Lowell Parks Board Approves Food Pantry, Fee Waivers

Other Committee · Meeting of October 28, 2026

LOWELL — The Lowell Board of Parks waived fees and granted credits for four separate park-use requests Wednesday. The board gave temporary approval for resident Ava Spives to install a Little Free Pantry at Shedd Park, pending Board of Health and Law Department review, after she shifted the proposed site from Fort Hill Park. It approved a $150 credit toward fees owed by a group represented by a man identified as Elvis, whose September 26 Shedd Park event went forward without a requested staff technician.

The board waived a permit fee for a canceled November 22 bike race and waived what staff said would have been a $5,000 fee for a Lowell High School freshman class bake sale planned for November 8, with class president Hameem telling the board the money will fund "underfunded" student clubs. Staff separately said the city's permitting software cannot flag applicants who repeatedly fail to show up for required board meetings, calling it "not a perfect system."

In the full story:

• Little Free Pantry Proposal at Shedd Park
• Credit Request for a Canceled Shedd Park Event
• Bike Race Fee Waiver
• Lowell High School Freshman Class Bake Sale Fundraiser
• Outstanding Fees and the Proposed Multi-Purpose Field
• Permit System, No-Shows, and a Remote Meeting Proposal
• Youth Basketball Program Update
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,140 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.