Operation – Projects 2024

Gardner Magazine Publisher Werner Poegel asked Mayor Michael Nicholson about various projects contemplated for 2024. Listen to the interview on any device. CLICK PLAY.

We spoke to the Mayor about various City-owned properties. We spoke about the City response to weather. The Mayor informed us regarding staffing issues and budget issues. He is open to alternatives regarding the Sludge Landfill but notes that options are limited. The Mayor has hired an Executive Aide who will be starting in May after graduating college, just like the Mayor himself did. We spoke about ongoing projects in the City. And, we asked the Mayor about the Boards and commissions to which he belongs and some recent honors.

Jump to Topics: The Salt Shed, Helen Mae Sauter, Waterford Street School, Building Maintenance and GALA —- Parking Ban, Plowing and Snow, DPW and Staffing —– Rocky and Public Safety – Police and Fire Departments —- The Detail of the City Budget and Revenue —- Adverse Weather Events and Emergency Planning —- The Latest on the Sludge Landfill —- Hiring Good People for the City of Gardner —- Changing the Charter – The Current Status —- Events for 2024 – Gardner Festival Committee Handling —- Parking Meters and Iced Coffee —- News on the Executive Aide to Mayor Michael Nicholson —- Misinformation, Social Media, and Pauly Potato —- New Technology and Decision Making —- Businesses Need to Advertise —- The Catch-all List of Ongoing Projects – “A Lot of Work is going On” —- Gardner and the Film Industry —-Mayor Nicholson on Boards, Commissions and Recent Honors —- The Parking Garage Grant Application

The Salt Shed, Helen Mae Sauter, Waterford Street School, Building Maintenance and GALA

Q: Today, we have the honor of speaking with Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson. We’re calling it Operation Projects 2024. Mayor Nicholson in your last update of January you pointed at a salt shed which has walls that are precariously supported by pieces of lumber. Recently, Helen Mae Sauter School was found to have a leaking roof stalling plans to rent it out. What can be put in place so city-owned properties are on a regular inspection schedule so the city never gets caught by surprise?

A: Well, Werner, thank you for very much for having me today. You know, I always enjoy these interviews with you. So I think that’s a great question. And I think it’s something that we have to first catch up to where we need to be. I think these properties have been put off for so long that there’s such a backlog of what is needed in this facility, too, That not only now do you have a backlog of inspections, But you have a backlog of funding requests to bring all of these properties back up to where we need to be. So I think it’s looking to see what grant funding is out there for maintaining these different properties. That’s exactly what we were able to just accomplish with the airport building, and their airport runway that was on the list for a very long time. And then getting to a point where we can, you know make incremental improvements rather than finally just having to rip band-aids off and just you know, pull the trigger and go. It’s exactly what we had to do right now with the salt shed. It’s going to be what we’re doing later on this year with the fire department roof and the restroom situation. There’s a lot that needs to be done. And I think you should know, We inspect all the buildings on an annual basis. And sometimes situations worsen quicker than we think sometimes they just go on schedule with us and sometimes, you know We can get a little more time out of things than we expected. But if we don’t have the finances and the resources there to you know, really make those changes at the time then we just keep falling behind the eight ball. But at the same time if we aren’t making general maintenance updates to our existing facilities as these come up then we’re stuck with these larger price tags in the long run, too.

Q: Is there any other way to handle it so that you don’t get? You know in these situations like a regular maintenance budget, or there probably already is one, right?

A: There is one there is one. It’s just sometimes you you’ve got to look past the sticker shock and realize that paying $20 today is going to save you from paying $2,000 in a month.

Q: Well, that’s what you’re doing it at Waterford basically, right? You’ve taken proactive action to make sure that that school is not going to end up in the dust pile.

A: Exactly my goal is to make sure Waterford doesn’t end up like the next Greenwood pool or the next school street school building, both condemned both looking at the wrecking ball right now and it’s something that if we can put the money in now to save a building and then make it so that it’s actually useful to the city in the long run. That’s how we stop this trend.

Q: Any idea how much has been spent so far on Waterford? We’ve spent approximately about $700,000, now some of that’s coming from the five hundred and fifty thousand dollar loan that we took out for renovations to the building and the other part’s coming from a four hundred thousand dollar earmark that we actually got from the state’s budget. That was put in by Representative Zlotnick two years ago. So it’s we’ve got a couple different pots of money there now that Growing Places is active in the kitchen there, too. We’re collecting rent payments in from them that’s going into a special fund so we can fund things. We’re looking at things like doing new concrete work on the outside. That’s the ramps and the sidewalks of the buildings. We’re looking at seeing if we can get some electric automatic doors, similar to a grocery store door at the front door because right now the doors to the building are not ADA compliant. So we’ve spent about seven hundred thousand dollars when you add those two pots of two main pots of money together. And then we’re in the process of collecting more grant work and stuff like that so we can look at things like mini splits fixing the roof, heating upgrades things like that.

Q; Does it look like the 550 plus the 400 the 950 is going to be enough?

A: It does it does

Q: Now, Gala was interested in the Helen Mae Sauter School. Any possibility of that group located in Waterford or are there plans to suggest other Gardner locations to Gala.

A: So I know they are currently working with the greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce to reach out to different locations. Right now as we speak. I believe they’re touring a facility today in the downtown, so we’ll see where they end up. We certainly if we can work something out with them. We’ll do our best to accommodate them right now. I just don’t think it’s going to work with the active construction zone at Waterford Street School, and Helen Mae Sauter needing a little TLC.

Q: Well, what about when the Community Action Committee and the Senior Center move over to Waterford and you have a building there., what about that building.

A: It’s certainly a possibility, and I think we’ll explore that when we get closer to there. But until we have a more firm timeline on when we can get to that work over at Waterford Street School. I don’t want to commit to anything just yet.

Q: So when you when do, you have to dispose of that building with authorization of the City Council. Then you’d have to go through a request for a proposal process and all that right.

A: Yes, that is correct

Parking Ban, Plowing and Snow, DPW and Staffing

Q: Now recently Gardner had an extended parking ban. You analyzed the resources you spoke with your department heads, came up with a plan to keep the city safe. Is that accurate?

A: That is correct. You know especially right now, we’re in a situation where we’re down nine individuals at the DPW. And that’s not something that Gardner seeing alone you look at the city of Fitchburg, and they’re down 20 plow drivers that they normally have on contract this year for the same reasons that we are and it’s something that you know we have to analyze. We’re down plows. We know that the storm is being projected from this time to this time now, and we also need to include time so that we can pre-treat the roads because if we don’t go out and pre-treat the roads, We’re playing catch-up once the snow actually starts to fall. So that’s why you know we looked at From Saturday night to Tuesday morning for the initial ban that we put out there. That was the original expectation for this storm the storm was set to start at 4 or 5 in the morning on Sunday. So we could pre-treat the roads on Saturday that way they were already pre-treated by the time the snow started to fall on Sunday morning And then we knew we were going to meet on Monday to see if we could cut the ban shorter if for some reason the snow ended earlier, and that’s exactly what happened, so that’s why we sent out the notification thing. You know the snow is gone. The road is clear You can go ahead and park on the streets.

Q; When it comes to situations. You’re a big believer in Murphy’s law.

A: Yeah, you know it’s Murphy’s law, but also if you fail to plan you plan to fail. It’s one of those things that you really need to make sure that you’ve planned for the worst situation possible, hope for the best and if it works out right in the end and you can make some adjustments midway through then you can have a pleasantly surprising situation.

Rocky and Public Safety – Police and Fire Departments

Q: Mayor Nicholson canine Rocky of the Gardner Police Department just turned three. He’s proven to be an invaluable tool. What’s in the works to help the Gardner PD become even more effective in 2024 and how do you feel about the Gardner fire department being so invaluable to other communities through the mutual aid system?

A: There’s a lot of work that we’re going to be doing right now with all of our public safety departments I think the biggest thing where with projects we’ve currently got undergoing and a lot of people may not even realize it is that we currently have a shed at the top of Reservoir Hill that houses all of our radio Communications main equipment communications equipment. Thank you very much more. Yeah, I was all of our main communications equipment for all of our radios across the city for the DPW the police department and the fire Department and it’s in a wooden shed at the top of Reservoir Hill and it looks like something that we just you know Picked up at a hardware store and dropped off there and it’s been rotting for several years There’s different, you know rodent issues, which when you get rodents with wires There’s always concerns if that building were to ever go down We would lose all public safety radio communications across the city now what we did to fix that is we’ve got a brand new Mason Building it’s already up there The equipment’s already transferred over and it’s set to go live within the next couple weeks and that’s something that’s been in the works for Quite some time. So now we’ll have a lot stronger radio communications up there. But we’re also able to purchase a lot newer a lot more up-to-date equipment For those radio systems and working with our dispatch department in state 9-1-1 Seeing what kind of you know different transmitters and other equipment we can get up there. It’s actually been very helpful to us and I think that’s going to be great in the long run. it’s one of the reasons why we just purchased all new radios for the police department and the animal control officers and Why we’re looking to see if we can get new radios for the fire department as well. And it may seem you know kind of like a small upgrade to have quality radio systems. But when you get in those emergency situations, and that’s your only form of communications. You want to make sure you have the most the best equipment there possible to get you through those situations. And then over at the fire department side, you know we have the new ambulance arriving this spring and then the new rescue truck and fire engine truck set to arrive sometime this summer so there should be a lot of good work happening in the public safety departments for 2024 and of course we’re always available to provide a mutual aid to any of our surrounding communities. The fire department’s gone to several different fires and different emergency events and this is the surrounding communities. Canine Rocky’s been dispatched to a couple different communities to go lead chases there, too, It’s something that you know, we’re there to help and that’s exactly what we do.

Q: So I have to ask What’s it with the city and it sheds?

A: You know, it’s something I guess I don’t know what happened before I was born. But all I know is that we’re here right now and we’re fixing that problem and hopefully making it so that you know when the next mayor 20 years from now is trying to figure out what’s going on with this stuff, too. It’s at least something he doesn’t have to worry about.

Q: Staffing at the DPW, of course has been challenging. However, director Dane Arnold recently stated he hired his first CDL driver in years and the city also brought some contractors on board for snow and ice Going forward. How will the city deal with fiscal 2025 union contracts in light of needing to pay more? But also needing to stay within its means and have you analyzed the impact on future property taxes?

A: So that’s an excellent question Werner and I’m really happy you asked that. So first of all, the city is bound by proposition two and a half which is a state law that was passed at the ballot in 1980 that says we are tapped that we cannot raise property taxes more than two and a half percent. so picture that as a Sliding scale type thing where you can only have half one part of the fraction Change each year. so values go up the amount that we can raise taxes on the tax rate can only go up so far too because we are Bound by proposition two and a half. No matter what we do at the same time all of our city’s union contracts have what’s called a reopener clause in there that says if we go before the contract is expired and I you know sit down with the DPW and I’m like, hey listen , I know you’re having these staffing problems because of wage issues. Let’s reopen the contract right now, you know increase the wages so we can get people in the door and see if that works. What that then does is reopen every single city contract that we have with the nine unions that we have so that we have to go through and increase wages across the board, in all of those unions because of those reopener clauses. So that’s why we have to wait for the contract to expire this June before we can put in any new changes. So that’s something that you know, we are in discussions right now with both of the DPW unions to see how we can move forward with that. There are some budgeting, you know things that we’re looking into right now. I’ve asked all departments to submit budgets to me that reduce Their non salary expenses by 3% to see if we can at least bump up some money that way. But there’s certain things you can’t cut either if we have certain contractual obligations or just need to pay off, You know the loans that we have. So it is something that we do have to get a little creative with in terms of trying to find ways to fund these new Increases while still within our means because we have a legal restriction as to how much we can spend each year.

Q; You’re going to think this follow-up is a little bit ridiculous. But in the country of China, they actually within the next couple years are going to start using robots for routine duties. Would you ever be in favor of hiring robots to help out with DPW staffing?

A: You know, I’d have to see the technology there Werner, you know, I’m not sure but you know, technology is changing every day.

The Detail of the City Budget and Revenue

Q: You said that you’d like to present city budgets in more detail similar to Amesbury. What exactly does that mean? Amesbury has a population of just over 17,000 and a budget of over 70 million. Gardner has a population over 21,000 and a budget getting close to 80 million. What do you like about how they present their budget.

A; You know the mayor of Amesbury and I are very close friends and One of the things that she does over there is provides a lot more background detail as to what goes into the budget if you look at the numbers on a spreadsheet you get what the bottom number is but you don’t get the reason behind those numbers. So there’s a lot more written narrative that goes with you know, this is what makes up the budget This is where our revenue is coming from. This is why this expenditure is being put forward This is where we need to work and this is why we can’t get there yet And it shows just a more full picture rather than just a quick, you know snapshot of where we are in time And I think that that’s really what I’d like to do is, you know Get a better picture so that people can understand this is the process we have to follow This is where the money is coming from and this is how we spent put it out the door and why we can’t do more Than that a lot of people may not realize That if you look at the city’s revenue for the past five years The biggest portion of revenue that came from came to funding the city’s budget actually wasn’t our property taxes It was state aid this current fiscal year right now About 46% of the budget was funded by state aid that we received from the state directly and about 44% Came from property taxes and then you know, you you break that down even further in there So it just shows a little more cleaner picture, What you know where the money is coming from what it’s going towards how it’s going towards there how it’s impacting the residents and the reasons why that those expenditures are needed

Q: Now speaking of revenue, we’re going to get one more cannabis facility down by Timpany Crossroads. And then of course, there’s a proposal and to change, voting to get possibly two more. How will that impact revenues that the city takes in?

A: It’s expected to input, you know, at least with the tax that the state has is a 3% sales tax on Cannabis that goes directly to the state to the city on top of the sales tax that goes to the state. There is a certain surcharge that we can put into the host community agreements. Those are currently under review by the Department of Revenue and the Cannabis Control Commission to see if the city cities and towns across Massachusetts are able to continue those agreements. So we don’t know the full financial impact of it yet But there will be some financial benefit to the city.

Q: Now is the state proposing to reduce the amount that the cities and towns can take in?

A: Correct, yes

Adverse Weather Events and Emergency Planning

Q; Now, one year ago Gardner had just recovered from a major storm. Some residents lost power. What lessons were learned last year which has helped Gardner better prepare for adverse weather events this year?

A: You know, there’s a lot that we’ve taken in from that event. The way we did our shelter systems, the way we notified the public about what was going on. The way we just have direct communication with National Grid. And a lot of it, I will say, was in plans before. So I’ve got to give a special shout-out to Paul Topolsky, our city’s Emergency Management Director, For the work he does in really making sure that those plans and procedures are, you know, in place. So that when situations happen, we can just press go and move forward. But, you know, it’s one of those things that, you know, most people don’t realize. But, you know, it’s one of those things that, you know, my house was without power for four days in that same storm. So, and there were people who were there longer and there were people who were there shorter. So understanding that everyone’s going through different situations. But in the end you have to have one unified message out there. I think was the biggest goal that we had with that.

The Latest on the Sludge Landfill

Q: On Hotline Radio on WGAW, January 21st of 2023, about a year ago you stated about the sludge landfill: “ We only have three to five years to figure out something for this, Otherwise we’re going to be up the creek in terms of potentially tripling our sewer rates. “ A year later, what is your current view of the sludge and the proposed landfill expansion?What happens from here?

A: So one of the things that we’re looking at right now, or we have to do right now. It’s not even that we’re looking at it. Is we’re in what’s called the MEPA review process. The MEPA, the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency. What they require the city to do is review all alternatives that are out there. So it is something that we are reviewing. It is something that we are required to follow by law. It is a procedure that’s directly We can’t get the permit for one thing unless we go through this process. So right now it does look like the expansion of the landfill is still the biggest cost-saving measure for the city. However, if we can find an alternative that’s greener, but also allows us to maintain our fiduciary responsibility to the people of Gardner, then it’s absolutely something that we’ll be looking for It’s just not something I can’t, With the price increases that are going up right now, With the people who are struggling with the cost that they’re facing, I can’t justify doing a quadrupling of our rates. It’s something that’s out there.

Q: So is it safe to say your eyes are open but the options are limited?

A: I think that’s an excellent way to put it.

Hiring Good People for the City of Gardner

Q; On the employment front, something I’ve noticed. As people who work for the city either get replaced or leave You seem to come up with an upgrade or equally qualified replacement. Example, the police chief and the deputy chief. The health director, building commissioner, conservation agent…What is your secret on hiring good people?

A: I guess it’s just putting faith in a person, and letting people know who you get for the job. One, just finding the quality candidates And reaching out to different recruitment tools. Whether it be through the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Through different other hiring sites Because a lot of these positions have specific hiring websites, for people specifically in those trades. And I guess just putting yourself out there And showing people why Gardner is a good place to work.

Q; Early on I coined the term Tom Zuppa the straight shooter Because he seems to handle things with a combination of following the law and common sense. What do you think? Who else can we single out as being exceptional?

A: I think Gardner is really lucky to have the team that we have here too. Tom in the building department has been great. Titi Seraphan our city clerk, our auditor John Richard, For getting us across with a perfect audit as many years in a row. But that’s just three out of a team of several people here. From the department heads down to the clerical staff. Gardner is very lucky to have the team out there, Just to say a couple people really wouldn’t do justice To the amount of talent that we have working here.

Changing the Charter – The Current Status

Q: A year ago you got the charter committee confirmed by the city council. A year later changes are en route to the legislature. What’s the latest?

A: The bill has currently been filed. It is awaiting its hearing in Boston before the Committee on Municipal Affairs. So that is the first step that has to happen there, too. But it is moving forward. So I’m excited to see how that process ends up.

Events for 2024 – Gardner Festival Committee Handling

Q: Are you able to release some of the dates of some of the major Gardner events of 2024, such as the Food Truck Festival? And do you expect to have a second annual summer kickoff concert or repeat summer celebration on the grounds of the Mount?

A: So we are actually working right now. There’s a committee that’s been formed for several years now known as the Gardner Festival Committee. And it’s a group of just different businesses and non-profits. The city always had a seat at that table as well.But really the only events that they put on were the Chair Luge and the Oktoberfest. They have reached out to the city and said, you know, particularly right now where the executive aidd position is vacant and there’s been transition with Jessica DeRoy taking a new position somewhere else.So we have a brand new economic development coordinator to see if we wanted them to take over a couple of our festivals. So we are in conversations with them right now. We know that we’d like to do another summer kickoff. There absolutely will be another Food Truck Festival. It’s just to see who will be the ones running those festivals we’ll see in the long term there.

Q: Of the $100K allocated to the centennial celebration by the City Council in 2023, how much was actually spent?

A: Almost all of it actually. Between the sponsorships and the $100K that was appropriated by the Council really went into a lot. You look at the different groups that performed on the parade, the events that were held there too. That’s how we were able to keep costs down. We didn’t have to charge for the UMass performance. Tickets were relatively on the lower end of what they could have been for the ball at the end of the year. There was just a lot that was out there that money went toward. So I don’t have an actual accounting yet down to the decimal point, but I can tell you it was pretty much all spent.

Parking Meters and Iced Coffee

Q: Mayor Nicholson, Councillor Karen Hardern says she doesn’t like parking meters, but likes iced coffee. So my question to you is, do you like iced coffee?

A: You know, I do like iced coffee, but as a proud Nicaraguan-American, I do like hot coffee better. But I do take my iced coffee with caramel in it, if anyone’s ever curious. Yes, I do like coffee.

Q; So what’s happening with the Citizen Committee on parking meters?

A: So they are having their first meeting later on this week, just to review, just get their ideas on how to best move forward with this, how to best solicit input from people. Do we keep parking meters? Do we go free parking? Do we do kiosks on the street, or do we stick with the meter technology? If so, if we go to kiosks, how many kiosks do we get per different meter that’s out there so they’re not too far apart from each other? So there’s a lot they actually have to look over and broad view first before they get down to the solicitation for public input, but they’re having their first meeting this week.

Q: Are there any examples out there of small cities like Gardner who have done away with parking meters and then evaluated the impact of whether people are actually parking improperly in front of stores and preventing people from getting to the stores? Any available info on that?

A: So the city of Leominster did that a couple years ago, so I think that’s going to be a case study that they look for.

Q: All right. Any idea as to what happened?

A: You know, Leominster does have a strong business community in the downtown, so I don’t think it made too much of a difference, but I think you also need buy-in from the store owners in the area to make it work.

Q: So that they don’t park in front of their own stores?

A: Correct.

News on the Executive Aide to Mayor Michael Nicholson

Q: So your office is obviously busy, so not having an executive aide keeps you even busier. Any news on hiring someone in that role?

A; There is, actually. Back when I was first hired for the executive aide role back in 2017, 2016, I started in the role in 2017 when I graduated from UMass with my master’s, but I was offered the job in the summer of 2016 and was told, you know, basically the position would be vacant while I finished school and graduated, and then once I graduated, I would be in that position. So it’s kind of, you know, ironic to me that I’m in that same situation now, too, where my first intern, Katie Jablonski, has accepted the position. She will be starting that role after she graduates from Endicott College this coming May, and I’m really looking forward to bringing Katie back to the team as, you know, someone who started out as an intern in this office and then got hired for the executive aide role to now have someone who started as an intern in this office now get hired for the executive aide role is kind of, you know, neat for me specifically, but I’m looking forward to getting her on board, but for now, she’s, you know, going to finish up her studies right now and focus on her, you know, her educational career, and then we’ll get her back here in May and do a full introduction of her at that time.

Q: Well, that’s pretty cool to be finishing college and already have a job lined up.

A: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

One Facebook Admin in particular was a large source of misinformation. He has since resigned from Admin of that group.

Misinformation, Social Media, and Pauly Potato

Q: Let’s talk about misinformation. Occasionally, there are some really nutty ideas presented online. Gardner Magazine has called attention to the open checkbook. When Gardner residents see something on social media which sounds odd, what’s the best way for them to get the accurate information?

A: I mean, your best bet every time is to call here at City Hall and just ask the question. If you go with what you read on social media, you’d probably think that we were a city in the middle of Greenland that was spending multi-million dollars on building a new pyramid. It’s amazing the just misinformation and games of telephone that exist out on the social media platforms that are out there, and I think, you know, the most accurate way that you can get information is to call us here and actually deal with the people who are actually doing this work.

Q: All right, so there’s one particular situation which I just thought was totally ridiculous. There’s one individual, I call him Pauly Potato, who keeps stirring the pot, recently alleging at a city council meeting that the zoning articles were illegal because they could only be proposed by the whole city council, and I thought, well, as if they could really only all talk at once. Didn’t the city council as a whole actually make a decision via a vote on those two items and then send them off to the planning board?

A: That is correct, and that’s exactly what it is. Something doesn’t end up on the council’s agenda unless it gets proposed by someone. It’s not like if the council all decided as a whole before the meeting to put something on the agenda, it’d be a violation of the open meeting law, and I think that, you know, that individual knows that quite well, so it has to start somewhere, and that’s exactly what the process is outlined like that.

New Technology and Decision-Making

Q: We heard this week about new technology with septic systems with respect to a certain particular property. How is the ever-changing technological landscape changing the municipal decision-making process as a whole?

A: It’s just showing ways that we can make things more efficient and, I guess, and quite, you know, I mean, to put it quite honestly, less time-consuming, not only for us but for the residents. If you look at the online permitting system, it’s streamlined the permitting system so that someone doesn’t have to go from office to office to office to office now. Before we had that online permitting system, someone had to take a form from the building department, go to the treasurer’s office, then to the purchasing agent, then to the city assessor, then back to the building department, and sometimes over to the law department, and you add all that together. That person was bouncing around City Hall with who knows if they were just on their lunch break and just looking to get something done quick. Now you can do that from the comfort of your home. Here in City Hall, we recently made the transition from doing our direct deposit slips from a printed, you know, slip to an online platform. And what that did was what used to happen on – the school department gets paid every other week. City employees that are non-school department get paid every week. On Wednesdays, the staff in the treasurer’s office would have to sit and hand-fold all of these direct deposit slips, hand-stuff them into envelopes, and then put them in the mailboxes of all the different departments that these people worked for. On weeks that the school department wasn’t getting paid, you’re looking at around 300 checks. On weeks that the school department was getting paid, you’re looking around 750 checks. So these are individuals that spend most of their time folding paper and stuffing it in envelopes and then dividing them out by department. What this has done now is allowed that staff to actually get a lot more work done in the actual treasurer’s department, you know, operations rather than just sitting and folding paper. And it makes it so we get a better time value of money in the end. On the resident side of things, you look at things like that septic system improvement. It makes it so that we know that the environment is protected and the resident has the services they need and the systems that they need in a way that’s easier for the resident to get what they need done without having to go through the previously longer process. So it really just is making things a lot more efficient for us.

Businesses Need to Advertise

Q: Mayor Nicholson, we’ve all been excited about the number of new businesses coming to Gardner. However, every once in a while, a business quickly fails, those of us in the media recognize why. They don’t advertise at all or rely only on social media. What can the City of Gardner do to give some constructive advice to new businesses and existing ones on the importance of advertising with local media?

A: You know, I think advertising on local media, social media, anything like that, that’s how you get customers in the door, especially if you’re new in the area. People go with what they’re familiar with, and if they’re not going to be familiar with your operations, then they’re not going to visit your storefront. That’s one of the reasons why we’re working with the new property owners for all the new housing units that are set for the downtown to see if we can actually make welcome packets from the city, so that in each unit there’s a thing that says, you know, this business is here, this is what they do, this business is here, this is what they do. Woods Ambulance does non-medical rides, and here’s how you can call to get their version of a rideshare ride somewhere. Things like that that we want to start to get out there a lot more and see if we can, you know, help these people advertise that way. But if you’re not, you know, doing your own social media, if you’re not relying on local media to help get the information out for the people who don’t have social media in particular, then you’re really letting yourself down.

The Catch-all List of Ongoing Projects – “A Lot of Work is going On”

Q: Let’s talk about some ongoing projects. What have you heard recently about the Bank of America building and the steakhouse, 25Main Street and a restaurant called The Vault, the Gardner News building, potential businesses at the Central Park building, whether the remaining dog park drainage issues are on the radar, the School Street school title issues, the start of work on the Main Street water line since funds finally came through, Bailey Brook Park, and lastly, the needed work at Gardner City Hall.

A: So I’ll answer this catch-all question with there’s a lot of work going on. I can tell you the Bank of America building just filed for their building permits, so there should be some construction starting on that one there. The owner of the Bank of America building, Molina Realty, owns the new Golf RX building, the Wheelen Supply building. Across the street, the Gardner News and the Bank of America building, as well as Prospect Street School. And basically what they’re doing is they’re focusing on one building at a time, that way they make sure each building gets the amount of attention that it needs. Now that they’ve finished with Golf RX, they’re moving over to Diamond Heart Art Studio. If you drive by, you’ll see that they’re working on that building currently. Once they’re done with that, they’ll be going over to the Bank of America building. So it is still set for a restaurant on the first floor, some residential on the third floor, and then a buffer floor in between of some office space where the old Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce used to have their offices there, too. So that is the plans for that building right now. Once they’re done with the Bank of America building, they’ll bump over to the Gardner News building. Over at the Central Park building, they are looking at getting some more businesses in there, and that’s what we’ve heard from the developers. 25 Main Street is having some electrical capacity concerns, so they’re putting in a new transformer. So that’s really what’s the latest that’s happening over at the Bullnose building. The drainage at the Dog Park, School Street School’s title issues, and Bailey Brook Park, those are all moving forward. We are trying to figure out what’s the best way to do some drainage work at the Dog Park. School Street School, we’re working with some CDBG funding to see if we can get some stuff done over on that area. Bailey Brook Park, the next phase of the project is we’re actually putting, that is going to be the new location of the Gardner Disc Golf Course, so Frisbee golf, so that’ll be constructed sometime in 2024. The Water Main line is set to begin construction sometime this year. We’re set to go out to bid on that project sometime in the spring. We did get the million dollars from the federal government finally wired to us, so that should be moving forward. It’s actually one of the reasons why we’re not paving Green Street this year, which is one of the things that our goal was to pave Green Street this year, but if we’re going to cut right through it, it makes no sense to pave it and then dig it up in a month or two. So that’s moving forward there, and then the work at City Hall, we’re kind of taking as a phased out approach to see what we can accomplish here.

Q: You need new bathrooms there, don’t you?

A: We very much do, yes. They’re not ADA compliant, and where the stairs are located is not conducive to where the stalls are located.

Q: So how come you don’t ask for money for stuff that would benefit you directly?

A: Is it a case of, well, let’s take care of the other guys first, and then we’ll… Yeah. It’s one of those, you have to see what has the biggest and most positive impact overall, and eventually we are going to need to just rip the band-aid off here and get the work done, but if there’s other more pressing issues around the city, that’s what we need to focus on first.

Gardner and the Film Industry

Q: Recently, Gardner released a short video filmed in Gardner. Why is Gardner chosen as a filming location?

A: You know, I think there’s just a lot of unique opportunities out here. Gardner’s got a little bit of everything. I’ve always said it’s a city with a small town heart, and you look here, the restaurants that we have, the amount of open space that we have, the architecture that we have here, it’s just a spot that’s got a little bit of everything, so if you’re looking to film something and you need that little bit of everything, it’s right here in your backyard, and while we’re talking about it, I do have to give a shout-out to my other former intern, Alex Lucier, who put that video together for us, and it’s actually on a special film page with the Mass Film Office, advertising for Gardner.

Q: Now, one of the former mayors of Gardner had a cameo in a movie. Would you ever consider doing a cameo if the opportunity presented itself?

A: You know, if the opportunity presented itself, Werner, you know, there’s certain opportunities you just can’t refuse, but we’ll see what happens in the future.

Mayor Nicholson on Boards, Commissions and Recent Honors

Q: Speaking of you, we hear about this particular accolade, this particular board, this particular commission, so how many boards, commissions, et cetera, are you actually a member of now, and can you tell us about your recent honors?

A: Sure, thank you very much. There’s a couple different city boards and commissions that I’m a part of. By statute, I have to chair the Williams Rockwell Educational Gift Fund that’ll be meeting later this week. We know that there’s about $100,000 we can give out in grants to the schools this year, so that’s going to be something that we’re going to be looking at. I also serve on the advisory board of the Boys and Girls Club for Gardner. Additionally from that, recently this past week, I was elected by the mayors from across Massachusetts to serve as an officer of the Massachusetts Mayors Association, a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Those are both two different groups that advocate for municipalities at the state and federal level for different programming that’s out there, and really helps, you know, the MMA catch line is the voice of the cities and towns across Massachusetts, and the Mayors Association the same thing, but for, you know, different cities from across Massachusetts. On advising, you know, state and federal officials on this is what we’re seeing on the ground, how can we best, you know, implement programming that’ll help directly relate to that situation. And then with that, too, I’ve been appointed to the local government advisory committee that meets with the lieutenant governor on a monthly basis with individuals from around the commonwealth and different local government sectors to see really best how can the state work best to build a stronger commonwealth, really from the street level up, because when you’re getting local officials input, you’re getting that direct, you know, on the ground information to help form your policy as you move up. So those are the different boards and commissions that I sit on, and then I was recently awarded by Pulse Magazine, which is a publication out of the city of Worcester. One of their People to Watch in 2024 honors, they give that out to 12 individuals every January, and I was selected for this year’s.

Q: And you also serve as the chairman of MART?

A: That is true, yeah. I am MART’s advisory board’s chairperson as well, so that’s elected by the 22 member communities of MART to serve over there. This is the first time, actually, they’ve ever had a chair be re-elected to that position. Normally it just rotates on a scheduled basis, but much to my surprise in a live meeting, I wasn’t expecting it, the town of Templeton’s representative, Adam Lamontagne, their town administrator, nominated me for re-election to the position. So that was very unique, but happy to serve in that role.

The Parking Garage Grant Application

Q: Mayor Nicholson, what else would you like to tell the citizens of Gardner as far as projects and initiatives coming up in 2024? I will say this, and it’s actually very timely that you ask this question, Warner, is that my administration, through my office directly, is actually working right now with the United States Department of Transportation on a grant application for what’s called the RAISE grant, the R-A-I-S-E grant. And one of the things that we’re looking at doing through this fund is actually the parking garage project. We’re applying for about $15 million from U.S. DOT to construct that project, make safety upgrades in the downtown, put different pedestrian infrastructure out there, and one of the requirements of that project is to solicit letters of support for increased parking and increased safety measures with the growth that we’re seeing in the downtown. So if anyone is interested in writing a letter that can be addressed to Secretary Buttigieg, just one of those things to see if we can get people to write letters in support of our application, because if we send in those letters with the applications, it’s actually viewed that much stronger. So if you’re able to write us a letter of support to increase different infrastructures for increased parking in the downtown, you can send those to my office through Rachel, and if you have any questions on that, you can contact the office, too, as well.

Q: Now what would $15 million actually buy?

A: So $10 million of that goes towards the parking garage itself. That’s a four-story parking garage that would add about 140 parking spots to the downtown area. And then the rest of it would be going to different lighting upgrades in our street lights, lighting upgrades in the other parking lots that are in the area, fixing the parking enforcement measures, so either the kiosks or the meters or whatever we move forward with the committee, and then also some pedestrian flashing beacons so that when you cross on the crosswalk, you can push the button and have the yellow light flashing just to increase safety measures.

Q: All right. Very good. Thank you, Mayor Nicholson, for your time today. I really appreciate it.

A: Oh, thank you. All right. I appreciate it, Werner. Anytime.