Mayor Nicholson outlines Waterford renovation timeline, accessibility fixes and utility upgrades

Mayor Mike Nicholson told the Gardner City Council on Aging on Tuesday that the city council has approved funding to repair and replace all exterior concrete at the Waterford building, and that the parking lot will be repaved and modestly extended into the former playground area to add spaces.

"All of the concrete on the outside of the building is getting redone," Nicholson said, adding that work will address accessibility problems at the front entrance, the senior center entrance and the side ramp near Wilder Field. He said concrete work will precede pavement to avoid redoing recently placed asphalt and that the city is preparing a bid package for those repairs.

The mayor said the city intends to expand the lot slightly where the playground once stood and to add more spaces; the exact number of new parking stalls was not finalized and will be provided once the city engineering office completes site drawings. Nicholson urged board members to submit questions in advance so the city can present a consolidated plan at a later special meeting.

Nicholson also outlined utility planning for the renovated building. He said the existing electrical service supports the tenants the city has listed now but that wider expansion—such as adding air conditioning to more of the building—would require an electrical upgrade. "We have the money that the city council already voted to approve to upgrade the electrical system to double the size of the electrical system that it already has," he said, noting the city has begun conversations with National Grid. The mayor described a behind-the-meter pilot for rooftop solar that would supply power directly to the building and reduce strain on regional transmission lines, but cautioned that transformer and meter lead times with the utility can be long.

Nicholson named Ryan Egan as the city point person for project questions and asked that the board send inquiries to him so the administration can compile answers for the fuller presentation. The mayor said he and the council president will schedule a fuller, public update that includes construction timetables and site plans; for now he estimated a typical procurement schedule (30-day bid, two-week mobilization) and allowed contingencies, saying he would "like to see something happening there by the end of the year."

The update included tenant and lease adjustments: Growing Places will have an amendment to add an existing room to their lease, and Gardner Educational Television will relocate studio space from Gardner High School into the Waterford building. Nicholson said building inspections, occupancy requirements, egress and fire-code considerations remain under review and will be addressed before final occupancy.

The mayor and staff promised more detailed site and parking plans at the next presentation and encouraged board members to attend that session or forward questions to the project contact.

The council did not take formal votes on construction contracts or start dates at the meeting; the mayor framed the briefing as a status update and planning step ahead of future procurement and permitting decisions.