Gardner City Council reallocates $8 million in school project savings to capital backlog

Gardner City officials reported that the new school construction project finished roughly $8 million under budget, and the City Council approved reallocating that money to a slate of capital projects across the city. The mayor said the council is using the funds to address a backlog of deferred maintenance and to advance roughly two dozen projects.

Why this matters: The reallocation shifts one-time savings into multiple capital improvements — from accessibility work at City Hall and sidewalk repairs to school facility upgrades — affecting city facilities and public infrastructure.

The mayor listed specific uses: sidewalk and entryway repairs at Gardner City Hall, Greenwood Pool work, community center improvements, Rear Main Street work, new locker rooms at Gardner High School, a new roof and front entryway at Gardner Middle School, and other projects intended to reduce deferred maintenance accumulated over prior decades. The mayor said leftover funds from the school project were approved by the council to be repurposed and that the city seeks to move many smaller projects this summer.

The mayor also described the city’s general approach to matching state paving funds and supplementing capital work: under city financial policies the mayor offers a percentage of certified free cash to supplement state road funds; the mayor said he has contributed 15% in each year of his tenure and recently added $100,000 toward paving for 2025. The transcript did not specify the exact allocations for each of the two dozen projects; the mayor said residents should watch for project announcements as work moves forward.