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Gardner Council adopts FY2027 CIP and approves grant matches and pump station funding
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Summary
The Gardner City Council accepted the FY2027 capital improvement plan and approved appropriations including a $51,200 free-cash match for pedestrian bridge engineering and $100,000 plus $105,000 from water enterprise funds for the James Street pump station project, which a councilor said is largely covered by a federal earmark.
The Gardner City Council voted March 16 to accept the FY2027 capital improvement plan and to approve several appropriations tied to priority infrastructure projects.
Councilors described the CIP as a prioritized list of future projects and discussed the need to include actual budgeting for priority items in the upcoming fiscal-year budget. Councilor Hegland, who moved acceptance of the plan, noted the work the CIP committee put into gathering department requests and recommended projects.
On related appropriation items, the council approved an order to appropriate $51,200 from free cash as the city match for a MassTrails grant to pay for engineering plans for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge designed to connect downtown Gardner to Winchendon. A councilor said the appropriation covers only engineering work, not construction.
The council also approved appropriations tied to repairs at the James Street water pump station: $100,000 from water enterprise retained earnings for the repair account and an additional $105,000 from water enterprise retained earnings for professional services (project management/consultant). A councilor noted a federal earmark covers roughly 92% of the project cost, and these appropriations are intended to cover the city's remaining share and ineligible costs; the pump station was described as originally constructed in the 1980s and in need of significant upgrades.
All appropriation measures were approved by roll call.
