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Resident urges Lowell City to fix stormwater and wastewater oversight, re-create stormwater fund
Summary
At a Lowell City council meeting, resident Richard Lynch urged the council to involve the wastewater plant operator in consultant discussions, create a dedicated stormwater account, post verified weekly reports and reapply for a previously offered $5 million low-interest loan to fund repairs.
Richard Lynch, a Lowell resident, told the City Council he is worried that the city’s stormwater and wastewater collection systems are being managed without adequate input from the plant operator and engineer and without clear financial controls. "I would like to suggest that we put into place a protocol for all steps concerning our wastewater treatment plant, our collection system, and our stormwater," Lynch said during the public-comment period. "These communications should all have a chain of custody ... to serve as a check that all concerned parties are involved in the decision making."
Lynch, who gave his address as 613 White Oak Drive, told the council he believes outside consultants have been conducting talks without inviting the wastewater treatment operator and staff, and warned that past practice nearly led to surrendering a revenue-producing plant to an outside entity called 2 Rivers. He also accused the public-works director of ignoring certified staff and suggested disciplinary steps if weekly reports are inaccurate. "To secure the confidence of the people of Lowell, it may prove very useful to post weekly or bimonthly reports on Lowell's web page displaying where we are, what has been done, and what is next along with the expenditures," he said.
Lynch urged the council to reapply for a $5,000,000 low-interest loan he said had been offered to the city on the condition the city transfer its wastewater plant to 2 Rivers; he argued that if the loan is now denied because the city chose not to transfer the plant, the city attorney should investigate whether that requirement raises legal or ethical questions. He also recommended creating a dedicated stormwater account and depositing past and present stormwater fees into it to fund immediate repairs to broken lines, ditches and culverts.
Council members acknowledged the remarks during the meeting but did not take a formal vote or issue immediate directives in response to the specific requests. The item remains at the discussion level; no formal action or policy change was adopted tonight.
