Kennedy, Phelan spar for last time

LYNN – Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and mayoral rival and City Council President Timothy Phelan jousted Friday over rolling back bar closing times to 2 a.m. and how to keep Union Hospital open during their last scheduled debate before the Nov. 5 final city election.Meeting in their seventh campaign season faceoff, the pair fielded questions from debate moderator Taso Nickolakopoulos before a Porthole Pub audience of about 110 people. The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored the debate.Kennedy said she supports a 90-day trial period for rolling back liquor establishment serving time from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.Kennedy said the possibility of a casino opening in Suffolk Downs in Revere and East Boston could bring the need to review the closing time back to the License Commission.”At the end of that 90-day period we evaluate to see if crime or accidents went up in that period,” she said.Phelan said he opposes a change to 2 a.m. and said he will resist a rollback unless Police Chief Kevin Coppinger changes his mind about public safety concerns associated with one.The commission voted in 2008 to change closing times from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. citing police concerns about the 2 a.m. last calls.Even if he supported a 2 a.m. closing, Phelan said it should be done “incrementally” by introducing a 2 a.m. closing in phases with several establishments trying the later time before it is restored across the city.Kennedy said that phased-in approach will anger some bar and restaurant owners.The pair also answered questions Friday about Partners HealthCare’s announcement last week that services will be reconfigured in Union Hospital.Phelan said he is forming a 12-member committee to include medical professionals, Lynn residents and elected officials that, he said, will meet with public health officials who will review Partners’ detailed reorganization proposals.”We have to work this politically and legally,” he said.Kennedy said she has met “almost daily” with hospital executives since the announcement.”We’ve made it completely clear Union Hospital won’t be a center of excellence for inpatient psychiatric care. I can’t imagine being a Casco Road resident experiencing a heart attack and being picked up and driven by 500 Lynnfield St. to Highland Avenue and Salem Hospital,” she said.Phelan said “sustainability” is the key to the city’s development success. He said bringing restaurants downtown means bringing city zoning ordinances “up to speed.” Kennedy said she opposes council efforts to implement a site plan review process for new development projects.She called site plan review – an oversight effort involving multiple city agencies – another level of bureaucracy, but Phelan said council efforts brought Ernie’s Harvest Time from Boston Street to downtown. The grocery is slated to open sometime this fall.The Chamber has taken a stand against site plan review, claiming it potentially adds months to city project reviews. Kennedy agreed.”They don’t do the business community any good,” she said.Phelan said the council has tackled zoning changes required to spur new business interest in Lynn – including rezoning Federal Street land to attract a Market Basket store slated for construction next year.Both candidates on Friday endorsed a sweeping review of current zoning rules but Kennedy added: “It’s frustrating for business people to know there are too many hoops they have to jump through.”Phelan drew distinctions between zoning reforms and streamlining the city special permit process currently required for many new businesses and development projects.The candidates also outlined their big picture views for Lynn’s development. Phelan said one of the biggest challenges businesses face in coming to Lynn is “access to capital.” His multi-point InvestLynn plan includes depositing tax dollars paying for city spending in banks willing to earn the best return on the deposits and help efforts to spur new business interest in the city.”It’s legal and it’s an innovati