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LOWELL — After the dynamic June 14 meeting where the City Council unanimously voted to call racism a public health crisis — setting aside their packed agenda in favor of constituent voices on the issue — the councilors resumed those deliberations on Tuesday night.

The nuts-and-bolts of governing were on full display as the councilors called on City Manager Tom Golden and his staff, as well as several department heads, to address the unfinished business, which included parking and fees, snow removal and public safety.

It may only be June, but snowstorms were on Councilor Erik Gitschier’s mind.

“I have concerns with the way we’re plowing the streets,” he said to interim Public Works Commissioner Mark Byrne, asking him to explain staffing levels, routes and contracts to the council.

“These are going to be tough and challenging times come this winter if don’t start securing these pieces of equipment to plow the streets,” Gitschier said. “We need to preplan this stuff. Every time it snows, this council gets inundated with calls.”

Byrne said the department faced challenges in hiring staff with the commercial driver’s license required to operate heavy equipment such as the city’s large street plows. That situation necessitated a move to contractor-driven Ford 250 and 350 consumer-oriented trucks equipped with plows to handle the city’s residential streets. Contractors driving those trucks only require a valid state driver’s license.

“We’ve talked to the city manager and the management team, CFO and assistant city manager,” Byrne said. “I’ve talked to my staff at DPW. We’re putting packages together within the next month. I think we can bring some contractors in early. I think we do need bigger equipment, though.”

Snow strategies took up a good portion of the debate, with Councilors Corey Robinson and John Leahy weighing in with their thoughts on how to clear the city’s roadways.

“We are understaffed severely to maintain the fleet the size that we’re trying to operate,” Robinson said. “I think we need to take a hard look in-house at the way we’ve set up our snow operations, and the way that we’re utilizing our existing talent. We’re at the point where we need to break down our operations and rebuild.”

Leahy agreed with Robinson, adding that he thought buying better equipment for in-house operation and more in-house training for staff to secure a commercial driver’s license were options.

“I think the smaller F250 trucks can do the job if we get them out there fast enough,” Leahy said. “I think we should let Commissioner Byrne give us some suggestions and come up with a better system.”

Councilor Kim Scott’s motion that the issue be referred to the Neighborhoods Subcommittee unanimously passed.

That allowed the council to move onto another lightning-rod issue: parking and parking fees. The Parking and Garages Department has also struggled with staffing and funding shortages.

Director Terry Ryan said the much-maligned parking kiosk system would be replaced by pay-by-plate machines eliminating any existing meters and the numbered parking spots currently in use. He also said his department hired a staffer for the office, freeing the officer covering that position to get back out on the street.

Ryan said plans were in the works to hire an additional officer to bring the staffing up to five officers to cover the five parking zones in Downtown Lowell. The Police Department covers all the other areas.

Chief Financial Officer Conor Baldwin attributed concerns about the Hamilton Canal Garage shortfall to an insufficient fee schedule set by the previous council, which he said was then exacerbated by the pandemic.

“In 2018, we proposed a fee that would have covered the debt service on the Hamilton Canal Garage,” Baldwin said. “But it was more than the council was willing to consider at that time. The new kiosks, those will add pressure to the budget.”

In response to Councilor Wayne Jenness’s request that Department of Planning and Development Director and Assistant City Manager Christine McCall look into programs to help small businesses take advantage of a group parking rate offered by Ryan’s department, McCall also highlighted the staffing issues in her department.

“The economic development team is comprised of three positions, two of which are vacant right now,” McCall said. “The new hires are not slated to start until the end of the month, but we’re open to exploring that possibility.”

Interim Superintendent of Police Barry Golner stepped to the podium to address Mayor Sokhary Chau’s request for increased staffing in Cambodia Town and Cupples Square. Golner highlighted some of his department’s community policing efforts, including a sidewalk meeting with business owners and increasing foot patrols Friday and Saturday nights in the area of the area of Middlesex and Branch streets. Golner also told the council he was coordinating with other departments and organizations to improve safety in the area.

“The captain in charge of that sector will be working with the city services to have the trees trimmed that are blocking the cameras, fix a hole in the fence and increase the lighting,” Golner said. “The Lowell Litter Krewe cleaned the park this weekend. We looked at adding some additional city security cameras to the area, and we received that estimate this morning, which we will bring to the next council meeting.”

Golner also updated the council on the suspect who damaged the Cambodia Town statue.

“The suspect has been charged in District Court, and they’ll be summoned to court,” he said.

Chau thanked Golner for all his department’s work on public-safety issues.

The council also held an executive session to consider and discuss negotiations relative to LeLacheur Park.

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