Ordinance Committee approves sending utility petitions and conflict disclosures to full council; several items sent to departments or tabled

At its Jan. 13 meeting, the Ordinance Committee took a series of procedural and permitting actions, including advancing Verizon petitions tied to the new Lawrence Police Station and accepting municipal conflict disclosures for referral to the full council.

Verizon contractor Alexander Marrero described plans to install a 4‑inch, concrete‑encased conduit starting at Pole 3043 on Lowell Street to serve the new police station at 55 Lowell St. The committee voted to send the conduit petition to full council with a favorable recommendation and ordered a public hearing for the project. A separate request for an easement on city‑owned conduit related to the same project was also sent to full council with a favorable recommendation and public‑hearing request.

City Clerk Eileen Burnell explained that municipal employees seeking payment for work across more than one department must obtain council approval. The committee accepted the disclosures for two municipal employees (Jennifer Duran, assistant city clerk, and Maria Vidal, assistant tax assessor) and voted to forward those items to the full council for authorization.

The committee approved motions to send parking petitions for Beaufort Street (4‑89‑25) and Henlo Street (4‑90‑25) to the Lawrence Police Department and the Department of Public Works for analysis. The committee also moved to table National Grid item 4‑93‑25 because the petitioner was unable to appear.

Next steps: Verizon petitions will proceed to a public hearing before full council; the city attorney will prepare ordinance language where required; departmental analyses will return to the committee for implementation recommendations.