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Council confirms Catholic Charities as operator for Gardner Community Center; Google grant to help launch services
Summary
After a community process, the council authorized intent to award operation of the Gardner Community Center to Catholic Charities and noted a $1,000,000 one-time operating grant from Google to launch programming and services for children, families and older adults.
The City Council on Dec. 16 moved to authorize the intent to award a future agreement to Caridades Catf3licas (Catholic Charities) to operate programs at the Gardner Community Center in District 6.
Councilmember Mulcay described a long community process and thanked the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department and neighborhood advocates. Mulcay noted the city received 26 proposals, 21 met minimum qualifications, and that the authorization taken that day would enable formal contract execution later.
Fred Buzo, director of community engagement for Catholic Charities, thanked the council and said the organization would prioritize community-led programming and long-term responsiveness to local needs. Public commenters from the Gardner neighborhood and the Neighborhood Association endorsed the selection.
Google provided a one-time, $1,000,000 operational grant to support start-up services and programming, the council said during remarks, to be used to launch operations and strengthen services at the center.
Why it matters: Reopening and staffing the Gardner Community Center will restore a community hub for children, families and older adults after years of limited programming; the Google grant is intended to support early operations and programming rollout.
What happens next: Staff will finalize and execute the contract with the selected operator and return with the required contract documents for Council approval.
