The agenda and packet for this meeting is 927 pages. CLICK HERE for pdf. (It’s a huge file.)
New City Clerk Sworn In, Appointments Approved, and 3 Investigations Begun at lively City Council Meeting
The Gardner City Council met on June 15, 2026. Listen to the entire meeting on any device, CLICK PLAY.
Here’s some of what transpired at the meeting. Jennifer Pelavin was elected City Clerk of Gardner effective July 6, 2026 by a unanimous vote and was immediately administered the oath of office. Pelavin is a local attorney and a member of the Gardner School Committee.
The 15% increase to water rates was approved. This approval arose out of an amendment proposed by Councilor Brad Heglin which reduced the requested rate increases to this amount and only for one year.
The Mayor’s proposed Chief of Staff description and proposed budget item was referred back to the Finance Committee for study and review, effectively tabling the item.
The Municipal Surplus Property Plan which includes a recommendation to sell 7 buildable lots owned by the City and get them back on the tax rolls was adopted by the Council.
All of the proposed appointments were approved.
The FY27 Budget was brought up. The vote will be at the next meeting which is scheduled for a week from now.
Details on the Approved City Council Formal Investigations
Council President George Tyros yielded the Chair to Council Brad Heglin to he could outline and start discussion on 3 proposed investigations. (1) Alleged lack of transparency concerning the extensive renovations at Gardner High School. (2) Process Failures involving cyber fraud (3) A breakdown in process flow involving the Building Department Listen to this portion of the meeting on any device, CLICK PLAY.
Despite Councilor complaints about not receiving information in a timely manner, the City Council approved the additional $1 million in funding for the Gardner High School C-wing, which comes from the bond surplus of Gardner Elementary School
Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson’s Response
While we are awaiting a more complete response from the Mayor, Gardner Magazine spoke with Mayor Nicholson right after the City Council meeting. The Mayor was unhappy with the characterizations and accusations made by Council President George Tyros and the Mayor revealed that Council President George Tyros was at a recent meeting at which Mark Hawke and Dr. Mark Pellegrino were present to answer questions regarding the scope of the project and the increased costs. The Mayor was also unhappy that he, the School Committee, and the City Council were not informed earlier by Hawke of the project’s increased scope and the work which was apparently contemplated without School Committee and/or City Council approval. Gardner Magazine notes that George Tyros did not disclose this meeting when he made his comments. We will publish a more complete statement from the Mayor as soon as it is received. Gardner Magazine has also reached out to Mark Hawke with a request to provide a timeline and his statement on the matter.