Veronica Patty was elected chair of the Gardner City Local Cultural Council, Jason Stevens was elected vice chair and Kate DeBlonsky was appointed treasurer during the council meeting to review FY2025 grant applications.

Council members said the appointments were made early in the meeting so the body could proceed through its review of roughly 54 grant applications. Frances Lomero led introductions before nominations were taken; a vote to appoint Patty as chair passed by voice vote. A subsequent motion to appoint Stevens as vice chair and DeBlonsky as treasurer also passed by voice vote.

The council’s staff representative, Lisa, reviewed procedural steps for issuing denials and the required 15‑day appeal period that begins once a denial notice is sent. Staff advised the council to enter denials into the state grants management system promptly so applicants receive the notice and the council retains flexibility to reconvene during the appeal window if needed. The meeting record shows staff offered to help members with the system entry after the meeting.

Council members also discussed conflicts of interest and voting. Several members noted they work for the city and that they would step out of votes when a direct conflict exists (for example, when a city employee had applied). Members agreed to flag conflicts beside line items when the council later set allotment amounts so conflicts are visible during final funding decisions.

The meeting closed with staff instructions about next steps: enter denial notices for applicants the council chose not to advance, allow the 15‑day appeal period to run, then reconvene to finalize award amounts. The council adjourned after completing its first pass of applications.

Ending: The council left multiple awards as “to be set” and said it will reconvene during the statutory appeal window to finalize allotments and to record conflicts of interest before issuing payments.