Area Mayors Meet in the Nation’s Capital to Address Local Issues
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26- Mayor Michael J. Sullivan can usually be found in his Lawrence office, but this week he reported to work in the nation’s capital. Sullivan is one of 200 mayors here for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
“I came to the conference because I like to meet the mayors from other cities and apply some of the ways that they operate their cities to the issues that I might be facing at home,” Sullivan said Wednesday, the first day of the conference.
Sullivan, who met with Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino to discuss problems of violence, gangs and illegal drugs, said that with the help of the community he wants to launch a City Safe Initiative to bring together Lawrence schools, police and courts. “I want people to gather together as a city of caring to help our youth,” he said.
Representatives of the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts met with Sullivan to discuss options for Lawrence’s newly renovated multipurpose arena. “I want to bring back ideas of what other cities have done with their arenas such as boxing, wrestling and concerts,” Sullivan said. The mayor said he hopes the arena, which is the third largest in the state, will draw people to Lawrence from outside the community.
Sullivan, a Realtor, is working with the Realtors’ Ambassadors for Cities program to promote home ownership and affordable housing opportunities. Lawrence currently receives $3 million a year in federal Community Development Block Grants, Sullivan said, and the partnership with Ambassadors for Cities will allow him to apply for additional funds from the program.
Haverhill also receives Community Development Block Grants, but Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini said cuts in this year’s federal budget may be bad news for the town. Fiorentini said he was attending the mayors conference “to lobby to keep receiving money for things like meals on wheels, the Salvation Army and the police. These programs have a great impact on citizens of Haverhill.”
Fiorentini said he met with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to discuss funds for better nursing services for Haverhill elderly. The mayor said the city has sought grants to reuse old factory buildings and revitalize the downtown area, as well as to dredge the Merrimack River. Haverhill faces a $15 million to $20 million cleanup project, and without federal aid the burden will fall on Haverhill taxpayers, Fiorentini said.
“I want to see what other mayors are doing in terms of government efficiency and planning, and I’m hoping to listen and lobby, and that’s why I’m here,” Fiorentini said.
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