Haverhill

After 40 Years of No New Properties, Housing Authority Has Plans For Hilldale Avenue, Groveland Street

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After 40 years of no new properties, the Haverhill Housing Authority aims to bring 34 apartments to Hilldale Avenue by 2028. Although in the earliest stage, the quasi-public agency plans to spend $28 million on land it owns at 230 Hilldale Ave. Executive Director Clara Ruiz Vargas detailed the plans recently for WHAV. There are preliminary “plans that have been drawn up, of the idea of what we would like to have done in that area.”

The site held the authority’s offices decades prior and currently has a daycare run by Community Action. Vargas said the daycare will remain and plans to include a community room as well.

Haverhill

Grandchild Won’t Sleep ‘in the Hallway;’ Haverhill’s McGonagle Jokes ‘That’s How I Grew Up’

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Glenn Belanger, a longtime Haverhill resident, received approval this week to begin work on a small bedroom addition after a process he described as long and frustrating. Haverhill city councilors on Tuesday granted Belanger a special permit, required because a portion of his property is within the Kenoza Lake watershed area. Belanger explained his dilemma. “I’m here tonight to ask your permission to allow me to put this little bedroom on so my granddaughter doesn’t have to live in the hallway, basically,” he said at a City Council hearing Tuesday. Citing approval from the city’s departments, no councilors objected.

Cannabis

Councilors Approve Policy Aiding Some Cannabis Applicants, Confirm Deliveries Possible in Haverhill

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Last night, Haverhill city councilors approved their version of a state-mandated policy that aims to get cannabis store licenses in the hands of business owners incarcerated due to the federal government’s so-called “War on Drugs” or otherwise negatively impacted by it. People who fall into this category do not automatically get permits and must still go through an application process. Assistant City Solicitor Matthew D. Provencher informed councilors Haverhill previously opted in to cannabis delivery services, answering a question raised at a subcommittee meeting where the final policy was drafted, as WHAV reported. Brick-and-mortar businesses operating in Haverhill—there are currently four and none of them deliver—must renegotiate their licensing agreements with the city if they want to start. Council Vice President Timothy J. Jordan protested that cities do not receive tax revenue from deliveries brought in from outside.

Haverhill

Haverhill Mayor and Council Will Share Official Authority to Appoint Outside Lawyer

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After city councilors expressed concern a new ordinance would reduce their powers, the mayor agreed to share the authority to appoint outside legal counsel with the body. Councilor Colin F. LePage and Council Vice President Timothy J. Jordan requested the ability be explicitly granted at a subcommittee meeting last week, while councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski said the change was unnecessary because the ordinance already grants the council sufficient rights, which she also raised earlier this month, as WHAV reported. City Solicitor Lisa L. Mead, who drafted the ordinance and Mayor Melinda E. Barrett made similar points. Jordan said, “In my six plus years on the council, I was always led to believe that it was the mayor [who] had all of that authority and the rule we’re looking to change, makes it read like the council actually had the authority to get outside council. At least on a couple occasions when I was on the council, myself and others wished to get an outside opinion and we were told we could not.”

Councilor Shaun P. Toohey noting a precaution against potential mayoral overreach, reassured the mayor, “I don’t think it’s about you.”

Barrett responded, “I know.

Haverhill

Survivors Detail Life After Lead at Haverhill Talk; Advocate Says Stories Make Her Angry and Sad

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(Additional photograph below.)

Advocates and survivors discussed life after lead exposure at a Haverhill panel last week. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, who introduced the event, said the city meets state and federal standards. She added that the city will be removing lead from at least 75 houses in the next three years after receiving a $2.4 million federal grant, the only grant of its kind in New England and the largest nationwide, as WHAV reported. Lead Free MA founder Andrea Watson, who hosted the panel, consumed a significant amount of the toxin after Flint, Mich. switched its drinking water to a contaminated source, a public health disaster that began in 2014.

Education

J.G. Whittier School Staff Critique Principals Before Haverhill School Committee; Admin Responds

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Citing what they called a “hostile” work environment, union staff at John Greenleaf Whittier School say they do not support Principal Matthew Condon and Assistant Principal Cathy Koch. Condon and Koch told WHAV Friday “we have been revamping structures and systems to facilitate improved student achievement and growth,” pointing to a recent increase in a state-defined metric for success. Their “doors are open” to staff seeking to give feedback, they added. At a School Committee meeting last week, Special Education Teacher Barbara Greenwood read a letter from the Haverhill Education Association explaining its members’ “vote of no confidence.” Her colleagues in the audience stood solemnly while she spoke. “Our staff has worked in a hostile environment—ignored, silenced, threatened, retaliated against and dismissed,” she said.

Education

Early Wins Whittier Tech Seat; Haverhill Committee Chooses Not to Favor Own in Appointment Policy

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Richard P. Early Jr. remains in his seat on the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School board, adding another three-year term to his nearly 24 years of service. With supporters testifying to his good character at last night’s meeting, the Haverhill School Committee chose Early over its own Gail M. Sullivan. Richard J. Rosa, Thomas Grannemann, and Sullivan were the only members to cast votes for her. Paul A. Magliocchetti abstained. Before the vote, the committee removed a section from a proposed appointment policy that would have given preference for a Haverhill committee member to hold one of the city’s two Whittier seats.

Haverhill

Rebuilding Together Greater Haverhill Seeks Volunteers to Help Revitalize Homes Saturday

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National Rebuilding Together Day is tomorrow, where volunteers come together to help homeowners in need. Rebuilding Together Greater Haverhill Program Director Maureen McGonagle told city councilors this week that volunteers may sign up at 7:30 a.m., Saturday morning, at the Elks Lodge, 24 Summer St., in Haverhill. They will receive a free breakfast and t-shirt, she continued, with projects taking four to five hours. “So, it’s a quick day. We get a lot done,” she said.