All 10 City Councilors in Attendance voted NO to the Racetrack in a non-binding straw vote taken July 23, 2024 at 8:19pm.
Listen to the Gardner City Council Public Hearing which was held on July 23, 2024 and broadcast live on WGAW. Listen on any device. CLICK PLAY.
Straw Vote Shows Gardner City Council United in Opposition to Racetrack Proposal
All 10 City Councilors in Attendance voted NO in a straw vote taken July 23, 2024 at 8:19pm. One of the Councilors was absent this evening. Straw vote is not legally binding but gives the public an indication as to how the issue is going. As of the posting of this article, the public hearing was just about to get underway. A formal City Council vote could be taken as soon as the meeting on August 5, 2024.
The Public Hearing Got Underway about 1 hour late. The first speaker was Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson who spoke of the importance of Gardner being open to new businesses being able to give their pitch to the City.
Following the Mayor, speakers were taken in order. as of about 11PM, dozens of people had spoken in opposition except for a few. By about 10pm, some speakers had already left and so were not there when their numbers were called. More speakers had yet to speak as of 11pm. At 11pm, Council President Kazinskas asked if there was any further testimony. Some individuals who had previously spoken chose to speak again. Testimony was closed at 11:10pm. At that time, John Stefanini took the podium and thanked the City Council and the citizens who came to testify. Stefanini then spoke regarding some of the objections.
Testimony was reopened at 11:23pm. 1 additional person spoke. Council President Kazinskas reminded all that written testimony had been received and would still be received until Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The public hearing was closed at 11:30pm.