Progress being made to long-term projects following Murray’s visit

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — In what Mayor Mark Hawke referred to as a “very good phone call,” Lt. Gov. Tim Murray offered several long-term, state-funded solutions to problems affecting the local economy, which included additional funding for the Heywood-Wakefield project, the acquisition of money for the demolition of old or abandoned buildings, and the proposed implementation of a trash-to-energy facility. The long-term solutions stemmed from a recent visit from the lieutenant governor May 23. Mr. Hawke said he was very encouraged with the efforts state officials made regarding the city’s application for grants and funding aimed at revitalizing the downtown area. “We made a lot of good headway,” said Mr. Hawke. “We have a lot of irons in the fire, and Boston is well aware of the needs we have here in Gardner.” It is unclear as to when the projects will be finalized, but nonetheless efforts state officials made show progress for the Gardner area, according to the mayor. One issue Mr. Hawke emphasized as particularly important during Mr. Murray’s visit was the boosting of funds available to the city for the demolition of old or abandoned buildings. “During the Manca administration, there was a fund that they could tap into for demolition purposes,” Mr. Hawke said. “They haven’t populated that fund in over a decade, and the lieutenant governor said that (Housing & Economic Development) Secretary (Daniel) O’Connell has been working to set up something like a revolving loan fund and we expect to hear an answer on that in 30 to 60 days.” Furthermore, Mr. Hawke said significant progress is being made toward acquiring funding that will support the future projects surrounding the Heywood-Wakefield III building. “We talked about the pending applications for Heywood-Wakefield Phase III because there is still another grant application pending for that,” said Mr. Hawke. “We also talked about the city’s HUD 108 Loan Guarantee Program that would benefit the rear Main Street development.” According to Mr. Hawke, the HUD 108 program is a seldom-used funding mechanism the Department of Community Development uses that would lower the interest rate on the money the city acquires. Also on the agenda at the meeting were possible solutions for the city’s increasing problems regarding energy conservation and gas. According to Mr. Hawke, there was some discussion as to whether a plant could be built within the city that could transform additional trash into a renewable source of energy. “We spoke about a possible trash-to-energy plant or a like facility,” said Mr. Hawke. “I am going to be sending (Energy and Evironmental Affairs) Secretary (Ian) Bowles a letter and the lieutenant governor wanted to talk about it to see if he could follow up with the secretary because they are currently reviewing the moratorium.” Mr. Hawke said he expects another conference call with Mr. Murray later in the month. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 6/6/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 134)