New schools and safer streets are the top priorities for 18 Lynn elected officials asked by The Daily Item (Friday, Jan. 10) to outline their goals for the next two years.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee, City Council and School Committee members took different approaches to outlining their concerns with McGee stating that efforts to stabilize city finances go hand in hand with Lynn being able to afford to undertake $231 million in new city construction focused on schools.
Most of the officials agreed new public schools need to be built and that process begins with Lynn’s reacceptance into the state school building program.
In the meantime, several officials said the city should undertake short-term approaches to ensure Lynn’s increasing student population is educated, like turning vacant commercial space into classrooms, using modular classrooms, and staggering class schedules.
“Without revenue, we can’t do a lot of things,” said At-Large Councilor Buzzy Barton.
That includes making sure streets are safer and the police and fire departments are fully staffed.
Generating revenue means more property tax generated by new development growth in Lynn. Two residential projects are under construction downtown and ground has been broken on a Lynnway project.
We would like to see the mayor and councilors proclaim their desire to see the number of projects with shovels in the ground doubled by the end of the year and tripled in 2021. When it comes to mapping out city goals, pragmatism versus bold talk isn’t an either/or choice.
Elected officials should declare lofty goals for Lynn, a city that has achieved so much, even as they talk about the city’s practical challenges, like meeting short-term school space needs.
Elected officials in Lynn have their hearts in the right place, even ones with personal priorities like Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi, who is pursuing state green city designation, or At-Large Councilor Hong Net, who wants a 25 percent people of color quota for municipal offices.
Two years isn’t much time to start getting new schools built and to identify new funding sources to pay for them. Once two years are up, Lynn voters will go to the ballot box and decide if the people elected to serve them have turned priorities into accomplishments.