This week, the Lewiston School Committee and Lewiston City Council will each hold meetings to discuss a variety of topics. Here’s what to expect.
Lewiston School Committee Meeting
Monday, October 20 at 5:30 pm
Green Ladle, 156 East Avenue
(Agenda)
The School Committee will meet Monday night with a short public agenda, but which includes several executive sessions.
Committee members will be presented with an update on attendance data.
Members will also vote on the first read of several policies: School Volunteers; Use of Physical Restraint and Seclusion; Procedure on Physical Restraint and Seclusion; and Evaluation of Student Achievement.
A second read will take place for the following policies: Substance-Free Workplace, and Pregnant Students.
Next will be reports and announcements, as well as a time for members to ask for future agenda items.
Following those, the School Committee will conduct four executive sessions (meetings that are closed to the public due to privacy laws).
The Committee will discuss one personnel matter (something having to due with a district employee), and will hold three student judicial hearings. Members are likely to vote after each student hearing.
The meeting will be streamed live on the district’s YouTube page, which you can get to by clicking here.
Contact information for the School Committee members can be found by clicking here.
Lewiston City Council Workshops and Meeting
Tuesday, October 21 at 6:00 pm (Meeting starts at 7:00pm)
Council Chambers, City Hall, 27 Pine Street
(Agenda)
The Council is set to discuss several items of importance, with most attention being placed on votes to censure two councilors as well as a vote to release information from a confidential report that prompted the possible censures.
The Council will start off with two workshops. One is for a final presentation on the Simard-Payne Park Master Plan, and the other is for an update from the Committee to Establish a Homeless Shelter.
The first item of regular business is a public hearing and first passage of an ordinance meant to regulate needle exchange programs in the city. Councilors spent multiple meetings getting little done before gathering last week for a workshop to discuss the issue. At that workshop, Councilors seemed to reach agreement on several sticking points.
Unless Councilors change any of their positions, expect the ordinance to allow only one licensee in the city, to not include any language requiring a 1-for-1 exchange requirement, to exempt hospitals on their campuses only, to not include a cap on the number of syringes dispensed per visit (the state already sets a limit of 100), and a few other minor changes.
Following that is a condemnation hearing for the property at 54 Knox Street. The expected action is for the owner to work with the city on changes in order to avoid eventual demolition.
Next is a vote on amending the lease for Mill 7 (the location of the new police station), which would increase the city’s monthly rent from $115,993.35 to $158,944.29 and make a one-time payment of $115,803.90 on July 1 of next year.
The reason given for the increase is that the build-out costs for the building went up by an additional $1.7 million. The city maintains the option to purchase the building in the first year of the lease at a price of $6.5 million.
After that will be the discussion and vote on whether to release to the public a confidential report from the City Attorney concerning the use of encrypted messaging done separately by two Councilors and a now-former city employee.
Several media reports have identified the city employee as a police officer who recently reached a separation agreement with the city.
City residents are allowed to contact elected officials just as any other residents are. The question at hand, however, is whether that type of communication is considered a public record and therefore required to be preserved.
Following those votes, councilors and city officials will provide a variety of updates.
The meeting will be streamed live on the city’s YouTube page, which you can get to by clicking here.
Contact information for the Mayor and Councilors can be found by clicking here.