Gardner Finance Committee Advances $1.125M Bond Reappropriation for Four Capital Projects

GARDNER — May 12, 2026 — Gardner Finance Committee scales back water rate hike, advances $1.125M bond reappropriation. Meeting Tuesday in City Council Chambers, the committee chaired by Councilor Aleksander H. Dernalowicz voted unanimously to send Order 11827 directly to the full City Council, reappropriating $1,125,000 in leftover elementary school bond funds — $675,000 for the Gardner Middle School roof, $200,000 each for Waterford Community Center concrete ramps and City Hall entryway upgrades, and $50,000 for a Gardner Educational Television studio build-out at the Community Center. Mayor Michael J. Nicholson told the committee the elementary school project came in $10,997,982 under budget, with roughly $1.7 million remaining after this order. The committee also unanimously amended the city's proposed four-year water rate ordinance, replacing the administration's proposed $7.80 first-year rate with $7.48 per 100 cubic feet effective July 1, 2026, and stripping out all scheduled increases for fiscal years 2028 through 2030 pending a more detailed five-year financial projection; Director of Public Works Dane Arnold noted that a newly discovered pipe leak at the Pearlybrook pump house on Clark Street represents an additional unbudgeted capital expense. A $5,345.40 prior-year ACA compliance bill from Channel Bound LLC was also recommended for payment.