The Lowell Center City Committee, Inc. is composed of members of all the identified stakeholder groups in the downtown and formally meets regularly on the last Tuesday of the month at the Middlesex Community College Morse Federal Building at 8:30 AM. The Committee also meets informally every Tuesday at 8:30 AM at Olive That & More on Market Street. The informal meetings are free-wheeling discussions about what is going on in the downtown and focus on events, traffic, parking, retail development, urban beautification (or not), and other quality of life issues.
Since our members come from all the areas of interest – Retailers, restaurants, other businesses, cultural organizations, residents, government, social services, education, tourists, transportation, planning, and public safety – there is usually a lot to discuss. The discussion is captured as best as we can and issued as minutes that are distributed to the members and posted on our website at www.lowellcentercity.org. The informal meetings serve as a networking vehicle and a think tank of sorts where ideas are tossed on the table to see if they have any cachet.
Good ideas usually get picked up and often a small committee is formed to work on them and possibly expand the group to others in the community who would have an interest.
The formal meetings operate somewhat differently. There, the Committee may vote to take a position on a topic of concern, or listen to a guest talk about official plans in progress or ways to improve the downtown. The Stakeholders also adopt a workplan for the year to concentrate on specific items, form goal-oriented subcommittees and receive reports from them. At our annual meeting in March, we recognize outstanding contributions to downtown life with an award or two.
It is our intent to use this blog to expand our discussions beyond the weekly meetings and to generate interest and feedback in the ideas to make downtown an even better place to live, work and play. We encourage comments and suggestions, new ideas and ways to make positive change in the downtown.