Lawrence panel backs $3.3 million in school roof loans
Lawrence Finance Committee backs $3.3 million in school roof borrowing, tables firefighters' pension fix again.
Finance Committee · Meeting of September 22, 2026
Lawrence Finance Committee backs $3.3 million in school roof borrowing, tables firefighters' pension fix again. The panel, chaired by Stephanie Infante with Vivian Marmo, Mark LaPlante and Giovanni Rodriguez, sent favorable recommendations on roof replacements at South Lawrence East and Frost schools, financed through short-term bond anticipation notes ahead of an October 28 Massachusetts School Building Authority vote covering 80 percent of costs. Councilors also advanced $767,000 for the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative, $139,805 for Safe Routes to School, and $641,224 in CDC REACH funding, the latter conditioned on city re-engagement over a contractor's excavator blocking a Lowell Street safety study for a month.
"That is absolutely wrong," Rodriguez said of the stalled equipment. A home rule petition restoring up to 24 months of pension credit to six firefighters, estimated to cost the city $191,817 through 2036, was referred to the city attorney and tabled, 4-0. LaPlante recused himself from a 3-0 vote backing a 30-year, $84,158-a-year airport land lease with Dynamic Waste Systems.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,454 words
Source: the Finance Committee meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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