Mayor names Jason Stevens interim community development director; council receives department update

The mayor told the Gardner City Council on Jan. 21 that Jason Stevens will begin as the city’s interim community development and planning director and outlined timelines for downtown and pool demolition work and steps to formalize Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) oversight.

The briefing matters because the Community Development and Planning Department oversees multiple publicly visible infrastructure and redevelopment projects and the distribution of grant funds the city has been receiving, the mayor said.

In the update the mayor said Stevens’ first full day will be Jan. 22 under a 60‑day temporary appointment that will be followed by a one‑year interim appointment “so we can stabilize” the department. The mayor said he will bring an ordinance in the coming weeks to formalize how the CDBG steering committee is constituted; he said the committee is required “by [state] regulations under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.”

The mayor gave project timelines: sidewalks at the Rome Square redevelopment will be blocked beginning Feb. 17 to allow asbestos removal (described as about a one‑month process) followed by demolition; an asbestos survey is under way at the Greenwood Pool site, after which contaminated materials will be removed and demolition scheduled. The mayor said the city’s goal is to complete demolition and debris removal “by the time that the pool opens,” adding that the outdoor pool “always opens on the last day of school.”

On grants, the mayor said the department is managing a federal grant described in the meeting packet as a “RAISE”‑style federal planning grant (referred to in the meeting as “the raise grant, that was the federal grant for a couple $1,000,000”) and additional Community Development Block Grant funds. He said projects are advancing with assistance from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission and the Montachusett Area Regional Planning Commission and that the city is not at risk of losing grant funding. “That’s just simply misinformation that I thought needed to be addressed and corrected here,” the mayor said.

Jason Stevens, introduced to the council and seated in the gallery, said he is “excited to get started” and that although he is new to Gardner he has worked on similar projects in the Greater Boston area and will meet with the mayor and councilors to discuss “actionable ways” to improve department performance.

Councilor Mac moved and Councilor Dunlop seconded a motion to place the mayor’s communication on file. The roll call vote recorded 11 yes votes and the motion carried.

The mayor said additional written updates about department communications and the proposed CDBG steering committee ordinance will follow to help ensure “one message” and reduce public confusion caused by differing answers from multiple staff members.