When the Lowell City Council meets in chambers this coming Tuesday night, two agenda items stand poised as potential flash points that spark fiery debate.

The petition by the Markley Group, requesting the installation of 16 diesel fueled backup generators, follows approval of four such generators in late June. At the time, even councilors in support of the effort spoke of the need to seek more environmentally conscious alternatives, in light of the knowledge Markley would soon be back in front of the floor with a bigger ask.

The rapidly developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, and the even more rapidly expanding demand for energy to fuel it, have been the focus of a number of Daily Pulse episodes since those June discussions.

Suffice it to say, the Mill City is front and center in a global clash between the plentiful energy needed to fuel the AI race and the Green Energy movement, which yours truly has often predicted will be cast aside even by its traditional political allies due to the need to power AI. (Little did I know that Governor Healey would beat AI to the punch by casting aside environmental concerns in order to build housing)

But the agenda item I believe will draw the most attention when all is said and done is one pitting at least two city councilors against at least one of Lowell’s State Representatives;

The topic of Harm Reduction Centers, also often referred to as Safe Injection Sites or Shooting Galleries depending on which side of the issue you fall on, evolved into a topic on this past Tuesday’s Daily Pulse episode featuring the Lowell Sun’s Melanie Gilbert.

The discussion began with us both questioning the wisdom of needle exchange programs for drug users that allow individuals to return one used needle and receive ten in return, but eventually evolved into a discussion on the wisdom of government sanctioned locations where users would be allowed to inject illegal drugs they’ve previously purchased, under supervision and under the belief it makes it safer to use.

Little did Melanie and I know at the time we would soon be covering a discussion on the council floor around that exact issue.

When contacted about why the motion was filed, both Councilors Robinson and Gitschier told InsideLowell its genesis lies in Massachusetts House Bill 2196; “An Act Relative to Preventing Overdose Deaths and Increasing Access to Treatment.” 18th Middlesex State Representative Tara Hong (D-Lowell) is a petitioner on the bill.

The Bill’s language includes wording allowing the “supervision of persons who use pre-obtained substances.” In other words, the ability to go purchase illegal drugs somewhere, bring them to a site approved by local or state officials, with supervision from “Harm reduction program operators, entities or individuals directly involved in the operation, administration or staffing of a harm reduction program, including directors, board members, consultants, health care providers, service providers, staff and volunteers.”

The legislation also includes needle exchange programs, though whether the 1-for-1o exchange ratio seen in Lowell is in the offing under the state plan isn’t clear.

“One of the biggest challenges for an elected official is balancing the needs of the general public with the well intended, unintended consequences of exhausted, specific outcome driven policy,” Robinson told InsideLowell Friday afternoon. “Needle (needless) exchanges are a good example. If advocating to use Public funds to pay “supervisors “ to supervise people using illegal substances on Public property is considered “best practice,” we need to decide where helping ends and enabling begins.

For his part, Gitschier simply said “worsening drug consumption challenges in our community is not a risk we can take.”

Hong, meanwhile, stands by the Bill and supports “every part of the language.”

“I find it concerning that the city council is trying to ban something that does not yet exist,” Hong wrote to InsideLowell. “I fully support bill H.2196, An Act relative to preventing overdose deaths and increasing access to treatment. This legislation focuses on overdose prevention and it will save lives. We’ve seen far too many families lose loved ones to preventable overdoses. By authorizing the establishment harm reduction programs, subject to approval by the Department of Public Health, communities across Massachusetts can provide safe spaces, overdose reversal care, and connections to treatment. Harm reduction sites provide people a chance to survive and eventually recover from substance abuse disorder. This legislation is about putting public health first and making sure compassion, not punishment, guides our response to the opioid crisis.”

No doubt the other nice City Councilors, Lowell’s two other State Representatives and its State Senator will eventually be brought into this debate, as will the eight challengers vying for seats on the Lowell City Council in November’s election. Both Gilbert and I have vowed to keep a close eye on the issue and predicted it could become a hot-button topic in neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

It will be interesting to see which side our electeds side with. It will be even more interesting to see where the city’s residents fall on the issue.