In a unique section, the Mayor gave us brief answers relating to what’s “more” in Gardner during the last 3 years – what’s been improved. And then, we talked about what there is less of, also about improvements. Jump to Section
The Conductor – The Serious Business of Government and Unprecedented Chair City Success – Interview with Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson
Today we have the honor of speaking with Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson. He is, the conductor, leading the Gardner band, a serious team which has achieved the equivalent of a Top 40 Hit in Government, leading to Unprecedented Chair City Success. We’ll talk about progress and how the Mayor plans to build upon the momentum in the next few years. Listen to the interview on any device. CLICK PLAY
The Entire text of the interview is available for you to read on this page. We asked Mayor Nicholson about 3 perfect Federal Audits. We spoke about the number of net new businesses in the Chair City. The Mayor answered our question about how his administration has gone after both private and city-owned blighted buildings. We spoke about Public Safety initiatives and the Fiber grant. We asked about people policies. The Mayor spoke on his endorsement from the Environmental League of Massachusetts. We asked about City budgets. The Mayor answered our question relating to Gardner Schools. We spoke about Mayor Nicholson being tested as a leader. We asked about juggling many projects at one time. The Mayor told us about his relationships with others in government. We spoke about Downtown Gardner. The Mayor enumerated the various amenities in the City. We spoke about business growth and housing growth. The Mayor told us of his work with non-profits. We spoke about transparency.
Jump to: Perfect Audits —- Net New Business —- Blight to Promise —- Public Safety —- People are Policy —- The Environment —- The Budget —- Gardner Public Schools —- Tested as a Leader —- Projects and Delegating —- Cultivating Relationships —- Buildings in Downtown Gardner MA —- a more Vibrant City of Gardner —- Amenities in the City —- Business and Industry —- Housing in the Chair City —- Working with Non-Profits —- Transparency of Government and Citizen Feedback —- Open Space —- The Conductor —- Events in Gardner MA —- In the Works —- A Question of More, 3 Years of Progress in the Chair City —- Collaboration among Government, Business, Community —- Positive Changes and Future Vision —- The Serious Business of Government
The Conductor – An Interview with Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson
Perfect Audits
Question: Mayor, you’ve had three perfect federal audits. How will your Gardner band top that?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, I don’t know if you can top that. It’s one of those, we got a great team here at City Hall that really just does a really good job knowing,you know, make sure all the eyes are dotted and the t’s are crossed, getting everything set and ready to go. Our job here is to make sure that we maintain our fiduciary responsibility for the taxpayers who live here. And I think we’ve proven that perfectly here.
Net New Businesses
Question: In your tenure as mayor, there have been more net new businesses in Gardner than in a long time. Its music to everyone’s ears, but how do you keep that song going?
Mayor Nicholson: One of the things that we do constantly is really work towards our outreach goals towards new businesses that want to come here. And part of that is working with the property owners and Gardner, getting input from those who live here that really we find the most well rounded picture of what we can have. We already know that there’s a coffee shop that’s interested in coming into the downtown. Newly added to that group is a Bodega, a small little Caribbean store that wants to open up in the downtown now too. And its seeing what shifts we have in the population. We see that Gardner’s getting younger, we’re becoming a more diverse population, and how can we bring in businesses that meet the needs of those who are now calling this place their home. And different ways that builds off of the foundation that we’ve already got here, but also helps welcome people here and really fill in the gaps that we’ve been missing. And so that direct outreach to businesses that we know people have been asking for,that working with the business owners, the building owners about their properties to let them know who we are interested in them, helping us reach out to. Its really a full court press, if you will, to, you know, crescendo to the end of the song.
Blight to Promise
Question: You’ve gone after the junkie buildings, both privately held and city owned,armed with a baton in one hand and a city ordinance in the other, you’ve gotten results.What’s next? Your own bulldozer?
Mayor Nicholson: We, its just one of those that we hold the private sector to a certain standard to make sure that our city looks clean. But we can’t be our next absentee landlord. And that’s been one of the most poignant things I’d like to say that we’ve accomplished this current term here, is that we’ve gone after and put properties back on the tax rolls and put blight into promise and really made Gardner stick out. So we are just sitting on properties we don’t need to sit on. I’m looking forward in probably the next couple months, if not in November and December, early January or February, seeing the Greenwood Pool building and the old Rome building on the corner of Main Street and Willow come down and really open up those places as well, with the new Pavilion being put in place over at the Greenwood Pool area, and then putting that lot back on the market after we make some intersection improvements over at Main Street and Willow Street.
Public Safety
Question: Mayor, the Domestic Violence Coordinator is back, the Prevention coordinator is active. Burglars are afraid of canine Rocky’s jaws, and the Garter PD has more tools to fight crimes. The fire department is getting more equipment. On the public safety front, what is Mayor Nicholson and the Gardner team planning for the next few years?
Mayor Nicholson: I think the biggest thing in terms of public safety right now is waiting for our new fire apparatus to arrive. Using our American Rescue funds, we purchased a brand new ambulance, a new rescue truck. So that is a fire truck style vehicle that’s loaded with all different special rescue equipment, be it a water rescue, an ice rescue, a someone’s trapped in a building, extra oxygen tanks, things of that nature, and then an additional fire engine. So those are all set to arrive, I’m going to guess in the springtime. Well, start to see those arrive just due to backups and supply chains. On our long term planning, we are planning on a new ladder truck for the fire department. But right now were looking at a cost of about $3.5 million for that ladder truck. So were really kind of saving up for that until we can finally pull the trigger on that. We’ve got a couple more years left on the one that we have. Now.In terms of our work at the police department, we’ve got the drone that’s back. That’s another piece of equipment but its kind of getting dated right now. So were probably going to be looking at updating the drone for the police department. We just purchased new radios for all of our police officers and our animal control officers. That’s probably going to be something were looking at the fire department pretty soon. The highest ranked fire resistant firefighter radio pack is about $350,000 if you buy one radio for all of our firefighters there. So its kind of building up some momentum for that. There’s a lot that we need to do to help increase what we’ve done with our public safety officers. But between the new radios for the police department, the new radio systems at the dispatch center, the work being done at the radio tower up at James Street and the new fire department vehicles, we’ve made at least a good start.
Question: Now you also got a two hundred thousand dollar grant to add some improvements to the fiber infrastructure that also will help public safety. Won’t that help as well?
Mayor Nicholson: Oh, absolutely. Yes. The Community Compact Fiber grant from the state is going to help us greatly with that one, too. One of the things that’s going to be happening is, we’ll be having a direct fiber optic cable line from the Gardner police station to all of our city schools. And that puts a direct feed from all of their security cameras into the police station, direct line extensions from all of our public buildings to them. It really does add a strong level of safety of that. And one of the other areas that fiberoptic cable is running to is from our public safety, fire and police stations to that radio tower and transmitter up on the top of James Street to make sure that we have a backup line for that as well.
People are Policy
Question: Mayor Nicholson, you have said people are Gardner’s greatness and that people are policy. As the city’s conductor in chief, what impactful policies have you implemented? What momentum will you build upon? And if you had a magic wand, what is on your people wish list?
Mayor Nicholson: Yes. Its an excellent question. Werner. A couple of the policies that we’ve put forward here have been in relation to the free cash spending that we have. One of the things that’s added to the financial policies that the mayor’s office has is that every year, and we put at least 10% of our free cash forward to the city council to go towards road pavement. And that is something that free cash was just certified at two point five million dollars here in Gardner last week on September 21st, by the Massachusetts Department of revenue. So you’re going to start to see an order from my office go up to the city council requesting that they appropriate $257,000 of that to go towards road paving. Now that’s in addition to the about $600,000 we got from Chapter 90 and the $150,000 that I added to that from our city’s ARPA funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. That’s one of the things that again, it seems like its just financial policy, but there’s someone’s face behind as people are driving around the city, that’s how they get to work, that’s how they get home. One of the things I’m really proud of is that in the last three years alone, we’ve paved 20 miles of roads here in Gardner since 2020 to present. Thats 20% or 1/5 of all roads that are paved in Gardner, not including our gravel roads in just three years alone. So I’m really proud of that. But that’s an example of a policy that has a big impact in the end. Additionally with that,we have our new outdoor seating policies that have held businesses. I know Gabbys Place has been really happy about how that’s worked there. We’ve got some restaurants that are newly looking at Gardner right now that that’s actually been a draw that made them look at Gardner. Its one of those things that you really have to think ahead to see what ways we can go forward. One of the things that im working right now with our Veterans Agent, Lynette Gabrila, at putting together, building off of the momentum we’ve recently had with the opening of our Veterans Court, the town of Westminster recently passed an ordinance to waive property taxes for Goldstar families in the town of Westminster, and we’re seeing if we can replicate that here too, as a thank you for the sacrifices that those families have had to have a direct family member die in the line of duty in our military. If that’s a thank you that we can do to honor their service, we should be looking at doing that here. So were working right now with a couple of our community partners to see just how many Goldstar families we have here in Gardner, and see what that financial impact would be. But that is a goal that I would have for the future.
The Environment
Question: And one of the things that comes into question sometimes is when you have great success in a city, is what impact you’re having on the environment. And recently, you’ve been endorsed by the Environmental League of Massachusetts. They say they’re proud to endorse Mike Nicholson for re-election as Gardner mayor. He is an enviro champ who is committed to expanding electric vehicle infrastructure, creating green space and improving solar energy. What would you like to say about this?
Mayor Nicholson: Yes, I was really honored to receive that endorsement from the Environmental League of Massachusetts. There’s a lot that we’ve done here in Gardner to promote becoming more green, reducing our carbon footprint. That’s one of the things that were looking at right now is utilizing some of the funding that’s available through the inflation reduction acts for solar panel credits to see if we can look at doing solar on our municipal buildings. There are some buildings like the new school that its just not possible right now due to the warranties that are on the new roof. But there’s other buildings like the DPW or adding a parking lot canopy over some of our lots, like the Knowlton Street lot, that it may be prime area for energy production. Now, we already produce a ton of energy over at our solar fields on West Street and on Mill Street. But if these incentives are out there and it can help us be more green in the long run, I think its something that will really be helpful to the city when you look at the longterm planning, particularly with the new community center over at Waterford Street School, that roof is prime in the sun and we need a new roof on it anyway, at least some repairs there, too. So if we can kind of work out something that they all go together and coincide with each other, I think that will really be something thats very, very positive for the city in the long run. But that’s just our solar energy. You look at the green spaces that weve added in the downtown with all the new housing units that are there. One of the things that I’ve kind of said is that we need to make people feel like they have a front yard in a backyard, even if they’re living in an apartment. And then our electric vehicle infrastructure with, again, with all the money that’s out there right now to help plan for the future, it’s something that we should at least make available to our residents. We have a charger here at City Hall. We have some in our Connors Street public parking lot, and then a brand new charger over at the DPW. What else can we do and what other developments can we work with to see if they’d be interested in having one or the other places that we could be looking for, for them there, too. So its being able to plan for the future and work that helps us solidify our place in the future. And I think its one of those that were making investments that arent only going to help right now, but help us in the long term. And that’s the best investment we can make in our community.
The Budget
Question: Now speaking of planning for the future, your budgets for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 included lower percentage increases than similar size cities. Mayor, it’s not your money. So why are you such a cheapo?
Mayor Nicholson: You have to remember everyone who lives here is going through a very just interesting time in the worlds history right now. Were just getting out from a global pandemic like the world never saw. Inflation is still uncertain as to whether its going up or down or if its going back to normal. And I don’t know what normal was at this point. The interest rates are still bouncing around from one place to another. And its just one of those things that people have enough to worry about on their own, with food payments, student loans starting to back up, gas costs to keep their homes going, that we need to be financially prudent and fiscally responsible with every dollar that we take in here and Gardner, and make sure that if its being used, its benefiting the most people possible and having the most positive impact on the city that it can.
Gardner Public Schools
Question: Mayor Nicholson, as chairman of the Gardner School Committee, as well as mayor, your role includes you in regular School Committee meetings. The school system has gone from tier III to tier 1. When you sit there, you’re often caught smiling when you hear the good news. How does it make you feel when you realize your support is coming full circle in the form of results? And how will Gardner build upon this moving forward?
Mayor Nicholson: It’s a really great feeling, Werner. It’s, you look at the band program that we recently read reinstated over at the elementary school, and there’s 205 students enrolled in this year, and its only the third year that the band’s been in existence. And that’s only offered for students in grades three and four. And a school that population covers from pre-k through fourth grade, a third of that school in it made up of just 3rd and 4th graders are now participating in that program. To hear that our students are now having these successes and these experiences and really making an impact on the community already from the elementary school level all the way up to the high school level is truly just an amazing feeling to see that the hard work that you put, in is actually paying off and making a difference somewhere. And I think that if Gardner can take anything from that, its realizing that investing in our students is investing in Gardner’s future and that the seats that we hold now are going to be held by those students that are sitting in those classrooms currently in the next couple of decades. They are going to be the ones who are making these decisions. So we should set them up for the best successes that they can have, both now and in the long run.
Question: I’ve watched some of the meetings there and I’ve caught you smiling at something else, too. One third of Gardner’s graduating class this year also got a college degree. How does that make you feel?
Mayor Nicholson: That’s really cool to me as someone who didn’t have those opportunities when I was in school and relied a lot on AP classes and clept tests at Mount Wachusett Community College. I was able to get my bachelor’s degree in three years. And I thought that that really helped me open up opportunities for what I wanted to look through. And that’s how I decided to get the master’s degree that I have in public policy. But these students are doing it now. To hear that a third of our Gardner High graduates are graduating with an associate’s degree or at least a handful of college credits, not just one or two, but like a full half semester or semesters worth at minimum of these college credits, tha’ts fantastic. That’s money that these students are saving. That’s opening up experiences and opportunities for them to have when they’re at their college campuses later on, whether they’re here in Gardner or somewhere else. And I think that that just makes it so that students can help find their academic niche sooner, plan better and have a stronger standing when it comes against their peers for the future.
Tested as a Leader
Question: Early on, the challenges of the covid pandemic tested you as a leader. What can you draw from that period which will aid the city as you lead it in the future?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, I was just talking to one of my friends from college about this the other day when we were, you know, thinking back at the time that the pandemic shutdowns were happening and everything was up in the air. And at the time, I remember thinking, you know, I really wish this wasn’t happening. You know, this is really, you know, mentally taxing. But now looking back on it, I’m really happy that I was in the position I was in, both as Rutland’s town administrator at the start of the pandemic and then transitioning to mayor here in Gardner, because that time made me as, you know, mayor and town administrator, depending on what time of the pandemic you’re looking at. But several people in Gardner City Hall, around the city in general and across the country think outside the box in ways that if that hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be thinking like that. But I like to think that I’ve carried that method in methodology forward, that when something comes up now, I think a little extra on it and try to come up with more creative solutions or just think about it in a different way, or through a different lens that I don’t think I would have taken that perspective had it not been for the challenges that we had during the pandemic. So I really think that it made me a stronger person, a stronger coach for the team here, if you will, because it strengthened the team, in general too, when that is something that we feed off of each other with. So I think it made people work together and more collaborative with each other, think creatively and more outside the box than they did before. And I hope thats something that we carry with us in the future. Im actually really happy to have been in the positions I was in for that. And thats not something I would have expected. I would have been saying in early 2020.
Projects and Delegating
Question: All right. So let’s dive into that just a little bit deeper. A great conductor subtly directs various instruments of a band’s success. How have you juggled so many projects at one time, pursued so many grants and presided over so much progress in a short time? What’s the secret? Mayor Nicholson, name that tune.
Mayor Nicholson: You know, I get by with a little help from my friends. It’s one of those things that you gotta realize you’re working here in a team. All of my department heads, all the people who work in our departments under them,too, are here for the same reason. And we want to make Gardner a better place for everyone who lives, visits and works here. And, you know, you rely on the experts who are in their fields because I don’t know everything. They might know they feel better, but they don’t know another person’s feel better. But if you can’t work in a Silo, you constantly have to be checking in on each other, making sure everyone’s working cohesively with each other and really just give them leash to run with it. If someone has an idea that they’ve already thought through, let them do it. Like I don’t need to micromanage every project that’s happening here in the city, but I still know what’s going on. And that’s the best thing is when you empower your team that’s here, you get the best result possible because you get people who are passionate about the work that they’re doing, and it really ties into the overall theme of progress together. And I think that I cant thank my team here enough at City Hall for the work that they do every day. And im very lucky to be here. And when it comes to stuff that we all have ideas, but we know its outside of the capacity of what we can handle with what were already doing, thats when we start looking for things like the grant writer that we recently got funding approved for by the City Council. That’s already helped us write at least six or seven grant applications for the federal government that we should be hearing from soon. But every dollar that we get back in grant funding goes towards justifying how we went out and got someone to help us get that extra funding that out there. Because if its our tax dollars that went into creating these new programs that are out there, we should be getting as much of that back here rather than sending our tax dollars off to different states elsewhere in the country, because its us. If we put into it, we should be getting the benefit of it.
Cultivating Relationships
Question: Mayor Nicholson, the governor, cabinet secretaries, other dignitaries are often showing up at your door. Did you put a spell on them with your conductor’s wand or is there some other reason?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, it’s one of those. Again, you need to realize everyone who’s on your team working for the same thing. There’s a lot that Gardner has potential for, but we cant do it on our own. Just like our city departments cant work in silos, neither can cities and towns work in silos. If we build off of each other and work with our partners at the state, local and federal level, whether its regionalizing with someone else on an issue that’s here on the local level, working with our partners at the state level,finding ways to work with our congressional delegation, with the federal government, all of that comes back to the same goal that we have of building a stronger gardener for a brighter tomorrow. I’m really proud that both Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, former Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karen Polito have all endorsed me in my reelection, because that was a strong part of their campaigns and their times and offices. And it shows that no matter what party you’re in, no matter what line people think you tow, we’re all here for the same goal. And that’s we need to work together for the betterment of the people who put us in office and those that voted against us in office, too, because it’s their home just as much as ours. And when you collaborate, work together, you get that perspective in an all real rounded picture.
Buildings in Downtown Gardner MA
Question: Mayor Nicholson, I want to talk about shoes. A few years ago, there was a thousand shoes hidden in the corner of the Garbose Building. There was barbed wire at what is now Park Street, 25 Main Street was leaking everywhere. What happened? What’s changed and what does the future hold?
Mayor Nicholson: Well, lets just say those shoes were meant for walking. And walking right out of Gardner was the goal that they had. There was a ton of just more than shoes, t-shirts, junk in general that was stored in being hoarded, for lack of a better term at the Garbose building at 2 to 10 Parker street, working with the new developers that we had. I remember the, the individuals who purchased the Garbose building and 25 main street came to my office to talk about the factory on the corner of Stuart and Nadeau street. And while we were talking with them, I was like, well, you seem like you have a good business plan behind you. Have you ever looked at some of the buildings downtown? These are the ones we’ve been having the maintenance problems with. And they took a chance on us,like we were going to take a chance on them. And I think when you have that symbiotic relationship, that’s when you get the new partnerships. You look at if the rest of the downtown to the Central Park building with the door fund, that set to be fully revitalized with new fixed up apartments rather than the ones that have been there for some decades that haven’t had any work done for them. And the facades will be redone. Empire Management investing in the building that they own in the downtown with new facade work already being done as we speak. I’m very proud to see how much work we’ve done to downtown, even if it’s in the early planning stages or just starting out right now. Downtown Gardner is going to look a whole lot better in the next 12 to 18 months. And it’s going to be because the work we’re doing right now.
A more vibrant City of Gardner
Question: Many aspects of Gardner are now strong where once they were weak. Bright colors and promise fill the streets when once they were bleak. How have you contributed to a more vibrant city, and what will you do going forward to help make Gardner even stronger?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, I’m going to go back a couple years to start this question, and it’s back when I was in my master’s program at Umass Amherst. One of my professors, General John Mullen, Dr John Mullen. General John Mullen, Professor John, he had several different titles with it, but he, in the Alan Agnelli years, when Alan was mayor, did a review of downtown Gardner. And it was published on the front page of the Gardner News. And it said, entrance to downtown Gardner deemed terrible. And I remember he showed me that when he was a professor. And I’ve looked back in the Gardner News archives, and I’d love to try to find that now in the position that I’m in. But one of the things that was cited in that report was it looked gray. It looked lifeless. There was a lot of vacancies that are there. And it was a lot of things that we were still seeing when I was in high school, when I first took over as mayor,that we had just kind of stayed stagnant with. So building off of those lessons was kind of my starting point and then just seeing where we could take off. I think one of the things that Dane Arnold at the DPW kind of expects now is if I’m ever going out visiting another community across the state or were trying somewhere else, I’m always sending pictures of a, oh, this looks nice over here. How can we replicate that in Gardner? This kind of looks neat over here. Is this something we can try to do even in part in this section of the city? And that’s how we got the fountain over in Orpheum Park. Thats how we got the string lights that are in the downtown and these little minute things that seem small and trivial actually make a big difference when you put them all together and build that full puzzle. If you look at a small piece here and there, you are going to wonder what the full picture is. But when you actually take the time to put them together, you see the actual work of art that comes behind it.
Amenities in the City
Question: Well, sometimes as city’s conductor, the mayor can do some really cool things. Could you recount the increase in various amenities since you took office and what plans you would like to still implement?
Mayor Nicholson: Oh. That’s a good one. You look at Bailey Brook Park, we now have pickleball courts. That’s the first time the cities had pickleball options available, something other than basketball. The new tennis courts being refurbished at Gardner High School. The fitness court up at the high school as well, right next to it, that’s already being used by some of our gym classes. In fact, some of the fitness centers in Gardner are looking at borrowing it for different classes. The Bailey Brook Park also is home to our new age 5 and under playground. That’s the first playground that’s meant for infant to 5 year old rather than 5 and above. So that’s a new amenity that we have there. There’s a new disc golf course soon to be constructed right around that area as well, probably by the end of the year, they’re going to start that on some of the trails that build off of Bailey Brook Park, the new grills over at Ovila Case Park to add to some of the playground amenities over there. Theres a lot when you think about it. The new bike trail by Park Street Park, which in and of itself is new Maki Park, is just being started. If you see there’s some work being done this morning when you drive by, there’s more than that, too. But the fact that I’m having a hard time remembering it all, it makes me proud. It’s really something that you can really see that there’s a lot happening here, and we’re not sitting by and just waiting for the next thing to happen, but we’re actively planning and when one project starts, we’ve got the next one ready to roll.
Question: Well, people who come to Gardner or back to Gardner, if you will, that haven’t been here in like 20 years that used to live here, they come back and they, and they, they say, wow.
Mayor Nicholson: Yeah. And that’s the goal. It’s that Gardner needs to be a lively community. If we sit back and wait for things to happen without us, we’re already behind the 8 ball. And now were not only playing catch up, but were also trying to move forward at the same time. And I think we’ve done a lot to get to where we are now, but we need to keep that momentum and that really push moving forward.
Business and Industry
Question: Gardner has some successful industries of note, and you have sought to document the success of Gardner’s companies. To those outside the city, what does Gardner need going forward? And what will you as its conductor, help the city achieve?
Mayor Nicholson: The main request that we have in Gardner right now, at least that we’ve been hearing from residents, different types of restaurants, different types of stores than we already have right now. And I think that goes hand in hand of, again, having that symbiotic relationship with whats already here. We don’t want to push someone out. While competitions are not always a bad thing, we don’t want to stifle people at the same time. So its one of those things that ID love to see different types of restaurants come in. Were talking about a steakhouse right now in Gardner in the downtown. What other styles of food can we have coming in? I’ve spoken with a Japanese restaurant that’s in the early stages of showing interest of coming to Gardner there. Weve talked about different bakeries, different things like that. That again, its just meeting different subsets of the population that someone just goes through is like, you know what, wow, that’s really neat that that’s here.
Housing in the Chair City
Question: In the past three years, the number of building permits has demonstrably increased. Can you tell us how the housing stock has been impacted and what you’d like to see for Gardner citizens?
Mayor Nicholson: I’d like to see more senior housing. I think one of the issues that Gardner seen right now, and I think back to when I first bought my house, the house that I’m in right now was offer No. 38. And it took me two and a half years to get an offer accepted. There was an offer that was accepted, and it fell through again due to the timing of it. And then I had to end up in the house that I’m in right now. And quite frankly, it worked out the best way it possibly could have. But what were seeing here is that there’s a push for more apartment units. I believe were meeting that with the 225 units that are already planned for the downtown area. However, a lot of senior and elderly individuals in the city don’t need the full houses that they’ve grown up in. And because there’s a shortage of senior housing facilities in the area let alone in the city, were seeing a lot of, of our elderly residents mothballing the second floor of the houses or the basement levels of the houses and turning their multiple, another full family home into a one floor dial type of living and practical practice of it. So if we can free up some type of senior housing and get, you know, that housing stock back on the market for people who actually are looking for a full two floor house or a full single family home. That will help a kind of alleviate some of the constraints that we’re seeing in the market.
Working with Non-Profits
Question: Mayor Nicholson, there are many things which you have done behind the scenes which are not the work of a conductor, but that of an active participant. What can you tell us are your most fulfilling moments in working with nonprofits in the city to help its people?
Mayor Nicholson: I think the Waterford work is actually one of the things I’m most proud of, seeing our new community center slowly start to come together. And just like everything else that’s happening in the world is taking slower than we expected or slower than we hoped for, but its still getting done. The work that’s happening over there to help make it a new nonprofit center for the city, I think is going to be great. Then you add the work that were able to partner with on the Gardner Emergency Housing Mission for the CDBG funds that we have to make sure that the homeless population has some type of resource available to them in the city. The work that we’ve done with the AED Foundation and Alyssa’s Place to help make sure that people who are dealing with substance abuse issues, have the resources that they need moving forward, even if its just realizing that they matter here in the city. Im not the most athletically strong person here, but I still went to a Cross fit class with them that they had for free just because I wanted them to see that, no matter what they’re going through, things that are tough for someone may not maybe easy for someone else. It all loops together. And when Jackie Blanchard from Alissa’s Place reached out to me and kind of explained it that way back when, it finally hit that sometimes people just need to know that someone’s willing to be there with them and work with them through something, be it, you know, a small issue to a big issue. And that’s one of the best things I think we’ve done with our nonprofits here in Gardner.
Transparency of Government and Citizen Feedback
Question: Mayor Nicholson, if you do a search on Google and you look for weekly Mayor’s Update Massachusetts, every reference is to Gardner for the top searches. And then there’s various cities around the country. You started something unprecedented. The transparency doesn’t stop there. In a way, you’re setting the standard. Tell us about it and what your future plans are.
Mayor Nicholson: You know, I’m glad you said that. I’ve always, you know, looked for feedback on the mayor’s updates and tried to see, you know, is this something people enjoy? Is this something people actually find helpful. And we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback about it, but it’s kind of spread out here and there. So I really do hope and that people are really taking, you know, an interest in what’s out there. But all goes back to the, everything I’ve said from the start is that we’re working here in City Hall on behalf of the people who live here in Gardner, to make sure that they have a community they’re proud to call their home. And if they don’t know what’s going on in our doors, then there’s were doing something wrong here. So that’s why we do those updates so people understand what’s going on, people know what were doing on their behalf. But it also combats the misinformation that’s abundantly out there, particularly on social media where someone takes something and runs with it. And it couldn’t be farther from the truth. So if anything, I really hope that the mayor’s updates help clarify some of those areas of confusion, if you will, to put it lightly, in the long term. And if that works, then we’ll keep it going from there and we’ll see what else people have. I’m always open to suggestions. I’m always open to ideas. But I feel like with the amount of press releases that we’ve put out lately, the mayor’s updates, everything else that we’ve done just to be more active in the community. I really hope that helps get some of the information more out there.
Open Space
Question: Open space is a big subject. Funny thing is you’ve been criticized by some members of the City Council for wanting to spend money on Maki Park and Park Street Park. Something tells me when they look at Park Street Park now, they’re saying the conductor was right. What are you hearing about your investments in city parks and recreation?
Mayor Nicholson: The amount of compliments I received for Park Street Park has been astronomical. And I think its one of those things that until its there, people just can’t see it. And its one of those things that I know I struggle with is how do you get the vision on paper and how do you get people to understand the ideas that you have? Renderings can only do so much. But when you actually get the work done and you put the pictures side by side and people see how night and day, the pre project and post projects are, it’s really neat. So I think it’s one of those things that we’re hearing a lot of great feedback now that people are starting to see the fruits of our labor. And I think people are excited to see what comes next.
The Conductor
Question: The City of Gardner celebrated 100 years as a city by holding a parade. You literally got to be a conductor. Tell us about the experience.
Mayor Nicholson: That was really neat. The first time I was a high school drum major, so the conductor of the marching band was the last time that the US Minuteman Marching Band performed in Gardner for Gardner’s 225th incorporation parade. And thinking back to the 10 years ago this year, that, that was 10 years ago that I graduated high school and started with the UMASS band, and then the four years before that, it was just neat to be up in front of both bands that I had the opportunity to conduct when I was students, both of those schools conducting the Garden High School fight song. That was the best thing ever. But you look at the parade as a whole and that concert as a whole, and you just felt the energy that was there, the positive energy from the people who had a fun time just celebrating the city and being out for the parade, being out for the concert. I had the opportunity to be on the phone with the Umass band director when we were pulling up to Watkins Field after the parade. And he asked me what event was running late on Watkins Field that we had to delay the show for. And I had to be like, no, no, Tim, that’s the crowd. They’re waiting for you. That’s the crowd there for the band show. And they couldn’t believe it because the bleachers at Watkins Field were 100% full that we had to open the track up for people to sit on the track and watch the show. The energy that was there that day, the enthusiasm and just the excellence, the performances that were there, it just blew everyone away and I couldn’t be more proud to be from Gardner that day.
Events in Gardner MA
Question: Speaking of events during the past three years, the city of Gardner has added events. What types of events would you like to conduct in the city?
Mayor Nicholson: Tha’ts one were always evaluating too. ID like to add a Taste of Gardner event, kind of similar to what several other communities have done that highlights like a restaurant Week type thing where youre highlighting the local restaurants that we have. We’ve got things like the food truck festival, the summer concerts that we started, the regular summer concert series at Monument Park, but the new summer kickoff concert that we started this last year, the Oktoberfest, the Fall Festival, the Sidewalk Sale. We’ve done those and we’ve done them well and we practice with them. But what can we now add off of that? So if anyone has any suggestions, I’m always all ears.
In the Works
Question: In the works, Rear Main Street, Maki Park, a community center, maybe an Arts Center. What else? And what would you like to say about any of these?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, we got a lot on our plate right now, too, that it’s kind of hard to predict the future after all of those. But I’d love a different coffee shop. I’d love a like open mic night type situation because we’ve been getting a lot of requests for those. I’m probably going to, I’m going to say since June this year, we probably gotten 40 or 50 suggestions on that. And that’s another reason why it’s kind of hard to predict what to happen in the future, because it’s all based on the feedback we get from the community. But Rear Main Street should be really exciting with the event plaza, what events that we can now have there because we have that space, the food truck parking, the amphitheatre seating park, the water fountain that will be there, Makie Park, and the new opportunities that will open up the community center to nonprofits that are there, the art center, maybe adding a recording studio to that if we get to that point. We’re already at a good fair amount of projects that we’re already in the planning stage for here. I don’t want to bite off too much that we can chew now.
A Question of More – 3 Years of Progress in the Chair City
Question: Let’s talk about more and less. Since you’ve taken office, there’s been More. So I have a list here and if you could respond with like a 10 second answer to each.
Q: More business. A: In the last three years we’ve had over 50 businesses open, in Gardner 33 last year, were up to about 17 This year. We’ve got a lot going for us.
Q: More housing, A: 225 housing units are currently planned for the downtown Gardner, mainly as one bedroom and studio apartment. The property owners would have to take care of the parking situations themselves, but were growing and were meeting that need.
Q: More grants. A: Over $31 million has been taken in by the city of Gardner from the state and federal government and different grant programs since 2020. And we’re only growing that there too, With more awards to be announced within the next couple of weeks to months before the end of the year.
Q: More building. A: We’ve taken a more concerted effort in really making sure that our city looks the way it deserves to look. And working with our private sector partners, I think we’ve done a good job of revamping some of the work that’s being done in the downtown.
Q: More beautification. A: One of the things that has been our goal here in Gardner is,trying to make people feel like Gardner’s a homey place that you could see on TV. So be it the flower pots, the new pocket parks, the different amenities that we have to offer here, Gardner’s trying to make sure that the people who live here feel proud of the place that they can call their home.
Q: More parks. A: Our open spaces are things that should be protected. But if we have small areas of open space or places that are already parks, we need to invest on them to make sure again, we don’t become our next absentee landlord. So working in Bailey Brook Park, Ovila Case Park, Pulaski Parks, soon to come with new equipment over there. It’s one of the things that we just keep revamping and revitalizing more trails, one of the things that we have to do annually through our forestry management plan with our water department is doing different clear cutting around our water sources. So what we’ve done is dovetail that and creating new trails so that were not just cutting trees for the sake of cutting trees, but cutting trees to create these new amenities. And I think that that’s why weve seen such an increased foot network over by Pearly Brook and Bailey Brook.
Q: More tools for police. A: Everything from the new scanner so that officers don’t even have to open a bag that drugs could be in to identify the substance, to new drones, the canine unit, new equipment, new radios. It’s one of those things that when they need it in those emergency situations, they need it. So we need to provide it.
Q: More equipment for fire. A: The new apparatus that we talked about with the new fire trucks and ambulance, those should be coming soon. We do need to get some new radios for our firefighters. And I think thats something we need to plan for in the future.
Q: More city buildings on the tax rolls. A: As I keep saying, the city can’t be our next absentee landlord. If were sitting on a property that could be used by someone else and used to a better standard than we should be, making sure that were doing everything we can to get that property back on the tax rolls and in the hands of someone who can use it.
Q: More transparency. A: Our business of government is doing the work of the people. So the people need to understand what were doing for them so that we can get that feedback as to how they feel that were doing. So one of the things that we need to continue doing like it would do with the mayors update, to give people constant information as to whats going on and be upfront and honest as we can.
Q: More music. A: Revitalizing the music program at our elementary school was probably one of the best decisions that I’m the most proud of in my time as mayor. Here now we have students who are expressing themselves on the stage in ways that they couldn’t before. And I think that’s something that’s going to be a positive outlook over the next 10 to 20 years in all of our schools.
Q: More art. A: Not every student, is a math student, not every student, is a music student. If we give our students the ways that they can express themselves and be more in tune to what makes them tick, whether it’s painting on a canvas, molding the clay, being on a stage, being a musician, an actor, anything like that, all we need to be doing is giving students the toolbox so that they can find what benefits they need.
Q: More college grads in the senior class. A: The students now are in a atmosphere that no one has ever been in before. Coming out of the pandemic, people are more competitive because everyone is in a really even playing field. So how do we make it so that they get above that playing field that they’re on right now and a step ahead of their peers? And tha’ts how we do it, by giving them these opportunities early on so that they can be one step ahead of the people who are their counterparts in other schools.
Q: More MART stops. A: This is something I’m really proud of that we’ve been able to almost double the number of stops that we have here in Gardner. Gardeer is a growing population that people who are coming here need to get around the city. And if we’re going to be again, not working in a Silo and be a more cohesive city as a whole, and that’s one of the ways we can do it is by adding those public transportation options.
Q: More paving. A: This one’s always tough because theres always more that we could do or would like to do than our funding allows us to do. If we have paved 20% of our cities roads in the three-year-time period, its really an investment that were making in the future and one I hope we can continue.
Q: More investor opportunities. A: Well. Gardner is never going to be able to do everything on our own. If we don’t have strong partners in the private sector, then were just going to be falling behind our peers and really making our community take a backseat to other communities that aren;t doing this work and doing it right. So Gardner needs to work with the private sector because thats the only way you can truly get things done.
Q: More medical services. A: Again, with the growing population that we’re seeing here, it’s something that we really need to take a strong look at. What are the needs of those populations, what we should be planning forward when our population booms as a result of these new housing units that are being here. If we don’t plan for it now, we’re going to be strongly behind the 8 ball.
Q: More attention to detail. A: The dotting your I’s and crossing your t’s is really going to be the biggest impact you can have. It may seem like the small fine tooth details that kind of be the most annoying to deal with. But if you get it right, you get it right and that’s something you don’t have to worry about later on. And I think that that’s the biggest impact it has.
Q: More reliable main waterline. A: I was so sick of all the water main breaks that we had in 2020 and 2021. But it was the price of progress. The fact that our infrastructure is already seeing several thousand gallons of water being saved annually because its not leaking out into the system due to old pipes, benefits in the long run, is more environmentally friendly, saves the city money in the long run that we dont have to pass on to our rate payers, and really just strengthens what we are able to offer to our residents.
Q: More secure computers. A: You look at communities in the North Central Mass area alone, let alone statewide and there have been a lot of cyber attacks that are here. So working with our IT department, working with our partners at the state to secure those computers now so make sure we don’t have any oops moments or a last minute, large payments that need to be made as a result of those security failures, really protects us in the long run and actually helps us in the financial long run as well.
Q: More fiber optics. A: Again, the world right now is all connected and networked. So if we can help reduce our costs while still strengthening our network in that way and getting more access to whats available out there, I think its one of the best things we can do.
Q: And lastly, in the more items, more lighting. A: You look at the string lights that we did in the downtown and just those little, that little bit there made a huge difference to how people saw the downtown. If we can change the perception by just that much, by doing that little, I think it’s something that helps, you know, make people feel more safe, make people feel more at home and really get the job done.
Question: Mayor Nicholson, also since you’ve taken office, there’s also been less, please respond, you know, with about a 10 second answer to each of these.
Q: Less time needed to review your budget. A: If you put all the information up front, there’s less questions behind it. The more transparent you are, the less it seems like stuff is hiding in between the lines there. And that’s exactly what we’ve done.
Q: Less federal audits in the future as a result of getting three years in a row of a perfect federal audit A: The federal government changes you from having to be audited on an annual basis to a every three year basis. So we will actually get a year off this year, which is great.
Q: Less blighted buildings. A: When you take a more concerted approach to dealing with the problem properties that you have, how you change, you know, blight into promise and, you know, fix those problems that are out there by going at the problem from the source.
Q: Less unemployment. A: Bringing in those businesses that we have brought into Gardner and seeing those other businesses expand and require more employees that are there, really helps meet the needs of the population that we have here. And people are looking for jobs. The best way to do that is to bring those jobs into the city.
Q: Less calls to police. A: This is one that, you know, I think if people realize the resources that are out there and we can prevent a problem before it happens,really helps create police partners rather than responders. And I think that’s one of the things that, you know, Chief McAvene in particular has been a great resource in getting that off the ground.
Q: Less hungry kids. A: The school lunch programs, even before it was mandated by state law this year, we were providing free breakfast, lunch and dinner to our students. And we still continue to do that even throughout the summer through our school department here, too, to make sure that, you know, no kid goes hungry. And there are students who, if we don’t provide meals for them in our schools, they don’t eat. So making sure we get to a spot that we can make sure no kid goes a day without eating is really something I’m proud of in Gardner.
Q: Less paper used. A: Well. This is actually neat. We’ve done this a lot in our finance department, the most at City Hall, where we’ve switched over to a Docusign system, switched over to electronic reporting software. And it’s something that we probably saved a good pallet and a half on paper, at least half a fiscal year for now. I think there’s more we can do in terms of reducing our paper use here and moving to a more electronic format. But we’ve done that..
Q: Less tree roots in the road. A: One of the things that we’ve done is whenever we reconstruct a road, we see what caused a problem that has, you know, the issue in that road that needed it to be repaired. For a lot of the times it’s tree roots under the road. So when we remove those here, we fix the problem and help strengthen the road in the long run.
Q: Less 100 year old water lines. A: I don’t believe we have any more left. But there’s a great story to hear. line breaks, we have a lot of people who are affected by it. So if we can preemptively fix it and preemptively plan, that’s the best way we can have the most positive impact on a lot of people.
Q: Less ugly facades. A: One of the things that we did with our ARPA funding, the American Rescue Plan funding, is create a facade improvement grant that really has taken off. I was shocked at the amount of people who were interested in this. We’ given out or committed over $2 million just for that program alone to fix up those buildings and make the city look better. It brings up the property value on those projects so we get more of it on our tax return, but it really just makes the city look better too.
Q: Less vacant storefronts. A: Gardner was accepted into the Commonwealth’s Vacant Storefront Renewal Program, both in the downtown and in the Mill Street Urban Renewal Area. If a storefront has been vacant for over 12 months, it qualifies for $20000 in grant funding, 10 from the state and 10 from the city, as a way to help incentivize those companies to go into those areas. And I think that weve already started to see a strong, strong, strong response to that program and people who are applying for those funds.
Q; Less mosquitos. A: The city has always partnered with mosquito control through the Commonwealth to, you know, really make sure that we’re protecting against diseases like West Nile and Triple E. And I think it’s going to be something we continue do moving forward.
Q: Fortunately, now less covid risk. A: You know, I look back at when we were dealing with the vaccine clinics and the shutdowns and the testing clinics, and it’s, it’s hard to believe that we’re back now almost as normal as we can be. And I think that that’s thanks to all the partners that we had throughout the program and the process. And I think we’re in a really good spot because of those partnerships.
Question: Well, Mayor Nicholson suffice to say there’s been a lot more than there’s been less. And even the less we talked about is actually more. Mr Conductor, relating to music. In 1923, Gardner residents could hear the Billy Jones recording of yes, we have no bananas and the next year, keep my skillet Good and greasy by Uncle Dave Mason. In 1930, Ben Selvin’s happy days are here again. Music’s always been popular in Gardner’s history, and you have supported music like no other mayor before you. What would you like to see as far as live music in the Chair City in the years to come?
Mayor Nicholson: Id like to see a community band come back. I know we tried it a couple of years ago and they had a good response to it. But some type of community band back in the city, like we have the Chair City Community Choir that’s starting to get a lot more strength to it. Opportunities for people who aren’t in school to perform and people who have either graduated, retired, no matter what your age, no matter what your skill level, if you’re just looking to get out and make music and have fun, I think we need more opportunities like that here in Gardner.
Collaboration among Government – Business – Community
Question: Last November, we spoke about accelerated development, the unprecedented partnership in the Chair City among government, business, community and private collaboration. How is that momentum going?
Mayor Nicholson: Very. Very strong and its something that needs to continue being very, very strong. The work that we do here is very serious. And when you look at the ways that were working with each other, were constantly checking in with all of our partners, were constantly making sure everyone is working in the same direction. And that’s how you get a stronger city in the long run, by building again, no one can work in silos. If you work in silos and you isolate things without looking at the big picture, you’re really not going to be helping the city at all.
Positive Changes and Future Vision
Question: People see it with their eyes, the positive changes in Gardner which have already occurred. What does your future vision tell you they will see in the next few years?
Mayor Nicholson: A lot of work in the downtown will be a lot different than we see today, just from the facade improvements alone, let alone the amenities like Maki Park and Rear Main Street. Hopefully, but well have begun some of the work in South Gardner, even if its just survey work and planning work, so that we can go after different grant opportunities for some work over there to really revamp that section of the city. In the Village Center area there. Business growth continuing. I think there’s a lot that well be able to see happening soon. And I wouldn’t doubt also if were able to severely increase what were able to offer at our schools due to the population increase we’re expecting to have.
The Serious Business of Government
Question: Mayor Nicholson, what else would you like to tell us about the serious business of government in the Chair City and your efforts on behalf of Gardner citizens?
Mayor Nicholson: You know, one of the things I think it’s important to remember is that projects like the ones we’ve seen here in Gardner take time. And while a lot of planning has come in and we’re just starting to see some of the shovels hit the ground now, it doesn’t mean its all new. Its stuff that we’ve been working on for 2, 3 years, several months whenever we get together with these individuals and we have to make sure that everything is set and ready to go. And that’s in the projects initiate. So even if it seems like we take a little lull in the wintertime, there’s just as much happening in the wintertime as there is in the summertime. And whether its a slow year or a busy year, there’s just as much work being done. Its all in the planning phases and getting ready to go. So if you have any questions on anything tha’ts happening in the city or what’s later to come or what ideas are being planned, or what projects are in the pipeline for the upcoming months, will always feel free to give you that information.
Question: And there’s a special number that they need to call.
Mayor Nicholson: There is right here at City Hall, (978) 630-1490. That’s my office line that will get you the information you need at any time.
Question: Mayor Nicholson, once again, I want to thank you for spending some time with us to talk about the chair city and what’s been going on.
Mayor Nicholson: Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.