Greenwood Action

Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson was interviewed July 6, 2022 about various topics including Greenwood.

“It’s Embarrassing to call a Memorial.” Gardner MA Mayor Nicholson calls for action on Greenwood.

The Greenwood Pool is popular and the Swim Meets draw people to Gardner. But the old Greenwood Bathhouse looks bad, really bad. And Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson wants something done about it.

Regarding blighted properties in other sections of the Chair City besides Downtown, Nicholson stated,” “….There’s buildings in there that are safety hazards that we need to look at as well. And I think we need to not just look at those that are privately owned, but we need to start  holding the City to the same standard that we’re holding the private sector.  That’s one of the reasons that I’ve looked at the Greenwood Pool, we have a building where the roof is quite literally caving in on itself.  If that was owned by a private citizen, we’d be fining every week for the nuisance code.  But, because it’s us, we’ve let it sit in the background.  We need to hold ourselves to the same standard we are holding the private sector.  Because if I tell someone else that their lawn needs to be mowed, their property needs to be kept to a safe standard and things like that, I should be doing the same for my own property here.”

When asked what the Mayor suggests the City Council approve as far as the Greenwood Bathhouse, he stated, “We’re working on a plan utilizing Community Development Block Grant funding.  To put that in the plan there too, so we are making a least a good faith effort that we go forward with the bathhouse.  And it’ll involve the demolition of the building and the installation of a pavilion in the area, that utilizes portions of the existing building in the construction of that pavilion, the cupola, the signs. Having it be over the body of where the pool is and filling it with a blue-dyed concrete so you can see where the pool itself was, and finding ways to make a new memorial , not one that is quite frankly embarrassing to call a memorial.” We are told that a decision on grant funding may be months away.