Lowell Veterans Commission Eyes City Council Vote to Revive Stalled Memorial Square Program

LOWELL -- December 10, 2025, Lowell Veterans Commission hears that a stalled approval process has blocked new memorial square designations citywide. Eric Lamar, the city's director of veteran services, told the December 10 meeting that the veterans council responsible under a 2006 bylaw for screening new memorial square applications may have dissolved, leaving at least one pending application unapproved and requiring a City Council vote to transfer that authority to the commission. Ted Serinski, newly appointed director of military and veteran services at UMass Lowell and a co-founder of the university's student veterans organization, told the commission his office now works with more than 1,000 military-connected students annually, including over 250 Massachusetts National Guard members who receive a 100 percent state tuition waiver. The commission also announced it has roughly 15 winter supply buckets, containing jackets, socks, and gloves, available immediately through the police department, with the hero banner program open through a March 15 deadline and a Memorial Day ceremony planned for Veterans Park on Douglas Road.