Northern Middlesex Council of Go

FOUNDED 1826, INCORPORATED 1836

TOTAL AREA: 14.54 Square Miles

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: City Council/City Manager

CITY CONTACTS (updated July 25, 2012)

City Council: (978) 970-4040

Patrick Murphy - Mayor	Joseph Mendocena - Vice Mayor	Kevin P. Broderick
Rodney Elliott	Edward Kennedy Jr.	Martin Lorrey
William F. Martin	Rita Mercier	Vesna Nuon

City Department Contacts:

City Manager	Bernard Lynch	978-970-4000
City Clerk	Michael Geary	978-970-4161
Assistant City Manager, Division of Planning & Development	Adam Baacke	978-446-7200
Assistant City Manager, Public Works	Ralph Snow	978-970-3302
Chief of Police	Kenneth Lavallee	978-937-3225
Chief of Fire Department	Edward J. Pitta	978-459-5553
Parks and Recreation Commissioner	Tom Bellegarde	978-970-4171

Planning Board: (978) 446-7200

Thomas Linnehan - Chair	Joseph Clermont - Vice Chair	Gerard Frechette
Stephen Gendron	Richard Lockhart

Conservation Commission: (978) 446-7200

Christopher Zacherer - Chair	Anne Chalupka	Katelyn Biedron
William Lovely, Jr.	Alysha Lynch	Robert Mellen Sr.
Nathan Moore	Louisa Varnum	Christine Thomas - Administrator

Public Water System:
The City is served 100% by public water. Drinking water source is the Merrimack River. The water treatment plant on Pawtucket Boulevard has design capacity of 30 million gallons per day; average daily usage is approximately 12 million gallons per day (FY 2004). In addition to Lowell, the water utility provides water to the towns of Dracut, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, and Chelmsford.

Trash Collection:
The City has curbside trash collection and recycling. In FY99, the City collected approximately 45,000 tons of trash and 6,000 tons of recyclables.

Sewer:
The City is served 100% by public sewer. Treatment is at Lowell Waste Water Utility Plant, which has average daily flow of approximately 27 million gallons per day and capacity to handle 32 million gallons per day.

Library:
Lowell’s Pollard Memorial Library has FY2000 circulation of 193,609. The library is located at 401 Merrimack Street.

Schools:
Lowell School Systems operates 16 elementary schools, 7 middle schools and one high school. 1999 – 2000 public school enrollment: 16,374 pupils. Lowell is also member community with the Greater Lowell Vocation Technical High School.

Public Safety:
As of August 2011, 273 permanent officers staff Lowell Police Dept. The Fire Dept. roster totals 201 men and women.

Chief of Police: Superintendent of Police Kenneth Lavallee (978) 937-3225
Email: klavallee@lowellma.gov

Chief of Fire Department: Chief Edward J. Pitta (978) 459-5553
Email: epitta@lowellma.gov

Rail:
Commuter rail service to North Station, Boston is available at Lowell Gallagher Terminal or North Billerica Station (travel time 40 minutes). Freight rail service is available from the Springfield Terminal Railway, contact number: (978) 663 – 1073.

Bus:
Lowell is a member of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Fixed bus service is provided, and paratransit services, including medical trips to Boston, are available for the elderly and disabled through LRTA’s RoadRunner program.

TAX RATE FY 2011: Residential - $14.77 per $1,000, Commercial- $30.89 per $1,000

Community Census Profiles: 2010 Census data is currently becoming available in sections. Tables will be updated as new data is received. The 2000 Census Tables that have not been updated as of yet will remain below. Updated 1/25/12.

2010 Population Trends: Includes Community Population, Population by Age and Population by Race,

2010 Housing Profile: Includes Housing Units, Housing Occupancy, and Housing Tenure

2010 Household Relationship Profile: Includes Number of Households, Household Relationships, and Households by Type

2006-2010 ACS Economic Profile: Includes ACS estimates for Employment Status, Commuting to Work, Occupation, Income, and Poverty Levels

Median Home Sale Price (Banker & Tradesman)

	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
1 – Family	$85,000	$78,250	$85,000	$110,000	$140,000
Condo	$38,175	$27,800	$36,000	$58,000	$85,000
All Sales	$65,000	$47,000	$63,000	$92,950	$125,000

Housing Unit Permit Data

1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
35	72	53	27	144	92

LAND USE CLASSIFICATION (Mass. GIS 2005)

Lowell Land Use	Acreage (acres)	Percentage of Total
Residential	3,548.46	38.2
Commercial	549.55	5.9
Industrial	632.04	6.8
Developed	8,125.43	87.4
Undeveloped	1,174.06	12.6
Total Acreage	9,299.48	100.0

RECREATION

Recreational Facilities

Lowell Dracut Tyngsborough State Forest (1,040 Acres)
Non-motorized boating, cross country skiing, fresh water fishing, hiking, hunting, ice skating, nature observation, organized events, sight seeing, walking/jogging. ATV and Snowmobiling are not permitted in the State Forest.

Lowell Heritage State Park (118 Acres)
Bicycling, non-motorized boating, cross country skiing, fresh water fishing, fresh water swimming, hiking, horseback riding, ice skating, nature observation, organized events, picnicking, walking/jogging.

University of Massachusetts at Lowell (103 Acres)
Assorted facilities

Longmeadow Golf Club (62 Acres)
Golf

Leblanc Park (60 Acres)
Camping, general play, hiking, organized events, picnicking, and pool swimming.

Shedd Park (52 Acres)
Baseball/softball, basketball, bicycling, cross country skiing, football/soccer, general play, hiking, organized events, other team related activities, pool swimming, tennis, walking/jogging.

Fort Hill Park (34 Acres)
Bicycling, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, hiking, picnicking, and walking/jogging

Boulevard Park (24 Acres)
Bicycling, non-motorized boating, camping, fresh water fishing, general play, hiking, ice-skating, organized events, picnicking, walking/jogging.

Means Of Transportation To Work - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
Subject	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers 16 years & over	44,917	100.0	46,764	100.0	1,847	4.1
Drove alone	32,767	73.0	34,494	73.8	1,727	5.3
Carpooled	7,298	16.2	7,324	15.7	35	0.5
Public transportation (including taxicab)	1,495	3.3	1,603	3.4	108	7.2
Bicycle or walked	2,406	5.4	2,282	4.9	-124	-5.2
Motorcycle or other means	487	1.1	470	1.0	-17	-3.5
Worked at home	473	1.1	591	1.3	118	24.9

Travel Time To Work - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
Subject	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers who did not work at home	44,444	100.0	46,173	100.0	1,729	3.9
Less than 5 minutes	1,481	3.3	1,257	2.7	-224	-15.1
5 to 9 minutes	5,415	12.2	4,489	9.7	-926	-17.1
10 to 14 minutes	8,446	19.0	7,783	16.9	-663	-7.8
15 to 19 minutes	8,498	19.1	7,776	16.8	-722	-8.5
20 to 29 minutes	8,620	19.4	9,457	20.5	837	9.7
30 to 44 minutes	8,045	18.1	9,003	19.5	958	11.9
45 or more minutes	3,939	8.9	6,408	13.9	2,469	62.7
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	20.4	X	24.3	X	3.9	X

MEDIA:

Lowell Sun
15 Kearney Square, Lowell, (978) 458 – 7100

Comcast Communications
12 Washer St, Lowell

REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY:

Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
40 Church Street Suite 200
Lowell MA 01852
Beverly Woods, Executive Director
Phone: (978) 454 – 8021
Fax: (978) 454 – 8023