CENTER CITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

March 9, 2010

 

The next informal meeting of the Center City Committee 

will be March 23, 2010

8:30 AM

at

The Coffee Mill

 23 Palmer Street

 

The next meeting of the Stakeholder Representatives

will be

THE ANNUAL MEETING

Tuesday March 30, 2010  8:00 AM

The UMass Lowell  Inn & Conference Center

50 Warren Street

 

 

Present:  Suzzanne Cromwell, George DeLuca, Larry Field, Mike Frye, Ted Lavash, Bill Lipchitz, Anne Ruthmann, Shirley St. Juste, Steve Syverson, and Terry Williams

 

The meeting opened at 8:30 AM.

 

Bill talked about the National Community Action Foundation conference he attended the previous week in Washington, DC.  Overall the news was positive: funding for programs such as fuel assistance is remaining the same, but programs such as Head Start and weatherization are seeing an increase in funding.  The Weatherization program is doubly effective as it not only saves energy but also creates jobs for the installation of insulation and windows. CTI YouthBuild students are also learning to be weatherization installers and will be trained to start their own businesses using the ARRA Stimulus money.

 

Anne talked again about the project she has been working on, the Lowell Handmade Market.  She will be meeting Friday with National Park representatives, Theresa Park, LZ Nunn, and representatives of the Sustainable Farming Project.  The idea is to have a year-round market on Saturdays and Sundays in which artisans and farmers could sell their items.  Anne did some research and found that over 50 artisans in Lowell and the surrounding towns are using the website Etsy http://www.etsy.com/  to sell their products.  Of that group, ¼ are renting studios at Western Ave.  Anne said she is looking for a space that has both indoor and outdoor components and could accommodate up to 30 vendors to start out with. Ted suggested the old Sun press building as an option, although vehicle access for farmers in particular would be a problem at that location.  Other options would be the Hamilton Canal District or the Tsongas Arena.   Allegra Williams is also currently working on the food co-op idea that may fit with this initiative. 

 

George mentioned that the expected meeting of the Downtown Lowell Business Committee did not happen this month.  He will be speaking with Danielle Bergeron concerning this.  He also talked about State Representative Tom Golden’s involvement in the issue of rebuilding the Merrimack Street extension bridge.  The CCC may want to get someone to update the committee on this project.

 

Some downtown business updates were discussed.  The dance club on Market Street is now called “Savannah” and is a tapas bar targeting the over-30 crowd.  Mickey’s is reopening and will now be an Italian restaurant.  Chris reported that over 300 entries were made for the first week of the iShop Lowell project.  The city will be collecting demographic data from the competition to gain a better understanding of who is shopping for what in downtown Lowell.  It was suggested that the city conduct another survey on downtown residents as they had done four to five years ago. 

 

George reminded the committee that the Jack Keouac Birthday Celebration was taking place this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Information is available at www.CometoLowell.com. Suzz mentioned that Thursday night Part II of the Agricultural Film Series was taking place at 7:30 at Life Alive Urban Oasis.  Additional information can be found at www.lowellfilmcollaborative.org.   

 

Shirley St. Juste from the Organization Stand for Children http://www.stand.org/  talked about how Massachusetts is getting a “Race to the Top” Grant to improve education in the Commonwealth totaling $280 M. The money would go to local school districts to close the achievement gap in the schools. There will be a rally at the Statehouse on Tuesday; March 23rd. Anyone interested should contact Shirley at 781-891-1300.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 AM.