Eric Bartkus Lowell City Council

-Resignation of Bruce Barker from the Planning commission. Many thanks to Bruce for his years of excellent leadership and service.

If interested in serving on the planning board, please see Sue Ullery for the one page application.

-Voted to extend the Industrial Facilities Exemption for King Milling’s packing plant for an additional 7 years. This building is behind the mill and was built in 2019. The exemption reduces the property tax by 50%. It does not reduce the school taxes. I tried to total their taxes paid and it is a lot. Payment on this building alone in 2023 was $100K after the exemption.

King Milling has been a tremendous benefactor to Lowell over the decades, including being Lowell Light and Power’s biggest customer (by far). LLP’s activity returned $440K to the city last year. I thanked Jim Doyle and King Milling for building the new facilities in the city.

-Voted to repair a broken pump at the Water treatment plant. All the pumps are original from 1977. It will be a chore to remove as there are no cranes or easy access.