seeing as it is 12:30 I'm going to call the Friday March 14th 2025 meeting of the economic and Community Development Committee of the gardener city council to order the clerk will please call the rooll councelor heath pres councelor kinus present
president Paris pres okay see as the Forum is present um the open meeting recording notice is posted is anyone here recording the meeting besides the city clerk okay we'll begin with item 11512 a
department update from the director of Community Development and planning all right how are you today director Stevens I'm doing pretty well honestly it's been a pretty successful month I think compared to my last update um A lot's
actually gone through um that I'll be talking about during this update uh first I want to talk about the rear main project and where the status of that is cuz I think that was the main uh Crux of my um address last month um there were
some a uh a complaint filed with d and eohc regarding um the uh potential of uh there it was a complaint um regarding the uh Pond Brook it was
addressed both uh D and eohc um report was filed for D ECI discussed over the phone and sent some materials their way both of those complaints are are satisfied um on their end so I just relay that over to uel contractors in
fuss and O'Neal today um which is probably another good thing we have weekly updates uh meetings with both their both of the teams as well as myself so there is constant communication every Friday at 9:00 amm
which I'm more than glad to to have so we can have consistent updates from both of them in terms of clear communication and steps that we can move forward with each week uh one of which is addressing the electrical status um the actual RFI
has been kind of placed in in my corner to to go ahead and do which has been a interesting process I I thank the um businesses in Butters who have kind of been with me on this on this as uh I have to ask them for their National Grid
information as well as some uh information where you know if you call them up and you say I work for the city and I'm looking to get your National Grid account information so I've been actually down in in person to uh uh kind of satisfy satisfy that RFI itself and
have gotten a chance to meet a lot of the abutters as well and uh make sure that they know there's a a friendly face who's who's just looking to make sure that that project gets on track um we're just waiting on I think one last uh a butter to get the information from and that RFI will be completed and then that
could be sent off to their electricians and have that kind of uh squared away in terms of that problem um at least for what's in our court uh the high groundwater as well as the unsuitable material SL debris which I had mainly
talked about the unsuitable material last month um as of right now from what I hear from fuss and O'Neal we should get a good design update by next Friday so March 21st um so things are moving along on their end uh there's nothing left um
except for the Electrical uh RFI that's currently in our court um so I'm pretty satisfied with the kind of updates that I have to at least share on that end that things are moving forward with with that project project um moving on from
there we've had some pretty big wins uh the subdivision of Compass Lane actually got approved through the planning board and I believe that is the first subdivision in some people tell me it was 2006 some people tell me it was 1985
so it's anywhere from 20 to 40 years that the first subdivision in Gardener has been approved through the planning board um so that was just filed yesterday um we met uh just to do a technical Amendment for a restrictive covenant as well as a um provision for
consultant services to make sure that the city has their own third party um appointed as an engineer to approve the construction process and make sure that you know we have uh we have our insurance to make sure that everything is uh done correctly um so the public
watching where is that located that is located just on the uh on West Broadway right before the Templeton line thank you um also uh the Greenwood pool uh got approved through the Conservation
Commission um so the order of conditions is underway the our conservation agent uh Justin is working on that and we should have a good um that should be finished the order of conditions uh probably mid next week Wednesday or Thursday is kind of the days he's giving
me for for that is um but I just want to highlight everyone on the team uh Evan as well as uh Justin uh really made sure that that got through um I was really there as more emotional support it felt like during the Conservation Commission
meeting um just to show that the whole department is behind the project um for that for that meeting uh but glad it's got approved and looking forward to continuing the process of Demolition and then eventual construction of the Pavilion does that help with an update of the timeline on green pool we get
fast that question all the time from residents like what does it look like what's happening with it if you don't have an answer that's fine yeah I can speak to that if you want so um right now the city's working to getting the storm water permit approved uh with DPW so to last time I talked to Rob Oliva it's on his desk he's just working on
that once that's approved on the city side then we'll work with Ty and bond the contractor to put the project out to bid for the demolition so still hoping to get that started April I would say to get like the bid in that's next up what the next up needs to happen is in the
person who to make the step happen yeah the storm water permit has to get approved and then we can move on to those steps but yeah yep thank you uh also from from Evan the Rome building uh abatement is underway I believe there might be an extra week of abatement
required for that but the demo should be done by the beginning of May yeah maybe even sooner than that they're going to start at the um so I don't know if you're all too familiar with the building I know part of it is on Willow Street there technically 60 Willow is the address but it's part of the same
building they'll start with that part first um demo and then kind of go into the Main Street aspect of it so that should be like Jason 7 next month or so beginning with that okay you and you anticipate it would be the down would be done by the end of May or be Beginning by the end of May I would say beginning
of May um you know we'll we'll give the council any updates if anything unforeseen happens but that's to my knowledge as now yes thank you uh and just since you brought that up up to um with the Rome building um that just cuz
they they put up like stuff around it and so people have been asking about that as well I don't know if this is required but to like a Butters get information when there's demo or it's in such a congested area it wasn't it wouldn't matter but I was just wondering yes yeah so we had to do that as part of
the contractor had to work to notify a Butters and then I know directly next to it is a um a Triple Decker that was it's currently vacant but new I think are moving in soon we're in contact with the realtor company and they're willing to work with us and work with them to make
sure it's safe thank you um like she just um well like counselor just said as far as the the way that it's going to be done is that going to disrupt the traffic so something that's going to be done
because that's a highly yep you know absolutely yeah so the uh contractor is working with Lieutenant Arsenal from the garden of police department who uh to my knowledge is in control of like the traffic regulations in the city um so we're working with him um when the Willow Street demolition aspect of it
starts um they will need to shut down Willow Street I I think it's only like a day they said or maybe two for that aspect but like I said Lieutenant Arsenal is in contact with um the contractor and they're you know we'll work with their schedule to make sure that's done correctly thank you thank
you this the city is you know obviously they'll do it they'll put signage out and it'll be there just we get T typically constituents like we'll get those questions and we just want to know where to direct them as well too so if they did have questions we could always refer them to the police department as well I mean just because they're going to be in contact with but it's good to
know the plan ahead of time so thank you any other questions on that sorry I keep interrupting but no no no good it's rather do that than keep going back to everything at at the end and jump around um thank you the the traffic commission I want to say was also notified um for
that so is um is Lieutenant Arsenal is it him now for traffic commission is he the I know I know it was it was a deputy chief but then he was gone and I for his training and then I know so did it remain that way or is the Deputy Chief again
okay okay um in terms of the structure of the dep Department that's probably been the largest change um with myself included being part of that change um one of the Motions that we made during
the uh Financial committee um was for the um merger of two positions uh for the Department that was the economic development coordinator as well as the finance manager um that's been approved and is going to be at city council uh on
Monday and then after anything happens with that we'll you know hopefully be motioning to you know then and hire uh um look for applicants and and hire for that for that position and that was I know that was specified because that was
an item on the finance committee agend during that meeting but just for our of this meeting can you just explain the two positions that was and what it will go to briefly I know it'll be posted in public it's all in there but I just just for the purposes of the update so the economic development coordinator is
someone who both manages uh some grants raise Grant being one of them as well as um a few others that are kind of escaping my mind I don't have their job descriptions in front of me but um also is kind of the point of contact for downtown businesses to go to with with
questions managing the um sign of facade that has all been expended uh the vacant storefront was under their purview um the flower pot uh sponsor campaign as well as the banner campaign were also under their purview so that's
kind of a a general overview of some of their responsibilities and then the finance manager was in charge of um our intellig grant system munice uh our local books uh for making sure those are all uh balanced between them uh for anyone wondering those are
the three kind of systems that the the city uses for um making sure between uh our our grants that we get awarded uh in the state as well as uh local through through munice um those are all balanced
um so they kept uh good standing with the financials located therein as well as uh quarterly reports required through um say cdbg um but CBG was also a big a big
part of uh of their of their purview in terms of the financial side of it as well um so we think combining the two positions kind of lends themselves to each other um there is some uh overlap between their work uh that I think will
lend itself to uh hopefully a a good candidate that that fits the needs of of of the full job description that we put forward during the finance committee meeting thank you okay thanks um gr uh having regular
meetings again we had the first meeting in I believe it was 6 months I think the last meeting prior was August 21st um so had it had been quite a while um as well as the first well the annual meeting for the idfa for those wondering that's the
Industrial Development financing Authority um I was elected as executive director of both um so I think just moving forward with that there just has to be the next meeting to approve the
minutes to then um have the kind of uh approved documentation that I am the executive director so I can move forward with handling the financials um um through Edward Jones as well as GFA and
just making sure that you know at GFA business continues to to move on as as needed um so you're the for clarifications you you're the executive director you would be of the gr and idfa yes then that just have to be official
through the through the minutes being approved yeah okay thank you and I think think I think that's enough that's it it's all you've done over the month yeah yeah um I'm probably forgetting a few things oh uh raise Grant I did Outreach to uh Department of
Transportation um there was Outreach done on February 20th I did respond back uh just to see if there were any further updates today um what gr was it uh raise Grant uh and that is still with uh the
fhwa uh for any kind of so it's the highway Authority um we're just waiting on them to kind of move forward there's nothing left in our court there's nothing left in the Department of Transportation uh we just need to hear back from them on on next steps but I'm
still getting into the kind of odds and ends of what the raise Grant is and and what it would kind of entail in terms of uh what it would mean for the city so um if we were awarded it do you have like a a little bit of what that would do or where it would go or you still trying to
I can grab that that was one that director Stevens inherited we were awarded that Grant last year from the federal government uh that's the various parking mobility and accessibility studies of the downtown and then a 75% design of the parking garage uh for the downtown area uh so that's the grant the
contract was fully executed between the federal government and the city um so now it's just next steps on what we have to do in terms of instruction for uh reporting and how the funding should be spent uh before any projects proceed from there thank you I complete your report yes it does
thank you there questions comments from the committee counselor thank you madam president great work uh very impressive I think some of the things that I wrote down that I noticed it seems like you're really focused on building productive collaborative relationships with other
commissions departments I think a great example is the Greenwood IND door pool um project that had been something on the books for a very long time and I did get a chance to watch the Conservation Commission meeting I thought you know the collaborative environment versus the
combative environment was huge I think um You' mentioned the word team right I think going in with that approach and um now working with the DPW and the engineer on the project it just goes to show how interconnected this Department's projects are and how important those relationships are
um super impressive good work implementing changes very hard so I know uh you put a lot of effort your whole department into this uh and try to sustain that momentum because it's it's really noticeable and I just want to highlight again I would not be able to do half of
what I presented on for this month without the help of my staff and that's Evan uh my assistant director as well as my conservation agent Justin I I again I would have half maybe of what I would be presenting on without their help and
their like ability to kind of help me through these these first few months in this position um I don't know where I'd be without them yeah and you're only building these relationships too with your team again with these new departments so once these relationships are established I can't wait to see you
know what you guys deliver in the summer yeah sound um I don't really have much to say so thank you um you know I like president I was just said um you know I'm excited to see what we're going with us so thank
you that is well thank you uh I Echo the counselors this is the president and the counselor um this was a this is really refreshing especially on a Friday you know to have a nice meeting going into the weekend I really appreciate all the work that your department has done um
establishing a committee to oversee a department at the very beginning of a brand new era of the department can't be um something that you know is um you know it's going to be tough going in knowing that this is why this is working but um this was the whole point of us doing this and really great feedback
great work um you know change is difficult but change is good and I think that we just have to make an example out of of the work that you're doing uh and what our intentions were behind the oversight on the council side of it because really the work in the management is your side of it that's not
something that we would step into so uh I'm really excited also to see what happens when we forward this is great progress we understand month to month things are going to be different but as long as we just keep it transparent and people you know move forward with the best intentions in great communication I think we'll be okay no one's afraid of a
hiccup no one's afraid of a trip here and there that's fine um but this is incredibly impressive I think in this last month that I'm really excited to report on it to the council and most certainly be encouraging them to watch this the video of this meeting um if they don't all right so thank you again
um and as good as that was I mean we will definitely have this committee as long as we need to have it but you're making it so that the life is getting shorter already so um but I have to say like I really I'm it's it's when you establish a new committee on the council side of things just so you know too it's not something that's taken lightly it's
not easy to do we all have to agree to do it we have to put our time into it as well not you all the people that we represent so it's it's it's a big deal for us to establish a committee for specific purpose and to justify it and this this is going into doing that we wouldn't be able to do that without the work that you're doing this would be a very different meeting if we didn't get
such a th report of um of great work so again thank you anything else no okay we are going to move on to item 115 I'm sorry 11454 a report of the investigation of
the Mackie Park project president all thank you madam chair I'd like to uh actually ask the director if uh I know there's been some work going on uh with the corrections to the park uh you don't know we're kind of exiting the winter season um is there any update on when
the fix may be implemented so the only thing that we're waiting on for funding the last pick the the last ramp I would say for for the park to make it fully ADA Compliant is currently encumbered with a a contract
with EH Perkins eh Perkins uh is is going to work with Verizon uh once the ground thaws Verizon the the whole contract is ryen moving polls a couple electrical poles e Perkins going in and then filling in and then whatever funds
are left over after that work is completed we'll round out the funds that we've already set aside that are currently unencumbered to make up the full cost of of the of the final ramp um so once that is once that's completed um and those funds are unencumbered then
we'll have the full budget and we can move forward with the con construction but until then unfortunately I I don't have a clear date CU it it is still waiting on that contract thank you if I could just add to that uh Madam chair the uh telephone polls that have to get moved are those at the Park Street Park
location the funds that were referred to are because the park came in under budget so we have the funds available in that if you drive by that area you'll notice several double poles there that's why where those poles are there's asphalt instead of the concrete like the rest of the sidewalk uh the asphalt was installed as a temporary cover because
those poles have to be removed in a single pole put in um the new poles have been put in but the Old Poles have not yet been removed so that's why once those poles are removed the asphalt will be removed and then the sidewalk is concreted over for the final concrete there that's work being completed in that final bill that we have is uh what
we're just waiting for for that to be released from that contract so that when Park Street Park is officially closed the funding can be transferred from the Park Street Park project to the macki pro project to put the right and that is the only thing that needs to happen to close M to close Park Street correct okay thank you thank thank you uh
actually very much looking forward to those double poles being removed as well so two birds one stone yeah two birds one stone so sidewalk looking the same way through yeah it it looks incomplete and then it'll be complete I agree uh so that's a good update I think Madam chair if we be all right and there being no
objection i' like to recommend that we leave this item on our calendar um until the medican park project is is remed second I would um sotion to do that so motion for more time motion for more time thank you motion made by councelor
tyros for for by president tyros for More Time seconded by councelor Heath any discussion all those in favor say I I I those in post say no motion passes item 11457 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Gardner to have the Community Development Block Grant
steering committee meet monthday I'm going to also ask coun uh president Tyrus to speak on this yes thank you madam chair so this uh ordinance that was proposed has actually been remedi through some other ordinance uh that the may had submitted around uh codifying
our cdbg program um as a part of that ordinance uh Meritt implemented a procedure where the committee would meet monthly and uh there being a bypass so to speak if the president and the mayor agree uh to bypass a monthly meeting if
there's no update um but it sounds like we would be very busy with the cdbg program so I I'd like to because of this redundancy now and this is no longer being relevant with the uh Council passing that ordinance I'd like to move to remove item 11457 from our
calendar motion made by counselor by President Tyrus to remove item 11457 from the committee calendar second second by counselor Kei any discussion all I would say is um thank you counc tyus for that I think just one thing for
the public too when anything is put in front of us and it starts a conversation and it moves it to make something official that we need to do anyways I think this is a good process that ended up happening and it kind of you know Spirit had is something that really needed to happen anyways and added a lot lot more things the proposal from the
mayor and then passed by the council so um I think it was definitely for something that we were able to do that um and that's all I have any other discussion all those in favor say I I I those oppos no motion passes item 11504 a resolution in support of the
city of gardeners application for the FY 2025 Community Development lock rate minum have some uh documentation oh wait you you each get one did we want to go with assistant director do you want to
start I'll start chair um as this uh as always this is the annual application by the city for the mini entitlement program for the Community Development block grant program as we've said several times before uh the city is considered a mini entitlement program because we have a population under 50,000 residents uh therefore we get our
money as a pass through through the Commonwealth Department of Housing and livable communities uh rather than directly from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development um so this is the the application that uh the
assistant director uh has put forward uh working with the cdbg steering committee there are certain regulations and that you know up to 15% can be used toward Social Service funding uh only three infrastructure Improvement projects can be included into uh the funding that's there so those projects do have to be
bigger in terms of size and that we are limited to three of those um and then some can go towards administrative costs as well uh such as salaries contracts in terms of uh contracts related to the uh reporting of cdbg or moving forward with
cdbg and things of that nature uh so this is the application that you have before you today thank you uh and you I'm sorry middle midi entitlement is less than 50,000 in population yes thank you I'll go to the director next we're
going to go to the assistant director it's up to you to the assistant director yeah I can talk um as the kind of just the piggy back up the mayor said um work with the cdbg steering committee um for these uh proposed projects here which I outlined in the um in one of these
sheets here um outlining the specific cdbg funds that we're looking to spend towards this program along with the non cdbg funds that the providers um provided to me that they had funds for these specific program set aside as well
um we currently I'm working with a the state executive office of Housing and liable communities I sent them this list along with our budget I have a program representative who works with me and looks through this so um they're looking through it currently right now on their
end just to you know uh before the full application process goes through just to make sure that they're all acceptable Pro uh projects under the um Grant guidelines um but yeah I think these are all great projects um definitely meet the Community Development strategy which
I also um ATT or gave you guys as well um 2022 to 2025 um and yeah happy to answer any questions um in regards to any of these projects thank you m May thank you this is the preliminary application for the
city so this these projects are what the city submits to uh housing and livable communities for their consideration we normally get an award for cdbg for a final approval and everything in the October time frame thank you and then at that time what happens it comes back to the council it comes back to the city
and that's when the money gets awarded from there so that's when the assistant director and the director will then work directly with the um those nonprofit programs that are here or city departments to advance the projects that you see before you so yeah the council will be notified at that point for sure as we've done in the past but the action of the council is now is
now yes and that's whether or not to support the application thank you questions comments from the committee any questions uh thank you madam chair I'd just like to speak briefly because I have been a member of the cdbg steering committee um you know
I just want to highlight not to take away from the Thunder of the direct director's report but this is also another area where this Department's excelled in recent months um you know this program is meeting more often the meetings I've been impressed with the packets put together the discussion uh
that's had you know these are important programs especially from the social service side we're talking about helping out our veterans supporting our our children in a fing program user fees uh domestic violence prevention action and uh looking out for uh those people
experiencing homelessness through the gem gner emergency housing Mission um and that's just to name a few um this program over the past few years has run into its fair share of struggles that has been brought before the council and I think it's um it's it's great to hear
the assistant director has been speaking with e eohc yeah it's taking me a little bit to get it to yeah but we're building up those again relationships a partnering with our state agencies here to make sure that uh we're doing things the right way we're doing things uh you
know crossing our tees doting our eyes and it's noticeable so great work happy to support this and uh I'm really looking forward to seeing some of these um cdbg projects uh being funded um with that mad chair I'd like to move to recommend the council Grant the
resolution motion made by President tyros second second by Council um to recommend to the council to accept the resolution is there a discussion on motion my discussion is just that I I
Echo certainly what president Tyrus has said um if anything at least in the last 5 years I think that I've learned particularly with um just the way that grants and funding works is this this is showing how like streamlined this is and I think that's the whole point of
meeting regularly and all those things like if you just do it the history is all there they can see what you do establishing that relationship with hlc too they see what the city puts into what your effort it is the state responds very well to that we've been very successful with what we put in locally um and we're lucky to have this
funding I don't think people really realize there's so many things in the community that we can support through the funding that um that is available to us but we have to go get it we have to participate in the program we have to make the relationships we have to submit the application there's things that we need to do but if you do it you do it well
successfully consistently it's very likely you're going to receive that you know funding in the future um because they know that the city is committed to putting their their funds into it and so they can get you know funds from the state and that goes for a number of different Grant and um funding
opportunities that we get federally as well as through the state and that's why those relationships are so so important um and so I I really appreciate that you know this looks this looks great I think all of these things make sense and you know it really shows that the community
supports these Social Services programs that are quite frankly incredibly important in the environment that we have right now but always are in our community um we do the very best that we can to do that and we're very lucky to that we that we can do that and it's
with um you know other funds that are outside of um our local funds so I I totally agree I think this this looks great um looking through the packet and the need of it before uh it's all seems to be very th very well thought out and
again I appreciate the hard work on it and then in the future it's just going to you know you can just kind of reset and do it again next year you know that kind of a thing um so looking forward to you know the next few months what we get back in the fall something I didn't mention actually this application will
be due mid next month right April 14th yes April 14th um so it also doesn't go unnotice that this has been submitted almost a month or a little over a month ahead uh the council it'll be on our full agenda on Monday and it gives us the opportunity if there's questions or if there's more time that's asked to go
through the application we can do that so again partnership with the city council uh getting these things in ahead of time too um so good work this is me uh one thing I just like to add um the downtown Phase 5 uh project that you see on the grid in front of you that's the improvements to
Rome Square um once the Demo's done just to explain what that is there too because it is one of the larger dollar amounts that you have there too so that's the uh design and then the eventual construction to improve the intersection say thank you this I just wanted to say briefly thank you all for your comments and just in terms of like
the committee um the cdb steering committee um you know piggyback off what president Tyrus had mentioned I just find the the meetings to be really engaging and I really appreciate like everybody coming in and and you know giving their feedback I know uh councelor Heath was at one of the meetings as well too and yeah with me
just being new and new to the community you know I just really appreciate the engagement for all the community members and I just wanted to say that so thank you okay thank you anything further so this is on the motion to Grant the um the resolution made by
President Tyro seconded by councel Heath any further discussion all those in favor say I iose no motion passes I will entertain a motion to adour move second motion made by President seconded by councelor all those in favor say I say
no motion passes meeting stands thank youone