For Immediate Release
August 31, 2012
Contact: Jen Myers, Mayor’s Aide
978-674-1551 or jenmyers@lowellma.gov

Press Release
Office of the Mayor

LOWELL — On Tuesday August 28, Mayor Patrick Murphy announced the names of the five Lowellians chosen to serve on the Sister Cities Task Force, charged with developing strategic goals for and guiding the Sister Cities Initiative through the committees established to maintain each sister city relationship.

Strengthening the relationships between Lowell and its nine existing sister cities, as well as forming new relationships, has been one of Mayor Murphy’s top goals.

Lowell’s nine Sister Cities are: Limerick, Ireland; St. Die des Vosges, France; Nairobi, Kenya; Barclayville, Liberia; Lobito, Angola; Winneba, Ghana; Bamenda, Cameroon; Berdyansk, Ukraine; and Bryansk, Russia.

In addition to providing a better cultural understanding between cities in two nations, the Sister City relationship can also be extended to educational, business and economic development connections.

Earlier this summer the Lowell city Council approved the Sister Cities Initiative Charter, providing a strong foundation on which to continue building the program.

The newly formed Sister Cities Task Force includes:

Julio de Carvalho: Originally from Cape Verde, Julio holds a doctorate in educational leadership and has worked as a foreign language teacher at Lowell High School since 2001. He also is the director of the Lowell High School summer school program and is fluent in Portuguese, English, French, Cape-Verdean and other African languages.

“I am diplomatic, tactful and able to maintain positive, productive and long-term working relationships,” he wrote to Mayor Murphy in his letter expressing interest in the position.

Greg Page: The former aide to Mayor Murphy, Greg was instrumental in reviving the Sister Cities Program. A Captain in the U.S. Army National Guard, Greg is currently studying for his MBA at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and is fluent in French and Spanish, and does understand and can speak some Khmer.

“I believe that Lowell, a city with 22,000 foreign-born residents (in addition to many other who have lived abroad), can become a national leader among small cities in the realm of international relationship,” he wrote. “Together with four other motivated individuals who care about results, I can help ensure that LSCI leaves the nest and becomes successfully self-sustaining and operational as a bottom-up entity that does not depend on a small number of individuals to carry it along.”

Beatriz Sierra: For more than 20 years Beatriz has been organizing events for the city’s Colombian community. She previously instructed Colombian folkloric dance groups, participating in festival throughout New England. Beatriz also coordinates visits from the Colombian Consulate to Lowell. Beatriz currently works in Youth Employer Services for the Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board at the Career Center of Lowell, building relationships with employers to secure available jobs and match them with potential employees.For the last five years has been sponsoring two schools in Titiribi, Colombia, providing school supplies for 180 low-income students and didactic materials for their teachers.

Anne Sheehy: A life-long Lowellian, Sheehy has a strong technology background, having worked as a district-wide Instructional Technology Specialist in the Lowell Public Schools. Anne holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Salem State University and is currently studying for her doctorate in Leadership in Schools from UMass Lowell. “I feel that it is important to have a representative of our educational community on this task,” she wrote.

Tooch Van: As the Coordinator of Middlesex Community College’s Multicultural Center and an International Student Advisor, Tooch counsels and supports the college’s international and minority students. He also teaches Khmer language, history and culture as an adjunct faculty member. Tooch has also served as an event coordinator for Lowell’s Southeast Asian Water Festival, is a native Khmer speaker, fluent in English and conversant in French. He holds a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher school of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

“This is a group with varied perspectives that should serve the city well,” said Mayor Murphy.

The Task Force will meet soon to set up the structure of how groups of residents can apply to form new sister city connections as well as how committees can be formed and maintained to bolster the existing relationships.

Jen Myers /Mayor’s Aide

Office of the Mayor
City of Lowell
375 Merrimack St.| Lowell, MA 01852
t: 978.674.1551 | f: 978.446.7028

http://www.lowellma.gov

LOWELL Alive. Unique. Inspiring.

GN: The following is reprinted from Today’s Sun. One of their most accurate Editorials I’ve Seen!

EDITORIAL

Council apologists: Let’s wait for answers

If you’re wondering why there is so much controversy coming out of City Hall these days, look no further than Tuesday night’s City Council vote. By a 6- 3 majority, the Council refused to sanction a special meeting with City Manager Bernie Lynch to discuss how it came to be that Lowell vio­lated the state’s public- bidding law and he didn’t know about it.

We’ve editorialized previously how this council has abdicated its Plan E government duty to hold its hired employees accountable — the manager, auditor and city clerk — and Tuesday’s vote was just another nail in the coffin, a rebuke in their sworn responsibility to protect the public first and foremost.

Basically, the majority said it is all right to inconvenience taxpayers into paying more for a fire- alarm system obtained through a “ flawed” bidding process, but it’s not OK to inconvenience the city manager into answer­ing serious questions as to how this hap­pened.

The inspector general makes it clear the city got a sweetheart deal on fire alarms when it arranged to circumvent public- bid­ding laws. It paid roughly $ 1,148 per alarm box, including installation of the system, while busi­ness owners got suckered into pay­ing $ 2,400 for the box alone. But when the IG notified city officials on Oct. 20, 2011 — nearly 10 months ago — they all played deaf, dumb and blind.

It’s still hard to believe that those who were notified — Fire Chief Ed Pitta, Purchasing Agent Michael Vaughn, CFO Tom Moses, City Solicitor Christine O’Con­nor — never told Lynch. Therefore, the coun­cil never knew that, according to the IG, the city had engaged in a “ no- bid” process that put taxpayers at a decided financial disad­vantage.

Burning questions from anyone to the vacationing city manager?

Not from Mayor Patrick Murphy and councilors Bill Martin, Joe Mendonca, Marty Lorrey, Vesna Nuon and Kevin Broderick.

They voted against Councilor Rita Mercier’s motion to hold a special Sept. 4 meeting with Lynch to get some answers.

Martin said the matter could wait for another 13 days, until the next regularly scheduled Council meeting. No big deal in his eyes. He wasn’t forced into overpaying $ 1,300 in a non- competitive scheme.

Worse, neither Martin, the mayor or the other council apologists seemed concerned that no one told them about the IG’s ruling.

Nor did they seem upset with Lynch’s com­ments in which the manager accepted his staff ’s handling of the matter in which they kept him, the council and the public unin­formed about the violations. Incredible.

The city’s No. 1 administrative executive is paid to know what’s going on, especially when a top state official cries foul. This is a matter of official negligence. The City Coun­cil’s decision to delay public inquiry is an insult to all citizens who deserve the right to know the truth.

I guess in City Councilor Joe Mendonca’s case “Ultimately the owner of the project is responsible for what happens on his project” only applies to former City Councilor Alan Kazanjian and a sewer tie in not the City of Lowell charging private businesses $2,475.00 for a Fire Alarm Box while hiding a letter from the Inspector General siting the process was flawed and “was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell”

He didn’t seem to have any issue at last night’s city council meeting, voting NO to having a Special Meeting to address this letter from the State Inspector General sent to the Purchasing Agent and City Solicitor, that now the City Manager and CFO want everyone to believe they never saw!

A Letter stating:

“This was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell” or the letter stated

In fact, the City advised this Office that one municipal user complained of “price gouging” by East Coast.

Lowell’s confused procurement did not comply with M.G.L. c.30B

In addition, the City apparently mishandled the process of evaluating the minor informality standard; and did not comply with M.G.L. c.30B rules relative to contract changes.

If Lowell had decided on the basis of price alone, the procurement might not have been considered prejudicial to competition. However, the specifications did not afford a way to meaningfully compare different systems that were proposed by vendors.

The disparity in proposal price of more than $300,000 suggests the City’s solicitation documents did not contain specificity as to what it wanted to purchase. The vagueness of the specification contributed to the myriad deficiencies this Office has found with City’s procurement.

For example, the City did not call for itemization of the installation and maintenance services and equipment to be provided. East Coast’s price of $77,849 was for everything.

None of that bothers Councilor Joe as much has a former city councilor ignoring a decree from the City Engineer who the councilor apparently thinks her decisions are much more important and vital than the State Inspector General.

“The city’s denial was ignored and I think that is very arrogant,” said Mendonca

But I guess Joe thinks ignoring the State Inspector General is okay??? He didn’t say anything last night to make me think otherwise.

With the exceptions of Councilor Elliot-Kennedy and Mercier who wanted a special meeting next week to address not only the IG’s Letter but the fact that this whole Fire Alarm Box issue was flawed the remainder of the Lowell City Council told the citizens and Businesses of Lowell So What! It’s NO Big Deal we can wait until September 11th for the Manager to address this issue.

What we learned tonight was that the cities CFO Tom Moses has the same amnesia that the City Manger had telling Councilor Elliot he too doesn’t recall a Letter from the Inspector General that stated “This was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell”

That the Fire Chief admitted one person who works for the city and
participated in putting the bid together, didn’t even know the Lowell Housing Authority’s buildings were NOT City owned so the city paid for 6 Extra boxes!

They then sold these extra boxes NOT on a first come first serve to anyone being forced to buy these boxes, but sold these 6 to the LHA for the city cost of $1,100.00 and yet the Chief with a straight face claimed no “Special or Sweetheart ‘ deal was given to the LHA.

Really? What do you call a $1,300 Discount that no other person was given a chance to get ?

I have never been so disgusted with this City Council and so disappointed in Marty Lorrey who went along with the Manager’s protectors of Martin – Broderick – Murphy – Nuon along with Joe Mendonca and showed no respect for the Businesses or citizens by not addressing this next week.

THANK Goodness John Leahy will be there next meeting. He is at least willing to ask questions and not be a sheep or puppet for the City Manager. He will be an advocate for the businesses being a small business owner himself.

I will remind you all for the next Two weeks on several occasions
until this issue is addressed that City Councilor BILL MARTIN led the charge to NOT have a special meeting to address this issue even after the State inspector General told the City Purchasing Agent and Solicitor that

“This was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell”

Your City Councilors Martin – Broderick – Murphy – Nuon along with Joe Menoncca and Marty Lorrey don’t care and aren’t in any rush to
find out why all of a sudden

The City Manager and CFO have amnesia,

the Fire Cheif admits someone can’t count, admits the City gave a break ONLY to the LHA and not offered any other business to take advantage of the city screw up of overbuying boxes

That this project was flawed

Or that the State Inspector General told this City in October of 2011

“This was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell”

Stop by and say hello to OUR Senator, Scott Brown as he makes a visit to Dracut On Saturday September 8th at Maguires Tavern 1794 Bridge Street, Dracut at 1:00 p.m.

How’s this Vacation week?

With Labor Day next Monday, the City Manager picked this week to take a vacation but it sure hasn’t been a relaxing few days.

Fist we had the IG’s letter last Thursday which he claimed he didn’t recall seeing and then he went on WCAP Friday morning and defended a Dept. heads right to not inform him of it.

Then the Sun ran a story Sunday (after I on Saturday blasted him) stating that Mr. Vaughn claimed that the CFO of the City Tom Moses knew about the letter in October of last year. So did the Solicitor who the Inspector General mentioned in his letter talked with them about the process of the BID: (bold mine)

1 Lowell’ s purchase description is extremely vague and this description of the RFAS includes details gleaned from this Office’s telephone conversations with Lowell’s Chief Procurement Office, Fire Chief, City Solicitor and a complainant

The City Council is getting the opportunity tonight to ask the CFO, Purchasing Agent and City Solicitor why they thought a letter from the State’s Inspector General which stated not only that the process was “flawed” and that a business owner had complained to the city about “Price Gouging” (which someone who works for the City told that to the Inspector General’s office) but the biggest line they chose to ignore was:

“This was not advantageous for the businesses and citizens of Lowell”

The question should be asked of all 3 WHY wasn’t that statement alone, seen as important enough to inform the City Manager or any City Councilor since October of 2011 that the IG sent this letter?

Last Night came the news that one of his biggest supporters Councilor Kevin Broderick was resigning to spend more time with his family and his replacement will be former School Committee member John Leahy who respects the Manager but isn’t a guaranteed vote like Broderick most often was.

THe Manager now has only 3 solid supporters in Martin, Nuon and Murphy, while Lorrey, Mercier, Mendonca, Kennedy and Leahy will have to be convinced on an issue by issue basis. For the sake of this argument we will assume Councilor Elliot is the Manager’s chief opposition.

Today the Ron Mercier trial begins. Mercier is the Water Dept. employee fired by the Manager for allegedly using city gas for personal use while his boss at the Water dept. was fined by the State Ethics commission for using a City Generator and City personal at his Haverhill home was allowed to keep his job. The Manager is being called as a witness in this case according to the SUN.

Guess he picked a bad week to take a vacation! Maybe we will see him tonight at the Council meeting?

Ace Lowell sun reporter Rob Mills just tweeted this a short while ago:

City Councilor Kevin Broderick just confirmed to me that he plans to resign tomorrow night to spend more time with his wife and five kids.