CENTER CITY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
August 26, 2003

Present: Larry Field, Marshall Field, Matt Fitzpatrick, Meghan Kriegel, Ken Lavallee, Bill Lipchitz, and Joe Lipchitz.

The meeting opened at 8:30 am with a general discussion of new restaurants opening up in the downtown. Café Paradiso is opening and others are planned. E.g. a Japanese restaurant in the former Burger King site, a Mexican restaurant in the former Planet Aid site, and the Higher Ground Coffee House is set to sign a lease with UMass Lowell for a coffee house in the new campus gateway and recreation building.

The focus group meeting with downtown residents is planned for September 16 at St. Joseph’s Shrine at 5:30 pm, courtesy of Fr. John Cox. That Tuesday meeting will be the Center City Committee meeting for that week, Bill will work out remaining planning and logistics issues. No meeting next week due to the Labor Day holiday.

Ken announced that several officers of the LPD have accepted an early retirement offer from the City. The department will have 20 fewer officers as a result. Among the retirees will be Captain Susan Siopes, an active member of the Center City Committee. We wish her well. Ken said that a new Captain for the downtown would be named soon and that officer will attend the Center City meetings.

Ken was asked about the mounted patrol for the downtown, and he replied that while one of the 3 horses is retiring (no package with that one) the patrol will be maintained.

Meghan Kriegel announced that on October 25 and 26 from 12 noon to 6 pm Lowell will host Lowell Open Studios as part of the general Open Studios initiative. This will give the public a chance to see a variety of works, and promises to be entertaining and informative.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 am

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