Lowell City Council met in open session for 20 minutes on Monday night for their first meeting of June. All councilmembers were present.
This was the first meeting to operate under the council’s new rules and procedures which split public comments into two sections: one for items on the agenda and another for items not on the agenda. No one spoke about items on the agenda, but Craig Fonger, president of Lowell Friends of the Flat, addressed the council during the second public comment period.
Fonger noted that the non-profit had received “a lot of good feedback” from the community about the recent treatment of the Flat River. “We’re really pleased with the results,” he said.
Traffic Calming Policy Approved
The lone piece of business on the agenda was a proposed traffic calming policy. It spells out the manner in which roads can be evaluated for traffic calming measures and how they can be implemented.
Councilmember Eric Bartkus asked that a provision about giving preference to residents who share the cost of traffic calming measures be eliminated. Bartkus originally suggested the provision but said at the last meeting that he was having second thoughts since it would put lower income residents and renters at a disadvantage.
Councilmember Mark Ritzema said he was concerned about the possibility of speed studies raising the speed limits on certain roads. Speed is listed in the policy as one of the criteria used to determine if a traffic calming measure is warranted.
“I don’t see us doing any type of speed study unless mandated (by the county),” City Manager Mike Burns replied.
Councilmember Jim Salzwedel asked about the process for requesting a speed study on a local road. Assistant City Manager Rich LaBombard said the request would first go to the Lowell Police Department which would then work with the Department of Public Works.
Lowell councilmembers voted unanimously to approve the traffic calming policy minus the provision about cost-sharing.
City Manager Report
During his manager’s report, Burns said that work on Foreman Street was expected to begin on July 7 and should require only 3-4 days of work to complete.
He also said that conversations among staff have been ongoing to determine how best to handle water lines on Avery Street and Riverside Drive. It has been decided that these issues should be addressed as part of the larger issue of lead lines in the city. A work session will be held on July 7 for Lowell City Council to discuss the matter further.
Burns said he was also working on a paid time off policy for city employees that would be similar to that offered by Lowell Light & Power and that he would be bringing budget amendments to the next meeting.
Councilmember Comments
During their final comments of the night, several people complimented Councilmember Marty Chambers on organizing a breakfast for Department of Public Works employees. Chambers has organized the DPW breakfast for several years and also hosts a dinner event annually for Lowell Light & Power employees.
“It’s nice that the city council can show the city employees that we really do care,” Ritzema said.
Salzwedel said he heard from several residents who were concerned that city workers were patching Jackson Street. They thought this may have indicated that the city had cut the road reconstruction project planned for this summer. LaBombard said the work was “routine patching,” and Burns noted the Jackson project was still slated for later this summer.
Chambers thanked DPW workers for replacing a meter and galvanized water line at his business. The state is requiring cities to replace lead and galvanized service lines at no cost to water customers.
Chambers also asked about adding grass to Washington Street. When roadwork was completed there, the contractor was supposed to reseed the lawns disrupted by construction. However, that has not happened yet.
“We all want grass,” Chambers said. Since the company has not been responsive to requests from the city, he recommended that funds currently being withheld from the contractor be used to have DPW workers lay down the grass seed. “Let’s expedite that if we can.”
After the meeting, Lowell’s First Look asked Burns if residents who already paid for their own grass seed could be reimbursed, and the city manager said he would have to look into that.
At 7:20pm, councilmembers voted unanimously to go into closed session with City Attorney Jessica Wood “to consider material exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute.”
The next regular meeting of Lowell City Council will be on Monday, June 16, at 7pm in Lowell City Hall.
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