The City of Lowell Board of Parks approved multiple permits, fee waivers and date requests for community and youth events and referred several monument/plaque requests to the city’s Monument Committee.

City staff and applicants received the board’s approval for a St. Louis Park block party tied to the St. Louis Sponge Park renovation, a McPherson Park traffic playground ribbon cutting scheduled for Nov. 16, bench plaque requests at Durant Street Park and Fort Hill Park (to be referred to the Monument Committee), Pop Warner playoff hosting on Nov. 2, and multiple youth league practice and permit dates for the high school and community programs.

Notable approvals and motions at the meeting included a motion to grant a credit/reimbursement to an applicant for late‑season, weather‑related cancellations (the motion at the meeting referenced a $975 credit; an earlier figure of $8,975 appears in the transcript and is inconsistent), approval of no‑fee permits for community engagement events, waiver or credit of smaller user fees (examples discussed in the meeting included $225 and $300 credits/waivers), and approvals to provide custodial and scoreboard access for Pop Warner playoff games.

Applicants who appeared included Jessica Wilson, design planner with the City of Lowell Department of Planning and Development, who requested use of St. Louis Park for a block party and community engagement event; Jesse Stroud, urban renewal project manager, who described the McPherson Park traffic playground grand opening; Tracy Lucerra and other Pop Warner representatives who sought waiver and tournament hosting permissions; and several residents seeking memorial bench plaques. The board approved permitting and fee arrangements for these items, often by voice vote (“Aye”) after staff confirmed logistics such as tenting, custodial support and use of the concession/scoreboard systems.

Administrative and finance notes: staff reported a drop of approximately $20,000 in Cauley Stadium rental revenue this year versus last and presented a list of outstanding user fees for follow‑up. The board also discussed forthcoming ordinance language and fee schedules being worked on by the city council subcommittee; the chair said the subcommittee aims to have changes in place for new permit cycles. The board voted to cancel its November 19 and December 17 regular meetings unless an emergency requires a meeting.

What wasn’t decided: the board did not authorize new tournament fee rules during the meeting; staff and council subcommittee will continue work on ordinance language and fee structure, with board members indicating a desire for new rules to be in place for early 2026 permit cycles.