Stakeholder's Representatives Meeting
September 29, 2009

MEETING MINUTES

The meeting opened at 8:30 AM.

The Stakeholder groups were represented by the following members:
 
Building Owners, Marshall Field; Larry Field;
Business/Community Banking, Jamie O’Hearn;
Business/Resources, Terry Williams;
City of Lowell/DPD, Christopher Samaras;
City of Lowell/Police Dept., Captain Thomas Kennedy;
Cultural Organizations, Julie Gavin;
Education/UMass Lowell, Joseph Lipchitz; Bob Forrant
Non-Profit Corporations/CTI, Bill Lipchitz;
Residents/Lowell DNA, Ted Lavash;
Visitors/Lowell Festival Foundation; Janet Leggat;

Absent:
Artists: Steve Syverson;
Business/Chamber of Commerce, Jeanne Osborn;
Education/Middlesex CC, Molly Sheehy;
Business/JAMBRA, Tim Shanahan;
Business/Lowell Plan, Jim Cook;
Business/Restaurants, Franky Descoteaux;
Business/Retailers, George Vallaras
City of Lowell/DPD, Theresa Park;
Education/Lowell High School, Roxanne Howe;
General Population/LRTA, Jim Scanlan;
General Population/NMCOG, Beverly Woods;
Visitors/CVB, Fred Hunter;
Youth/UTEC, Greg Croteau;

Also present:
Patricia Coffey, UMass Lowell
Allegra Williams, UMass Lowell

On a motion by Joe Lipchitz, seconded by Marshall Field, it was voted: to accept the minutes of April 28, 2009.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Jamie O’Hearn reported that the CCC has a balance of $1,742.63 in its account.  Jamie reported that since the last stakeholders’ meeting, a check in the amount of $200 was paid to the Art Walk project.

On a motion by Janet Leggat, seconded by Ted Lavash, it was voted: to ratify the donation of $200 to the Art Walk Project.

On a motion by Joe Lipchitz, seconded by Marshall Field, it was voted: to accept the Treasurer’s Report.

UMass Lowell Downtown Initiative

Patricia Coffey from the Office of Community & Government Relations at UMass Lowell briefed the Committee on the UMass Lowell – Lowell Plan Downtown Initiative.  With the purchase of the DoubleTree Hotel and its conversion into the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center (ICC), UMass Lowell is making a concerted effort to assess the economic and social impact of having the University’s presence in Downtown Lowell. 

The ICC is presently housing 400 UMass Lowell upperclassmen and graduate students and will be a location for conferences, educational and cultural activities.  Due to a shortage of student housing, the model of converting hotels into student housing is being used by other universities as well.  UMass Lowell would also like to use the Downtown Initiative study for a best practices guide.

UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan and Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney have appointed a committee comprised of both faculty and staff to work with community representatives on this initiative.  The community advisory group numbers about 20 people and includes Tom Parrish of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, LZ Nunn of COOL, representatives of Middlesex Community College, condo associations, area banks, and restaurant owners.  The advisory group will address four main areas of concern:

1. Encouraging engagement downtown
2. Developing community and business partnership programs
3. Providing high quality-of-life experiences for downtown residents and workers
4. Studying the economic and social impact of the ICC and examining best practices for campus-downtown connections

Allegra Williams went into more detail about the study being undertaken by the Economic Impact Study Team.  The Study Team has been gathering baseline data since July and will follow up with more qualitative and quantitative data in the spring of next year.  Surveys have been conducted with local businesses asking for information such as fluctuations in sales, the number of students patronizing their businesses, and any concerns they may have.  The Study Team has also been conducting focus groups with students to get information such as students’ perception of the downtown, what they like to do, and any concerns they may have as well.

Bob Forrant stressed UMass Lowell’s objective of having the University be a positive force in the downtown and quickly address any problems or concerns which may arise.  The Initiative will also result in a “best practices” guide which can be a model for other schools considering purchasing hotels for student living quarters.  Bob mentioned that at least 25 businesses in the downtown are using the UCard, a means for students to use their meal plans to purchase from area restaurants.

The University has also been informing students about businesses and events in the downtown.  During opening week 13 businesses participated in a scavenger hunt designed to acquaint students with area businesses.  RA’s were given orientations which included National Park tours and Convention and Business Bureau training.  Students are also encouraged to attend cultural events in Lowell and events are posted on dormitory bulletin boards.

Bill asked if the presence of UMass Lowell students in the downtown has had any adverse effects, such as on traffic for example.  Captain Kennedy stated present traffic problems are mostly due to construction at the Hunt Falls Bridge.  Students living at the ICC are not allowed to drive their own cars to classes; instead they must rely on the UMass shuttle which runs daily with extended hours Friday and Saturday nights until 2AM.  The University will also work on getting faculty and staff more involved in the downtown, and would like to have them participate in the survey as well, but at the present time their focus is on the students.

Newcomers’ Night

The celebration welcoming new residents to downtown that has been an annual event every September for about 5 years has not been planned for this year due to other events taking precedence of city staff time. There has been a drop-off of new condo buyers but the purchase of the former Doubletree Hotel by UML has resulted in 400 new students in the downtown who could be welcomed. However, due to the amount of work needed for the University to ready the hotel as dorm rooms and get classes started, it was the consensus that a welcoming event would be better done in the spring when the University can participate more fully.

One of the purposes of Newcomer’ Night was to provide information to the new residents about what is available in the downtown regarding businesses, cultural events, restaurants etc. and the Committee has searched for ways to provide that information on an on-going basis as people move in, rather than wait until an annual event. One suggestion to accomplish this is to use the Downtown Lowell Blog as a place to post such information. Bob Forrant also suggested a welcome basket for new residents.

Reports from Reps
Bill announced that the Bay State Marathon will be held in downtown Lowell on Sunday, October 18th from 8 AM to 1 PM. The marathoners will be in town the day before, and some activities have been planned for them to learn about the City and its amenities.

Janet said that the Kiwannis Club will be running its annual Halloween  “Monster Bash” at the Tsongas Arena on October 22nd.

Chris Samaras reported that the Mass. Poetry Festival will be held from October 15-17th.

Julie Gavin said that applications for Mass Cultural Council grants are due the 15th of October.

Next Meeting

October 27, 2009 at 8:30 AM

The meeting was adjourned at    9:40 AM.

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