An uneventful evening appears on tap for the Lowell City Council when it meets this coming Tuesday night.
A light agenda with few, if any, controversial councilor motions was released Friday. Heck, there isn’t even the obligatory Executive Session called for to discuss the ongoing Lupoli-HCID development stalemate, as we reported earlier in the week that the relationship has been terminated without a long, drawn out court battle.
Perhaps some drama will emerge from the City Manager’s responses portion of the agenda.
One is in response to Councilor Vesna Nuon’s February 4th motion for a report on the feasibility of increasing the Community Preservation Act tax.
Assistant City Manager Yovani Baez-Rose outlined the procedures to do so, which would require a ballot question proposed either by the council, or via a petition from 5% of registered voters calling for a ballot question.
I could be wrong, or simply biased because I see FAR more money in recent years going toward new housing than community preservation through the existing tax, but I don’t think much of an appetite exists on the council or a majority of voters for an additional financial burden on residents at this time.
The agenda item I’ll be watching closely, however, is the Manager’s Response from Elections Director Will Rosenberry spelling out the proposed municipal election calendar and his thoughts on previous council motions exploring changes in voting locations.
Rosenberry’s proposed calendar, posted in its entirety below, calls for a Preliminary Election (if required) on Tuesday September 9. That date, as well as the rest of the dates, will need to be approved by the council. The general election takes place on the first Tuesday of November, which this year is November 4.
Regarding moving early voting to the Senior Center instead of City Hall, Rosenberry cites challenges at both locations, but if convenience is the overriding concern, City Hall appears to be a better location and less disruptive.
Rosenberry’s response also highlights the fact the renovated Lowell High School cafeteria is not a suitable polling location, and therefore other locations are being explored for the wards and precincts that normally vote there.
As for the mail in ballot drop box, the Elections Director expressed a willingness to explore locations other than police headquarters, but security concerns will have to be addressed.
Given that there were a pair of past incidents of ballot drop boxes being intentionally damaged, one on a Merrimack Street sidewalk outside City Hall in 2022 and another at JFK Plaza outside of City Hall in 2023, the convenience vs. security discussion could prove interesting on the council floor.
Are there a significant number of people deterred from voting at a drop box in the police station and thereby not willing to vote at all via all the other avenues available? My guess is that’s a solution in search of a problem. Given the previously mentioned local incidents and the fact 2024 also saw a number of mail in ballot boxes throughout the country set on fire, I would hope the security of everyone’s ballot would also be a concern for the city.
