it being time I now call The Gardener City council's Monday March 17th 2025 meeting to order the assistant clerk will now please call the role councelor Brooks pres councelor Cormier present councelor Dern lawitz councelor harder present
councelor Heath present councelor heglin present councelor zinis presid councelor Mack present councelor tone present councelor tubo MOS present president tyros
present please rise for the opening prayer and pledge of almighty God we thank thee for bringing us together this evening Inspire us to worthy deeds and sound decisions and direct us towards the attainment of good city government we pray you bless and protect all the
people of our city soide and INSP us that we may delate inity and Harmon to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for
all announcement of open meeting recordings any person may make a video or audio recording of an open session of a meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the chair as to the number placement and operations of equipment used so as to not interfere
with the conduct of the meeting any person intending to make such a recording shall notify the chair forth with all documents and Exhibits used or referenced at the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the chair as it become part of the meeting minutes is anyone recording this tonight's
meeting no response we have no minutes of Prior meetings we have no public hearings there are no Communications from the mayor there are no petitions applications Communications there are reports of standing
committees this evening we'll be taking the appointments committee items 11472 and 11485 out of order appointments committee item 11472 a measure confirming the appointment of Robert Oliva to the
position of city engineer for a term expiring January 16th 2028 councelor Keith thank you president tyros uh the committee met with the city engineer Rob Oliver and the mayor earlier um well last week to discuss the
appointment this is a reappointment as Mr Oliver has been in this position for 3 years before this position he was the assistant director at the DPW he brings a lot of expertise he's assisted in updates around the city including the water and sewage along
with helping the properties around the city with helping get the uh tax roles other notable projects he's involved in including the Route 140 bike path the main water
piping the Uptown rotary project that's just a name a couple uh the committee voted unanimously to recommend therefore I the appointment to be certified second motion made by councelor Heath second by councelor heglin to certify the mayor's appointment of Robert Oliver is there
discussion all those in favor I I all those opposed no motion passes item 11 1485 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Corey hasselman to the position of veterans agent veterans burial agent for a term expiring January 16th
2028 report from councelor Heath thank you president tyros um the met with director hasselman and the mayor earlier today to discuss the appointment this is a reappointment as director hasselman is completing his one-year appointment um prior to
serving this um I'm sorry prior to serving as director Mr hman served as the assistant director of the veterans service for the city the department is one of the city's Regional departments providing services to the veterans of Gardner asham Westminister Princeton and
Ashby uh the general laws of the Commonwealth also require that all veteran services um service officers be veterans themselves in which director Hassman is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps he also served as
chair of the garden veterans Council coordinating the city's various veterans events uh this is a three-year appointment uh the committee voted unanimously to recommend therefore I move the appointment to be certified second motion made by councelor Heath
second by councelor kazus to uh confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes we will now take a brief recess for the assistant clerk to administer the O of office raise your right hand and then repeat
after me I S your in I robt do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of perform the duties of city engineer according to the law according to the law and the best of my abilities
and the best of my abilities you if you could please raise your right hand and repeat after me I state your name I Court do solemnly swear do Solly swear that I will faithfully and impartially I will Faithfully impartially perform the duties of
perform the duties of veterans agent and Veterans burial agent according to the law according to the law and the best of my abilities and the best of my abilities [Applause]
per for we'll now resume the agenda with the finance committee item 11513 an order seeking to designate Christine tree as a special Municipal Employee for the property located at 153 Elm Street for the safe roots to school
project Council heglin thank you Mr President through to the council I move the order be authorized second motion made by councelor heglin seed by councelor Mack to move the order to be authorized is there a discussion councelor heglin uh thank you Mr
President again this order relates to the next item um on the easements uh City count solicitor pater has a potential conflict of interest uh for the aforementioned property 153 Elm Street uh which requires the hiring of another attorney to handle that property
uh under rule 14 while the council States an item must first appear in a committee also allows for that to be waved that requirement assuming that everything all sat you know all elements have been satisfied um there was a request in writing to the clerk who attained the ascent of the council
president and the committee chair again all those elements were satisfied uh in anticipation of her Services solicitor Kuser had invited attorney tree to our finance committee meeting last week where her services on this particular property were discussed um she did also
know for us which was appreciated that the particular property could end up back in front of us um as it's part of the easement package it's also happens that the house is pending sale right now and so depending on the timing and and our filings along with the sale the owners may need to be
changed and then we'd have to reapproved determined so I uh again move the order be authorized thank you thank you Council heglin Is there further discussion I just want offer um a brief summary I've been in practice for 30 years um I have provided serves to the
city of pittburg and served as assistant solicitor at one point in time I provided Municipal uh services to the town of Ashburn H as well um my practice does include a real estate and and particular zoning portion as many of you know from my prior appearances before
this Council I appreciate the opportunity to work as special counsel um while still maintaining my existing zoning practice and there is no conflict involved in this particular propert happy to take any questions otherwise
just going to offer that to the city council thank you thank you for that introduction Bri description there any questions or discussions further all those in favor I I all those oppos no motion
passes item 11503 an order of takings for easements temporary and or permanent by eminent domain for the purpose of the safe roots to school project for various properties located on Elm Street in the area between Temple Street and Cherry
Street councelor Brooks uh yes u in as much as I have one of the properties being considered for the taking I need to recuse myself and I would just ask that somebody come get me when the discussion is complete thank you sure we can arrange that thank you councel Brooks the clar will note that Council
Brooks is refusing to sign councilor Mack thank you council president um this item is for the 20 easements the addresses are all listed in our packet that will be taken uh temporarily or permanently for by emminent domain for the purpose of the state Ro roofs
project which is to improve the sidewalks on El Street between Cherry and Temple the uh finance committee was unanimously in favor so I make a motion to move the order uh motion made by councelor Mack second by councelor heglin to move the
order is there discussion this vote will recall require a roll call vote the assistant clerk will now please call the roll Council Brooks has recused himself councelor Cormier
yes councelor harder yes councelor Heath yes councelor hegan yes councelor kazinski yes councelor Mack yes councelor tone yes councelor Tel Muno
yes president Tyrus yes N9 days no no Nays one recusal motion passes thank you Council item 11 1510 in order authorizing the creation of an economic development and finance manager for the
position of the for the position for the Community Development and planning department and approving the job description for said position councelor heglin thank you again Mr President and through you to the council I move to recommit this item with the um Finance committee's recommendation uh to the
economic development subcommittee second motion made by councelor heglin second by councelor Mack is there discussion councelor heglin thank you again Mr President so the finance committee had met on this item last week um in regards to this item I think I think one of the
key questions for us was if this was a really true merge of the two positions uh and apart from some minor clerical duties it is it's um comes with the recommendation of director Stevens director Morris and the mayor all of whom support it and I think the Hope
really is to help strengthen the department by consolidating these duties uh and to really trying to bring in a highly qualified candidate to serve in this position um I think also in in director Steven's time with us as he's sort of assessing things uh and what he's seen working and not
working this comes as part of that from him as well in a Hope just to streamline things make things more efficient and make the office run more smoothly so while the finance committee had no real further concerns around it it does seem pertinent to give the economic development subcommittee time
to I'd say review and study this item it does fall in their purview um they do have more direct sight over the department um the day-to-day operations the structural pieces uh any recommendations coming from the director himself and so where again it fits with
their purpose I uh I make this motion thank you further discussion councilor kinus thank you Mr President I appreciate this referral being the chair of the economic development committee I think it's a good idea I think it allows the council to be more thorough I appreciate that we
already have the finance um committee's report and you know and watching their meeting um you know they've done their vetting of the position I think it's completely appropriate to refer it to the economic development committee and our oversight of the department and that this is a very big change for that
department so I look forward to reviewing it in committee thank you thank you councelor kazin is there further discussion all those in favor I I all those oppos no motion passes item 11511 an ordinance to amend the code of
the city of Garder chapter 171 thereof entitled Personnel to amend Schedule E thereof entitled non-union compensation schedule to add the position of Economic Development and finance manager report from counc he thank you again Mr President I move to recommit this item
to the economic development committee with the finance committee's recommendation in addition second motion made by councelor hegan second by councelor Mack is there discussion councelor heglin thank you again um obviously these two items are connected so it seems pertinent if we're sending one that I should move to send
the other how with some background this this is effectively the salary that would go with this position uh at our finance committee meeting concerns were expressed about the compensation and if it was sufficient for the duties of this new position um the mayor did report to
us that it the current proposed salary will match the assistant director position um so in that you know we we had no real budgetary concerns it also saves the city some money the way we're doing this um but I think something also
worth noting is that again these are some changes I think as the economic development committee has some more oversight and if they're going to review the job description itself they may also want to revisit this package um additionally currently a large portion comes from Community Development block
grant and with that money never always being guaranteed knowing there's some savings it might be something to look at too down the line um as to whether we can move away from that Grant spending and put more on the city's end of things and so we felt that that was something they might be able to have a deeper
conversation about um again trying to set up this department uh to be as successful as possible and so uh I look forward to supporting uh the motion to recommit this thank you further discussion councelor kazin thank you Mr President uh again I appreciate this
referral I look forward to discussing in committee as this is uh the salary piece of the position um I think it makes sense for the economic development committee to also review it uh you know the structure of the department the budget of the department we're looking at every piece of it to
just have our oversight part as the council um should and I think that this is going to be a big part of it considering you know it's really two positions into one with a little bit more and so depending what we report out we want to make sure that um you know
the quality of the position and the and the amount that it is compensated makes sense so I think it's going to be a really thorough uh review of the position and um before the council comes to vote on both of these items and um so I do appreciate again this part of the process thank you thank you councelor
kazin is there further discussion again this is a motion to recommit the item to the economic development subcommittee all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes appointments committee we've
already taken care of items 11472 and 11485 item 11492 am meure confirming the mayor's appointment of Ron G dmea to the position of member Council on Aging for a term expiring January 16th 2028 councelor heglin thank you Mr President
again uh we met tonight on this item um this was uh sort of a reschedule we did not have for these in the next two items the writeups from the mayor uh however he was able to get them for us today so fortunately we were able to meet on these three reappointments um in terms of Mr Dara
he's served as the chair for the Council on Aging the last three 3 years he is a gardener resident he's incredibly active at the senior center I think he attends most if not all of their events um director Ellis was in there in support of him the mayor is in support of this uh he really does come highly
recommended especially considering it's a a volunteer and unpaid position and how much he goes above and beyond and so the uh appointments committee had no objections and were unanimously in favor so I move the appointment be confirmed second motion made by councelor heglin second by councelor Heath to confirm the
mayor's appointment is there discussion question councelor kinus just one note on the counselor's comments uh we will have the writeups from the mayor before the meetings are scheduled moving forward so we shouldn't run into that kind of logistical issue but um the mayor had confirmed that we will be
receiving them um along with uh chair Heath had confirmed that'll be part of the process moving forward and uh Mr DCA as well as Mr Leone in item 11493 um they had they were at our previous um our previous meeting um they
were understandable of the process so I just wanted to make a note of that thank you thank you councelor kazinski is there further discussion all those in favor I I all those opposed no motion passes item 11493 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Paul Leone to
the position of member Council on Aging for a term expiring January 16th 2028 councilor heglin thank you again Mr President uh we met on this item as well earli this evening as mentioned uh again Mr Leone is an active uh member of the senior center he's really excited and
enthusiastic of gardener what's going on in Gardener He's become a pretty involved member of our community um he's served in a lot of different capacities in in his time with the the Council on Aging he's also a reappointment um as are the other two and he he brings I
think a great background in set of experience he's an author he's been a reporter so he has a nice handle on bringing arts and and other um I know activities to that you know to that end the the senior center uh so the appointments committee was unanimously
in favor and I move the measure be confirmed second motion made by councelor Hegman second by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion all those in favor I I all those opposed no motion passes item 11494 a measure confirming
the mayor's appointment of Paul Crowley to the position of member Council on Aging for a term expiring January 16th 2028 councelor heglin thank you Mr President one last time tonight um we met on this item earlier this evening as well uh Mr Crowley comes with a really
great variety of professional backgrounds and experiences um he's been a professor he has worked in financial Industries so I think he's pretty uniquely qualified he brings some great insight and skills so it it really balances out I think the Council on Aging in a lot of ways he was highly
recommended Again by the mayor the uh appointments committee was unanimously in favor of this like the other two it's a volunteer unpaid position and all three of them really do go above and beyond so I move the measure be confirmed motion made by councelor heglin second by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's employment is their
discussion all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes economic and Community Development Committee item 11504 a resolution in support of the city of Garder application for the FY 2025 Community Development block grant
mini entitlement plan councelor kinus thank you Mr President I would like to make a motion to Grant the resolution Mo oh sorry second motion made by councelor kazin second by councelor Cormier to Grant the resolution is there a
discussion all those in favor I I all those oppos no motion passes unfinished bus we have no unfinished business in matters of reconsideration we have no new business counselor comments and remarks are there any counselor comments and remarks
Ma I just want to do a last public service announcement for the discounted U rate of the flower pots that will be around the city this summer before the end of March you can get $50 off of a flower pot um you can contact Katie alony through the mayor's office instead
of $200 there'll be $150 and it's also on the city garden website um we are increasing our pots to 85 this year and um you know this is a great uh way to sponsor and beautify our downtown area and you could do it as an individual a
city counselor a community service organization or a business so we encourage people to do so and lastly but not least I would be uh remiss not to acknowledge uh my fellow uh female City councilors assist women's history month so I acknowledge councelor harder and
councelor kinus um for us being the women on the city council as well as today being St Patrick's Day I just want to um pay acknowledgement to the strongest Irish excuse me Irish woman I know who is my mother and um she may be
the the strong woman I am so um thank you to all the strong women we have in Gardner who have worked so hard for this community over the years thank you thank you councelor Ma Is there further comments councel kazinski thank you Mr President I just wanted to do a quick
update on the economic development committee uh we met on Friday March 14th and we received a update from Economic Development and planning director Jason Stevens he gave his monthly update which we talked about when this uh this
committee was developed that we would do monthly so he um had given his um second monthly update it's hard to believe it's already been um time for another one uh he was joined by assistant director Evan Cudmore and mayor Nicholson and he
updated us on the rear main street project the subdivision of compass Lane Greenwood pool the Rome building on the corner of Maine across the street from the Gardner police station and um the status of the grra and the do um
Outreach regarding the um rise Grant um which involves a Federal grant um involving design of a possible parking garage and downtown Ada improvements I would strongly encourage the public and um the fellow City Council Members to watch the echo Dev meeting for the full
update it was incredibly thorough there's been a ton of work done it's completely transparent and um director Stevens and assistant director cmore have made tremendous progress um over the last couple of months um there's clear processes being put in place
obviously we talked tonight and voted earlier on um proceedings for a new position in that department uh I just want to thank them for their work so far it is a great example of the oversight and best practices of the city council
and how we're exercising those through this committee and um I look forward to what's next but uh there's just been there's a lot of information in that meeting and I think um the best place to get the full update is is to view the meeting on YouTube and also just a
reminder most councils commissions Committees of the city are all on the city of gardeners YouTube channel it is an incredible tool that we have here that we've had since 2020 and I know it helps me you know updated on the meetings that I'm unable to attend but I want to make sure that I'm I'm educated on and I know what's going on so um
that's that's there but um stay tuned for more for for next month thank you C kinus further discussion I have something this evening I want to say a few words about the upcoming budget process as we approach the FY 26 budget hearings I want to
emphasize the critical importance to this process in shaping the future of our city these hearings are not just about the numbers they're about the priorities accountability and ensuring that every dollar we spend is in the best interest of the community I want to make sure that the council and the mayor and the department heads are all on the
same page when it comes to what to expect in this process in light of the current economic factors including Rising inflation fluctuating energy costs and the ongoing challenges of maintaining fiscal stability it is imperative that we approach this budget with heightened focus and oversight
while Gardner has made strives in securing grant funding and fostering Economic Development as highlight in recent reports we must remain Vigilant in how we allocate resources to sustain these efforts and address emerging needs going forward furthermore there are proposed cuts at the federal level that
could have a direct impact on positions and programs at the local level potentially straining resources and affecting delivery of essential services in our community in addition these cuts are could be compounded uh could compound the challenges we Face significantly by impacting the state
budget nearly 41% of budget in fy2 was funded by state aid in other words for every dollar spent 40 cents of that was tied to the state budget in some way shape or form that's not including the sometimes Millions we get each year from state
grants and other uh supplemental funds that should all give us pause as we start to work on the FY 2026 budget after Consulting with councelor kinus on the previous budget process we realized that we as a council had in hindsight allowed some leniency in the
completion of budget narratives submitted by department heads this was due to the fact that the narrative process while long overdue was new to Gardner by doing this the current mayor raised the bar and increased the amount of information the amount of detail and gave the council more time to review
information starting the process earlier in the year all of these things were good steps but we need to continue to raise the bar so this year I'm calling for a more thorough review of departmental budgets each department must not only substantiate its expenditures but also demonstrate how its plans align with our City's goals
and the economic realities that we Face the importance of complete and precise narrative cannot be overstated as they are fundamental to ensuring transparency and accountability and enable our capability to make well-informed impactful decisions such a disciplined approach is essential for directing our
resources towards Investments that are not only efficient and effective but also poised to secure long-term growth and fiscal stability for our community together we can navigate these challenges and continue to build a stronger and more resilient Gardener thank you and I look forward to the good
work in the weeks and months ahead with that I'll entertain a motion to adjourn after the close of the prayer so move second motion made by councelor ton second by councelor Brooks to adjourn after the closing prayer all those in favor I I all those against no motion
passes Almighty father father who us overall as we we thank for the opportunity of join delation and witness during the course of this meeting bless Lord all here people represent we are and do thou attend to our common welfare
until our next meeting amen