City reports progress on Rear Main Street, North Central pathway and hazard mitigation in July update

The Gardner City Council received a July economic and community development update on Aug. 4 that outlined progress on multiple capital and planning projects. Director Jason Stevens provided a written update to the council packet and, through Councilor Kacinskas, reported that the Rear Main Street project remained on schedule as of July 30 and that the North Central Pathway connector (a nature trail) was completed June 30, including paving, native plantings and safety railings. A length of Crystal Lake Road was paved to link the new pathway to an existing walking and bike path. Stevens also reported continued work on the city master plan with monthly steering‑committee meetings and urged residents to offer feedback via the master-plan website. The hazard mitigation plan project continued on schedule with discussion of draft chapters and monthly meetings with consultant Wesson Sampson; councilors cited recent flooding as reason the plan is needed. Councilors said Mackie Park remains delayed because of utility and contractor coordination tied to another park project; staff said they expected to use previously allocated funding once Comcast and contractors complete work and that signage would be posted to note accessibility issues this season. Stevens also told the council that Community Development was nearly fully staffed: two recent hires (assistant director and economic development and finance manager) brought the department to four staff, with a fifth to start in August. Stevens provided status updates on multiple Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects from 2022–25; several earlier-year projects have closed out and 2025 applications are pending review. Councilor Kacinskas moved to place the written update on file and the council did so without further discussion.