The lobster outside Christa McAuliffe School was about the size of a car, with unwieldy claws and prominent googly eyes.
It was also made of metal and powered by the feet of Michael Roundy, the director of the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race and Concord resident. He is one part of the five-person team that helped build the “Lobster Roll,” a mobile sculpture that can be piloted by three people.
The Lobster Roll was only visiting Christa McAuliffe School on Thursday to promote science, technology, engineering and math during STEM Education Week. But last year, it raced across 45 miles of sand dunes and ocean to victory in the 50th Kinetic Grand Championship in California.
By spring 2020, you may see the Lobster Roll scooting through Concord, too.
It’s very early, but Roundy is hoping to bring a kinetic race to the Capital City.
Described by Roundy as a “human-powered all-terrain sculpture race,” a kinetic race typically takes participants across water, terrain and streets in vehicles that are driven by humans in more than one way.
The race Roundy helped kickstart in Lowell, Mass. begins in downtown, takes riders over cobblestones, past the Tsongas Arena, through a mud pit, close to the UMass Lowell campus and into the Merrimack River before scrambling to the finish line.
Its rules are pretty lighthearted and straightforward. You gotta have at least one or more pilots, an accessible bailout route, a larger-than-life name and a stuffed animal on board “for those moments when your team is in despair.”
Your ride can’t be bigger than a car under Massachusetts state law, your feet can’t touch the ground, and your vehicle can’t have projectiles like arrows or grappling hooks.
Cobblestones, mud, a college campus and the Merrimack River. Seems like Concord has all the ingredients for a good kinetic racecourse.
Roundy said he’s formed an exploratory committee to try to make the race happen.
“I grew up in Concord, so my heart is here,” he said, “so I want to know how to make it happen.”
He’s got a sketch of an idea for a racecourse in his head: The White Park’s ice rink could make a good makeshift mud pit. The boat launch ramp at NHTI could introduce contestants to a water feature. They’d get out around the Everett Arena, and then finish up near downtown.
Looks like there might be a sushi spot coming to Concord.
A former Pleasant Street pizza shop is now adorned with a “Splendid Sushi” sign, advertising poké, rice bowls and salads. It’s not clear when they’ll be open.
Around the corner, Rowland Studios has packed up and moved up the street, to 208 N. Main St., near Dominos.
The state will be installing new steam lines along the south side of Park Street between Green and N. State Streets.
The work is anticipated to last until mid-April, according to the city. One-way traffic will be maintained through the use of barricades, barrels and flaggers.
The sidewalk on the south side of the street and parking on both sides of the street will be closed during the construction period.
City councilors had a lengthy conversation last Monday about whether they need to be kept abreast of every piece of legislation the city testifies on.
Ward 2 Councilor Allan Herschlag had asked the city’s legal office to look into the impact that House Bill 497 – a bill that would shift 15 percent of municipalities’ retirement costs back to the state – could have on the Capital City. The bill has since been retained in the House’s finance committee.
The Fiscal Policy Advisory Committee’s report on Monday’s consent agenda on the bill was brief. One line caused Herschlag some consternation.
“They also discussed that City administration stays on top of bills that have impacts to the City and it is not necessary to have these bills added to the City Council agenda for referral to various departments or committees,” the February report from Brian LeBrun, deputy city manager of finance, reads.
Councilors seemed divided on the issue.
Herschlag argued that councilors should know what position the city is taking when it takes a position on a bill. That could take the form of a consent note on the council’s agenda, he said.
“I think that the public has a right to be aware of how the city is representing them in front on the state,” he said.
While At-Large Councilor Mark Coen said he never felt like the council hasn’t been informed on legislative issues during his time on the council, thanks to the city’s membership with the New Hampshire Municipal Association or the state representatives that have served on the council.
He also wondered if there would be a logistical concern in putting together a report. The result could either be a few lines describing the city’s position, or pages and pages of text that would be unwieldy to read, he said.
City Manager Tom Aspell said the city weighs in on “hundreds and hundreds” of pieces of legislation each year. Keeping the council informed of every time they do so, he said, would cost more money and time than his staff could handle.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.) Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the Tsongas Arena.