Lowell City Council held two meetings on Monday night: a special meeting at 6pm followed by a regular meeting at 7pm. All councilmembers were present for both meetings.
Special Meeting: Lead Pipe Replacement
The special meeting, which had not been listed on the city’s website calendar or announced on its Facebook page, ran for approximately 30 minutes. The topic was the replacement of lead water lines in the city.
Councilmembers were first informed of a state law requiring cities to replace lead service lines in 2018. The requirement came in the wake of the Flint water crisis, in which lead leached from service lines into residents’ water there. More recently, the federal government implemented a rule requiring the replacement of lead lines nationwide within 10 years.
Last fall, the City of Lowell sent letters to residents informing them of the status of their service lines. For properties in which the service line material was unknown, residents were asked to provide any information they had on pipe materials, and Department of Public Works Manager Ralph Brecken has been combing through public records as well.
During Monday’s meeting, Brecken said the city had currently identified the following:
- 9 lead service lines that must be replaced
- 81 galvanized steel service lines that must be replaced
- 908 service lines made of other materials that do not require replacement
- 394 service lines made of unknown material
Normally, service lines are the responsibility of property owners, but state and federal rules require municipalities to cover the cost of replacing lead and galvanized steel service lines. So far, the city has replaced 75 lines since 2020, according to Brecken.
City Manager Mike Burns said the cost must be borne by the water system, and the city was currently budgeting $100,000 annually for lead line investigations.
Councilmember Jim Salzwedel asked about the cost of replacing lines now as opposed to waiting to do them closer to the end of the 10-year deadline.
Assistant City Manager Rich LaBombard said there were many variables that could affect the cost, such as whether a concrete driveway would need to be cut to access a water line. It was estimated that it could cost up to $8,000 per line. The cost of a copper water line is $10 per foot, but the largest expense is the labor to install it.
Councilmember Marty Chambers asked about the cost of doing the work in-house rather than contracting it out. Brecken said the DPW had licensed employees capable of performing the work, but the biggest issue would be a lack of manpower. The city could hire additional staff, but there was a question of what happens to those workers once all the lines have been replaced. However, Brecken said he would estimate the cost for city workers to replace the lines.
There is no timeline for when service lines will be replaced – Burns said for now that the city would replace them alongside road projects – but city staff feels “very confident” that residential water is safe to drink.
“It’s pretty much textbook perfect,” Brecken said of the city’s water, noting that it contained enough limescale to coat pipes and prevent anything from leaching out of them. However, residents who may be concerned can run their water for a few minutes before using it to flush out any potential lead that has settled in stagnant water.
The special meeting adjourned at 6:32pm.
Regular Meeting Covers Annual Housekeeping
Lowell City Council reconvened at 7pm for their first regular meeting of 2025. As the first session of the year, several votes that are taken annually occurred.
- Approval of the rules of procedure for council meetings, although it was noted that Mayor Mike DeVore, Councilmember Eric Bartkus and City Attorney Jessica Wood would be working on revising those.
- Authorization of signatures for city bank accounts and safety deposit box
- Approval of property tax poverty exemption guidelines as outlined by the state
All three were approved unanimously.
Presentations: Fire Department, Veolia
There were two presentations during the regular meeting: one from Fire Chief Cory Velzen and the other from representatives of Veolia, the company that manages the city’s wastewater facility.
Velzen was there to provide a quarterly update. He shared that the Lowell Area Fire Department had responded to 91 calls in the City of Lowell during October-December 2024. Firefighters completed a variety of training exercises, including work in a confinement course. All members passed their physical agility assessment.
During their year-end banquet, two firefighters were recognized with special honors. John North was named Firefighter of the Year, and Keith Debbaudt was selected as Rookie of the Year.
The city’s contract with Veolia is up for renewal, and a representative from the company shared a presentation outlining the company’s partnership with Lowell. Although Veolia is a relatively new name – it acquired the firm Suez in 2020 and took over management of the wastewater plant then – the city has worked with the company and its predecessors since 1989.
There have been no permit exceedances or recordable incidents in the five years of the current contract, according to the Veolia representative. He also said the company offers its customers access to deep discounts from major suppliers and access to a lobbying group. The latter can be used to obtain funding for infrastructure projects.
“Are we using the lobbyist?” Councilmember Mark Ritzema wanted to know.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Burns replied. “It’s piqued my interest.”
No action was taken after either presentation.
Resolution to Extend Retiree Health Benefits
Councilmembers unanimously approved a modification to a resolution passed in 2020. That resolution was written to end all retirement health care benefits for non-union and department director employees who were hired after Sept. 6, 2016, which is the hire date of the current city manager. Those hired before that date could receive up to five years of retiree health benefits so long as they retired before June 30, 2025.
However, in negotiations with unionized employees, that date was pushed back to June 30, 2035 in their contract. In the spirit of parity between unionized and non-unionized employees, it was recommended that the 2020 resolution to be amended to reflect the same date as that in the union contract – although the resolution in the council packet actually included a date of July 30, 2035.
The updated resolution only affects two employees: the city clerk and city treasurer.
Lions & Rabbits Placemaking Plan Approved
Last summer, Lowell City Council gave its blessing for Lowell Arts to work with the non-profit Lions and Rabbits Center for the Arts to develop a public arts policy for the city. On Monday, Hannah Berry, executive director for Lions & Rabbits, spoke about a formal proposal that was created out of those discussions.
“Public art has been identified as a priority by both the community and the City Council during goal-setting sessions with Lew Bender,” Burns said in introducing Berry. “This initiative aligns with the community’s vision for enhancing public spaces through art.”
Berry noted that Lowell already had “massive public engagement” via its downtown events and that the proposal by Lions & Rabbits wasn’t trying to “reinvent the wheel.” Dubbed Colorful Pathways, the program proposal includes the creation of a placemaking action plan and a placemaking fellowship.
In total, the plan will cost $150,000 to implement and span three phases:
- Phase 1: The Discover phase will cost $40,000 and have six milestones including up to five stakeholder engagement sessions to “identify the community’s core values and aspirations.” The phase will end with the creation of a Placemaking Action Plan.
- Phase 2: The Create phase will cost $100,000 and have four milestones including hiring and training “a leader for Lowell and project management.” This person will then work with Lions & Rabbits to implement a high-priority project from the Placemaking Action Plan.
- Phase 3: The Sustain phase will cost $10,000 and have three milestones including an evaluation report and the opportunity for “Lowell creative leaders to mentor” other communities.
“Now, the city’s not going to have to come up with any money,” Ritzema asked.
Burns replied that the Downtown Development Authority would be asked to pay $25,000 toward the project, but no money would come out of the general fund. Burns hoped the remaining money could be obtained through grants or other fundraising.
Councilmembers unanimously approved the Lions & Rabbits proposal.
At 8pm, Lowell City Council went into closed session for two items deemed to be “exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute.”
The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7pm in Lowell City Hall. This meeting is on a Tuesday since the Monday of that week is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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