Holy Rosary Project Rejected By City Council Mayor Sullivan and Julia Silverio have long been stooges for the poverty pimps at Lawrence Community Works. You may remember them as the group that tried to illegally funnel city computers to the Dominican Republic two years ago. Or you may remember them as the group that wants to impose more poverty on the city by using your tax money to build low-income housing. But, having the Mayor and a City Councilor in their pocket wasn't enough last night to secure 4.1 million dollars in loans through the city for a construction project to renovate the old Holy Rosary School. Conveniently, the school is located next door to a piece of property recently purchased by Councilor Julia Silverio. Silverio claims that she has sought opinions as to the conflict of interest involving her voting on the project. She said that her property value would not change if the school is reopened and therefor felt it was appropriate to lobby and vote for the project. Anyone with a brain cell in their head knows that neighborhood porperty values increase when a crumbling building is turned into a functional school. This would explain why most of the neighbors endorsed the project, including Silverio. Five Councilors voted in favor of the 4.1 million borrowing measure: Julia Silverio, Nunzio DiMarca, Nick Kolofoles, Nilka Alvarez-Rodriquez and Marcos Devers. The project needed six votes for approval. Voting against the project (and on the prevailing side) were Mike Sweeney, Patrick Blanchette, Gil Frechette and Marie Gosselin. Among the concerns of those opposing the project were the ethical questions surrounding Silverio's involvement as well as the continuing cost to the city once the school is operational. Councilor Sweeney said that he was concerned because the school would only serve 180 students and cost the city 4.1 million to renovate (not including cost overruns) and another $750,000 to operate once completed. The continuing operational cost would increase as the school budget increased every year creating a constant drain on city and school department resources. Also a concern to Councilors who opposed the measure was the decrease in student capacity and how the cost of the project had increased since the original proposal. Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy recently told the Council that this would relieve some of the overcrowding in the School Department and endorsed the project. Lawrence Community Works was slated to run the school, and though they are called non-profit, this in no way means that the people who work there make no money. |