represents stakeholders from government, the schools, businesses, and social service agencies throughout the city. After listening to presentations made by the chairs of each subcommittee and asking questions, Brooks commented, “Congratulations to you all on a tremendous amount of effort. Obviously, people here care about their community and are committed to doing what they can to make it better.” In his final comments, State Senator Steve Panagiatakos told the group, “You can see we have a willing partner in the governor’s office which provides us with the opportunity, in the next few years, to make significant strides to end homelessness. To that, I would add, “and a whole lot of other important opportunities for change.” To get involved with the End Homelessness Task Force, contact Linda King, community development specialist, at Lowell City Hall. A list of subcommittees and their chairs follows:
Families: Deborah Chausse, House of Hope, Inc.
Housing: Bob Forrant, UMass Lowell
Individuals: Dr. Wayne Pasenan, Lowell General Hospital
Jobs & Educ: Russ Smith, Lowell Small Business Assistance Center
Prevention: Karen Frederick, Community Teamwork Inc.
Seniors: Lynee Brown Zounes, Lowell Senior Center
Systems Analysis: Kevin Willett, Washington Savings Bank
Youth: Michael Gallagher, Gallagher and Cavanaugh