Finance Committee defers action on salt shed repayment and west Lynde street property.
Finance Committee · Meeting of January 14, 2026
GARDNER — Finance Committee defers action on downtown property sale and salt shed shortfall. Chair Aleksander Dernalowicz and Councillor Brad Heglin voted unanimously to recommend no action on declaring 13-17 West Lynde Street surplus, citing concerns over loss of municipal parking and downtown property control. Mayor Michael Nicholson reported the city remains approximately 155,000 dollars short on salt shed Stabilization Account reimbursement when accounting for principal and interest.
The Committee also voted unanimously to recommend City Council adoption of proposed rules revisions expanding the Economic and Community Development Committee scope and instituting an earlier deadline for standing committee submissions. Comcast billing errors and staffing transitions in Human Resources caused recurring outages at City Hall; the Mayor said corrective measures include improved tracking through MUNIS and exploration of a backup service provider.
In the full story:
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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of January 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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