Gardner mayor highlights $52 million in grants, school gains and infrastructure projects in State of the City address

Mayor Nicholson on Tuesday evening delivered the annual State of the City report to a joint meeting of the Gardner City Council and the Gardner School Committee, outlining recent grant wins, infrastructure work, K–12 enrollment gains and plans for a new master plan to guide housing and downtown development.

The mayor told the assembled councilors, school committee members and visiting officials that Gardner has brought in more than $52,000,000 in grant funding since hiring professional grant writers, funded a new water transmission main with a $1,000,000 grant and additional city investment, and has projects underway or planned across the city including a rear Main Street redevelopment and a new nonprofit community center at the former Waterford Street School.

The report matters because the grants and projects Mayor Nicholson described fund capital work the city says will reduce operating costs, support new housing and spur private investment in downtown Gardner. The mayor said those investments let the city undertake projects it otherwise could not afford and improve services for residents.

Mayor Nicholson said the city updated the administrative portion of its city code last year and described recent charter amendments approved by voters and signed by the governor as the most substantive update to the Gardner City…