Gardner Public Service Committee Meeting Oct 1 2026

The Gardner Public Service Committee met October 1, 2026. The committee referred to Finance a request for funding to remove two inactive DPW underground storage tanks, which state requirements call for removing after five years out of service. The estimated removal and disposal cost could be about $40,000 to more than $100,000, depending on soil conditions; no funding approval was made at this meeting. The committee will keep the item on its agenda for follow-up. It also voted to recommend two National Grid pole-location matters to the City Council, including one associated with the Greenwood pool pavilion. On water and sewer abatements, the committee approved sewer-bill reductions for three cases and continued another case to November 5; for one resident, it agreed to hold the balance without interest pending investigation and repair of a suspected leak.

In department updates, the DPW reported a planned wastewater treatment plant upgrade estimated at $5.9 million, with $4.6 million in grant funding received, to address stricter nitrogen-discharge requirements. A separate elevated water-storage tank upgrade has a roughly $1 million grant, covering most of the work, and its contract is getting started. The department identified a roughly $20,000 contractor cost for staging needed to repair a leak at the Pearl pump station, with a funding request to Finance forthcoming. It also reported significant operating-budget constraints, including reduced road-maintenance funding, and anticipated seeking several hundred thousand dollars for sewer-line relining after inspections. A grant-funded safe-streets project involving temporary speed cushions is delayed pending federal environmental review.