Design photo of the Lowell High School construction project.

Over the weekend, we published a recap of the Lowell High School Building Committee meeting, where it was revealed that a few “surprises” were discovered just two weeks into Phase 4 of the seemingly cursed construction project.

At the time, the folks responsible for building, renovating and overseeing the work didn’t want to reveal what the surprises entailed, saying they needed to further examine the situation to be sure exactly what they were dealing with before speaking about it.

Earlier today, InsideLowell learned that what contractors discovered after opening walls entails work that was supposed to be done during the 1997 renovation of the century old building that was never completed.

Multiple “inside” sources tell us the contractor for the 1997 project is none other than Suffolk Construction, the General Contractor for the current new build and renovation project.

Our sources did not disclose the specific nature of the unfinished work, but you can bet they’ll be a hot topic of conversation at the City Council meeting this Tuesday night as Lowell’s elected leaders vote on a $36.4 million loan order to cover previously discovered cost overruns. In a bad case of deja vu for Lowell taxpayers, the earlier cost overruns resulted from a variety of issues, including some that were also supposedly remediated in 1997.

Whether the new “surprises” end up costing taxpayers even more money or pushing back the completion date of the project even further remains to be seen. But based on the council nixing the nearly $40-million loan order request on December 2nd, it’s safe to say approval of the trimmed down request is now a much more dicey proposition than it was just last week. At the very least, the discussion surrounding the vote should be fascinating.

Oh, and as if that’s not enough potential drama, the meeting agenda already includes a motion by Councilor Sean McDonough requesting information on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in the Mill City over the past 18-months, which is very likely to feature a few public speakers addressing the matter.

As we like to say, grab the popcorn and tune into the council meeting on Lowell Telemedia (link provided here)tomorrow night beginning at 6:30pm. It promises to be a hell of a political show!