Gardner Conservation Commission Presses for Faster Log Removal at Nicole Terrace Site

GARDNER -- May 11, 2026, Gardner's Conservation Commission flagged slow wetland restoration progress and a worsening culvert failure at its May 11 meeting. Commissioners expressed open frustration that only five of an estimated 35 logs have been removed from the enforcement order site at 36 Nicole Terrace over the course of nearly a year, with the commission directing the landowner to develop a concrete removal plan, including possible use of a crane, before a June 22 site visit and continued hearing. A revised notice of intent for a duplex off Conant Street, filed by Matt Marrone of Marrone Environmental Consulting on behalf of Parker Properties (DEP File 1600683), was continued to June 8 after commissioners required additional plan staking and erosion-control details. The commission also received a troubling update on the Curly Brook culvert, which has now collapsed two-thirds to three-quarters of its length and threatens the city's water supply; staff is scheduled to walk the site with a DEP analyst, with at least one commissioner questioning whether an emergency certification bid is being used to sidestep the normal permitting process.