When business owners are asked if they would like to offer free naloxone some can be hesitant, according to Irene Nyanuba, Heath Promotion and Community Strategist with the Division of Public Health.

Naloxone, more commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is a nasal spray used for the emergency treatment of an opioid overdose.

“There’s a stigma, and also a fear that if I help and something happens, am I liable?” Nyanuba said.

That’s where education comes in. Nyanuba and other members of the Division of Public Health, with the support of Clark University’s Liberal Arts for Returning Citizens (LARC), work to explain that anyone administering naloxone is covered by the Good Samaritan law and would not be held liable for trying to intervene with the spray.

It is Nyanuba’s hope that through education, more people will be willing to keep the life-saving product in their businesses.

The municipality has already distributed naloxone boxes to 30 locations across the city to increase visibility and immediate access to the product. Those locations are identified on a map that also includes important information about what services are available.

Part of the education piece is making sure people know how to recognize the signs someone may be experiencing an overdose including: being unconscious or unable to wake up; very slow, shallow, or stopped breathing; choking, gurgling, or unusual snoring sounds when the person can not be awakened; small constricted “pinpoint” pupils; and discolored skin, particularly around the lips or nails.

If those signs are present and naloxone is available, DPH advises people to provide it, call 911, try to keep the person awake and breathing, and stay with them until emergency help arrives.

To help individuals overcome any fear of getting involved, AIDS Project Worcester, through a Diversion to Care grant from DPH, is offering trainings on how to administer the drug and learn signs of an overdose.

“I think it’s very easy (to administer naloxone), yet there’s fear of the unknown so people shy away because they don’t know it’s very easy to apply,” Nyanuba said. “So, we think if more organizations can come aboard and mobilize their community for that training to be done for them, that would also be great.”

Another aspect of fighting the opioid epidemic is bringing awareness to what people are going through firsthand.

That is why the municipality and community partners have worked together to host a vigil on International Overdose Awareness Day for the past several years.

The event is taking place on Monday, Aug. 31 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on City Hall Plaza and highlights the voices of those with lived experiences, including those who have lost a loved one to the opioid epidemic.

The theme this year is “25 Years On. Still Needed.” Highlighting that while progress has been made, collective effort is still needed to prevent the continued loss of life.

There was a 60% reduction in overdose encounters in Worcester between 2018 and 2025 and a 65% reduction in deaths since the peak in 2022.

However, despite the decrease, 53 deaths in Worcester in 2025 were opioid-related, and overdose incidents have increased among our Hispanic/Latino population by 6% and in the Black community by 3%.

That is why events like the vigil are still needed, according to Nyanuba, which brings the reality of the situation into focus for people.

People that attend the event will hear the stories of people who have lost loved ones or struggled with substance misuse themselves.

“So, the next time they are talking about substance misuse and overdose, they can actually picture it, it’s not abstract,” Nyanuba said, they will remember the faces of those directly impacted.

It is also important to expand awareness that overdoses can happen to anyone and not just with “hard drugs,” with prescription drugs as well, according to Nyanuba.

“Some people tend to think this conversation is not for me, we want to remove that barrier,” Nyanuba said.

And the conversation should not just stop at the vigil.

Nyanuba said any organization looking for a training or to share the stories of those with lived experience can contact DPH about setting something up.

“I think it will make more impact,” Nyanuba said.

This August my agenda reflects the municipality’s efforts to better serve the public whether it be through safer streets or the creation of affordable housing.

In August 2024, I, alongside Mayor Joseph Petty, declared a Road Safety and Traffic Violence Crisis after several pedestrian crashes with a commitment to address it. Then in June 2025, I issued an Executive Order adopting the Vision Zero Action Plan. In this agenda, Transportation & Mobility Coordinator Steve Rolle provides an important update on the steps the municipality has taken to reach zero crashes involving fatalities or serious injury in the Vision Zero Annual Report.

We are also proposing actions that will help Keep Worcester Clean and increase affordable housing. Public Works Commissioner John Westerling is proposing an earlier time for residents to place recycling and trash on the curb in hopes that it will be more convenient for residents while limiting the amount of people that erroneously place their recycling and trash on the curb the night before. Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn is proposing an Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing agreement for Phase 3 of Lakeside Apartments, a project that will construct 103 affordable, multi-family units in a four-story building.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for Tuesday…

Vision Zero Annual Report

The municipality has a goal of eliminating all roadway fatality and serious injury crashes by the year 2035. With 110 crashes involving a fatality or serious injury in 2025, we still have work to do and the Department of Transportation and Mobility is keeping track of that work with the Vision Zero Annual Report. Some of the accomplishments listed in the report include installing 77 speed humps across 41 streets, piloting a Rapid Response Program to immediately audit sites following serious injury crashes, adjusting traffic signal timing at nine intersection to reduce congestion and provide additional crossing time for pedestrians, conducting 1,492 targeted speed enforcement activities on 34 VZ Priority Injury Network corridors, and implementing corridor-level complete streets projects on portions of Burncoat, Mill, Grove, and Stafford streets.

There is still a lot of work to do, but preliminary data is promising with crash data for Burncoat, Mill, and Stafford streets showing evidence of safer operating outcomes and the installation of speed humps resulting in significant reductions in speed.

Trash Collection Time Change

The Department of Public Works wants to give residents more time to put out their trash and recycling while limiting its exposure to elements that could result in scattered materials and neighborhood litter. Commissioner Westerling is proposing amending the time residents can place their municipal solid waste and recycling bins on the curb from 6 a.m. on the day of collection to 5 a.m. The hope is that residents who leave home early for work or other obligations will be able to place their items out for collection then and will not leave their items on the curb overnight, exposing them to the elements for an extended period of time. We are hoping the change will facilitate more equitable service provision while continuing to support the municipality’s goal to Keep Worcester Clean.

Lakeside Apartments

Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn is recommending an Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing (UCH-TIF) Agreement for 16–32 Lakeside Ave. and 18–20 Garland Ave. as part of the third phase of redevelopment of the Lakeside Apartments. Worcester Housing Authority is undertaking the project that will construct 103 affordable, multi-family units in a four-story building.

While Worcester Housing Authority is a nonprofit and would normally be exempt from real estate tax, in order to be eligible for certain tax credit programs the organization entered into a 99 year-lease with two for-profit entities, making them responsible for real estate taxes. The UCH-TIF would be for a term of 20 years with an average exemption percentage of 90%. The municipality would still receive $856,000 in property taxes during that time if the UCH-TIF is approved and it would aid a project that is helping advance goals set our in the Housing Production Place to create much-needed affordable housing.

Other Item Notes:

• Alex Monaco is being appointed to the Worcester Arts Council.

• Commissioner Rolle provides a report summarizing the classification of arterial roadways in Worcester, providing a list of the city’s Principal and Arterial roadways along with a map.

• Commissioner Rolle also recommends the adoption of a proposed ordinance to establish tow zones on portions of Albany Street and Fantasia Drive.

• Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy provides a financial update for the period ending June 30, 2026, closing out Fiscal Year 2026.

Ryan Sonnenberg thinks of himself as the Spider-Man of Worcester.

“I might not be stopping crime, but you know, I’m cleaning up the city and making it look better,” Sonnenberg said.

The 19-year-old Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) student is one of four members of a team of youth hired by the Worcester Community Action Council to work for the Department of Public Works (DPW) for six weeks this summer. Through their work for the DPW the youth are supporting the municipality’s Keep Worcester Clean (KWC) Program.

The positions are funded through the YouthWorks Summer Program which has the goal of providing safe spaces for at-risk youth in our community to learn what it’s like to be a part of the work force.

The team, which started working on July 6, works five hours a day, five days a week and will be working through Aug. 11 to help clean up city streets.

The youth are responsible for helping the municipality fulfill the goals set out for KWC. The municipality relaunched and expanded the program in August 2025, reaffirming the municipality’s commitment to cleanliness and ensuring all its trash, recycling, and beautification programs and initiatives are under the same umbrella.

The youth help address complaints and who at the time of writing were working on an order to clean the traffic islands from the DCU Center to Lincoln Square.

Having this job will mean having work experience to put on her resume, according to 20-year-old Agi Lopez, who has already applied to keep working for DPW after the program ends.

The Burncoat High School graduate has a lot of thoughts about her future, which may include plumbing or carpentry.

“I want to do a lot of things…I’m just open right now to anything,” Lopez said.

Lopez is not the only one thinking of potential career paths, 18 year-old Jamie Reyes is looking forward to becoming an electrician and plans to take a program to become licensed after recently graduating from North High School.

John Bradley, 18, is also looking to become an electrician and plumber, having worked with his grandfather, who is an electrician and plumber, since he was very young.

Bradley is planning to attend night classes at Worcester Technical High School in their electrical program in the fall.

Sonnenberg is the only one straying from a technical field, taking psychology classes at QCC, but he has a fondness for working outside and can see his career path taking him that way as well.

When it comes to this program, Lopez said she likes cutting the grass and even is teaching herself how to use the lawn mower more effectively to cut the grass even faster.

The group is led by Hector Torres, a veteran DPW worker who has been with the department for 11 years. Offering guidance to youth is not new to the father of six, who called working with the youth fun.

Torres joked about the speed at which Lopez works.

“By the time they’re done gassing up the weedwhacker, she’s already done half the thing they were supposed to go and split”, Torres said.

Lopez’s reply? “I’m just trying to get the job done.”

And they are getting the job done. When the shift is over, Torres takes the group to look at all the work that they’ve done.

“They can see their improvement,” Torres said. “They can see that from their first job to now their fourth, fifth job, they’re like ‘Wow we did that.’”

Sonnenberg said he feels tired after a day on the job, but also like he’s accomplished something.

The job is not just about cleaning up Worcester though, the group is also learning about the city.

“You know we work, we get down and dirty, and then…I show them the city,” Torres said.

He describes the program as a classroom without walls. The youths’ on the job experience has taught them how to use weedwhackers, leaf blowers, lawnmowers and more, but it has also helped them learn more about the city most of them grew up in.

On a rainy day, Torres took them to see the Holden Reservoir, where Worcester gets its drinking water.

“When I told them it was drinking water, they (were) like no way,” Torres said. “And I’m like yeah that’s drinking water.”

The job has also given the group an appreciation for the work that goes into keeping the city clean.

Lopez now tells her sister to pick up trash when she throws it on the ground, joking that she’s the one that will have to pick it up.

All the youth said they would take active steps to keep the city clean after the program is over.

Feature Stories highlight the work of municipal departments and their employees across the city. These posts are written in the third person and are not authored by the City Manager.

A presenter stands in front of a class and gives the students a case study: a worker was given a 10-day suspension for missing a snow plowing shift because he claims he ate four roast beef sandwiches that made him fall asleep.

The scenario elicits chuckles, but the students debate whether that punishment was fair given the context that three other coworkers missed shifts and were only given a one-day suspension. Ultimately, the presenter informs the class that while this wasn’t the first time the worker had missed a shift, the state’s Department of Labor Relations found a five-day suspension would be more appropriate.

The presenter was the municipality’s Chief Human Resources Officer, William Bagley Jr., and his class was made up of the City Manager’s cabinet and their deputies.

Bagley was presenting to them as a part of the City of Worcester’s Management Academy. The cabinet members and deputies made up the academy’s two inaugural cohorts.

Each cohort met alternating Fridays for seven weeks, covering topics such as addressing poor workplace culture, documentation and challenging conversations, managing a diverse workforce, and labor relations.

Those topics and more were selected based on organizational priorities, legal and policy requirements, feedback from department leadership, and the everyday responsibilities that managers face.

The goal of the program, initiated by City Manager Eric Batista’s Office, is to provide municipal staff with a comprehensive professional development program that provides the skills, tools, and mindset necessary to lead people effectively, navigate complex organizational environments, and deliver high-quality public service.

This program helps the municipality reach goals set out in the FY25-29 Municipal Strategic Plan. Specifically, the goal is to increase organizational effectiveness by implementing organizational, culture, and performance principles.

The lesson from Bagley’s session, while comical, was about the importance of documentation. One of the reasons the Department of Labor Relations was able to turn over the municipality’s disciplinary ruling was because it was not properly documented.

The academy, overseen by Chief Equity Officer Kevin Lovaincy, was meant to get participants engaged and thinking in new ways.

The 12 interactive learning sessions that made up the program were led by municipal leaders and subject matter experts who have firsthand knowledge and experience working within municipal government.

“The academy was developed through months of planning and collaboration,” Lovaincy said. “We looked at the challenges managers face every day – from supervising employees and navigating difficult conversations to understanding budgets, labor relations, ADA requirements, procurement, communication, and building positive workplace structure.”

Lovaincy led a session that involved skits played out by himself and the cabinet members where different cultures were on display. In one skit, Police Chief Paul Saucier was discussing his gym routine with Lovaincy and Lovaincy did not keep eye contact during the conversation.

While cabinet members interpreted the skit as Lovaincy being shy, he explained that in some cultures it is a sign of respect not to look your superiors in the eye. The skit was meant to represent the cultural difference you may experience in a diverse workforce and how to navigate those scenarios.

Department of Transportation and Mobility Commissioner Steve Rolle found the course very insightful. While all the department heads and deputies are trained in the technical aspects of their areas of expertise, the Management Academy presented the municipality’s first ever internal management training.

“Many employees are promoted because they excel in their technical roles, but the often haven’t had formal leadership training or supervisory training, or it has been a long time since they have attended management training,” Lovaincy said. “The Management Academy helps bridge that gap by providing practical tools, knowledge, and resources that managers can immediately apply in their day-to-day work.”

City Solicitor Alexandra Kalkounis had already sought out leadership training prior to the academy, completing the year-long program conducted by the Massachusetts Municipal Association and Suffolk University on strategic leadership. But, she said she still learned new perspectives on management from the municipality’s academy.

“Seeing everyone’s interpretations of these presentations helps us grow as leaders,” Kalkounis said.

Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn shared similar feelings about the benefits of taking the academy as a cabinet.

“It connects us as leaders and lets us learn from the experiences of other department heads,” said Dunn.

Lovaincy noted that as well.

“Managers from different departments often face similar challenges but rarely have the opportunity to discuss them together,” Lovaincy said. “Seeing participants share experiences, ask thoughtful questions, and learn from one another has reinforced the value of bringing leaders together in a collaborative learning environment.”

Deputies that took part in the academy also found it helpful. Alex Arriaga, the now Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Health & Human Services, joined the department as Director of Veterans’ Services before being promoted.

“Like many leaders stepping into larger roles, I occasionally experienced imposter syndrome,” Arriaga said.

Arriaga is not alone, a national survey found that nearly half of U.S. employees experience imposter syndrome at work, especially after a promotion. That is one of the reasons the City Manager’s Office, the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion worked to develop the Management Academy in the first place.

“The opportunity to build relationships with leaders across city departments, understand their perspectives on leadership, and collaborate on common challenges gave me greater confidence in my own style and strengthened my ability to lead with authenticity and purpose.”

Effy Larkin, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer, found the experience positive and meaningful, particularly the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and learn about their diverse perspectives.

“I would recommend these sessions to others looking to deepen their management skills and connect with peers,” Larkin said.

That is the plan. After the initial cohorts graduated on June 12, the vision is to expand the academy to municipal division heads, managers, and supervisors.

The academy even helped those leading it grow.

“Developing and coordinating the academy gave me the opportunity to work closely with leaders from every municipal department,” Lovaincy said. “I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of municipal operations and leadership from a variety of perspectives.”

With only one city council meeting in July, Tuesday’s meeting has a packed agenda. The item, understandably, drawing the most attention from my section is my recommendation regarding a civilian review board (CRB).

After careful consideration of the report prepared by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau (WRRB) on CRBs, and a thorough analysis prepared by the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (EODEI) alongside my office, I decided against recommending a civilian review board.

Our Chief Equity Officer Kevin Lovaincy provides the council with a 34-page report detailing the existing accountability framework we have in place and why we ultimately believe that the breadth of existing initiatives and supplemental oversight tools is working.

Other important items include expanding the New School Fund to include the Burncoat School Building project to help get everything aligned for that project to succeed.

Public Works Commissioner John Westerling also provides updates on the municipality’s efforts to Keep Worcester Clean and announces the results of the June 2026 Bulk Waste Facility Pilot and our plans to increase use of the facility by waiving bulk waste drop-off fees for August. While Transportation and Mobility Commissioner Steve Rolle provides a Construction Progress Report for the municipality’s street projects.

So here’s what on the agenda for Tuesday…

Civilian Review Board Recommendation

My administration takes accountability seriously, which is why I engaged with both the WRRB and EODEI regarding developing reports on CRBs.

The EODEI used the WRRB’s report, with its valuable insights into strengthening transparency, accountability, and collaboration within the municipality’s oversight framework, as a foundation for its own report.

In the report, Lovaincy details the oversight mechanisms his department and the Worcester Police Department have instituted over the last several years. Those efforts include launching the Body-Worn Camera Program, creating and building on the investigatory capacity of EODEI, implementing comprehensive anti-harassment and compliance training, removing the Chief of Police and Deputy Chief of Police from civil service requirements, developing the Racial Equity Audit and Public Accountability Dashboard, and strengthening our police review process in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission.

While a civilian review board would act as another accountability tool, it is only one tool in the toolbox, and I feel that the existing multilayered framework the municipality has built, with the existing tools we’ve put in place, is working.

Weighing the benefits of an independent CRB against the significant resources it would require to be impactful, I am recommending the municipality not pursue a CRB.

However, we can always do better, and my Administration remains committed to evaluating our processes, building on the systems currently in place, strengthening community engagement, and continually improving the municipality’s oversight framework.

Keep Worcester Clean and Bulk Waste Facility Pilot

Commissioner Westerling provides an update on Keep Worcester Clean initiatives in the first two quarters of 2026.

Keep Worcester Clean is a collaborative, citywide effort that advances the municipal strategic plan by promoting cleaner streets, public spaces, and neighborhoods while enhancing the overall quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors. In addition to the Department of Public Works (DPW) the effort includes the departments of Inspectional Services (ISD), Sustainability and Resilience, and Worcester Police, and my office’s Quality of Life Team.

The detailed statistics show the success of our initiatives. Our WooBins project, the installation of 150 dual-stream waste and recycling bins in high traffic areas, resulted in 10 tons of trash and 3.4 tons of recycling being picked up; our community-led neighborhood clean ups saw 278 bags worth of litter and 63 bulk items, including two car bumpers, removed from the street; Quality of Life removed 4,611 bulk waste items from public ways; ISD issued 1,373 orders to correct regarding trash violations, overgrowth, and graffiti; and DPW removed 7,571 cubic yards of litter, dirt, and other debris from our streets during Spring Street Sweeping.

Another initiative DPW introduced during this period was a Bulk Waste Facility Pilot program, which saw the department open the bulk waste drop-off facility an additional two days a week.

While expanding hours did result in a slight uptick in overall appointments, the pilot showed that the cost of staffing outweighed the response from the public. However, the department did find that waiving bulk fees last August was a successful way to significantly increase appointments, and as a result, the department has once again decided to waive bulk waste drop off fees for the month of August.

Construction Progress Report

Commissioner Rolle provides a detailed report on the progress of street construction projects across the city. As a part of the municipality’s Pavement Management Program, the municipality committed to reestablishing regular communication with the Council and Worcester residents regarding the reconstruction of our transportation infrastructure.

The Construction report is an update on the status of construction projects through June 30, 2026. It includes updates such as the Chandler and May Street resurfacing project is in the design phase and construction is anticipated to start in Spring 2027; the pavement preservation project on Mower Street is out to bid and set to be completed in Fall 2026, and the full or substantial reconstruction of Whittier Street from Edgeworth Street to Heams Street is 95% complete, just to name a few.

Other Item Notes:

• Commissioner Rolle is recommending the adoption of an ordinance to establish a commercial loading zone and two-hour metered parking on Main Street between Sudbury Street and Walnut Street.

• Candy Mero-Carlson is being appointed to the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, pending City Council approval.

• Jared Madison is being appointed to the Trust Funds Commission, pending City Council approval.

• Che Anderson is being appointed to the Civic Center Commission, pending City Council approval.

• Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn is recommending a zoning change at 128 Providence St. to allow a project developing 98 units of affordable senior housing to move forward.

• Dunn is also recommending the establishment of a Tax Increment Financing Zone for the 30 acres of GreenTech Park, as it will be instrumental for marketing efforts, demonstrating Worcester’s commitment to the success of the park and its end users.

• Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy recommends the transfer of funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority Stabilization Fund to the New High School Fund and amending the purposes of the New High School Fund to include the Burncoat High School and Middle Schools project. These efforts will help align the funding for the project.

• McGourthy also provides an update on the first 11 months of Fiscal Year 2026, noting that the municipality has not identified any issues with expenditures nor any issues with its enterprise funds as of May 31, 2026.

One of the City Council’s major responsibilities is selecting a city manager who will act as a CEO of the City of Worcester. It has been three and a half years since the council voted to appoint me city manager and it has been my privilege to serve in the role. As the selection body, it is the council’s responsibility to continuously evaluate my performance.

An annual performance review coincides with the end of the fiscal year. For this agenda, I submitted a self-evaluation of my performance over the last year to help the councilors perform their own assessments during a June 30 council meeting. The evaluation includes a review of the municipality’s top accomplishments in the past fiscal year from the budget to public health and safety.

In addition to my evaluation, departments also provided updates on some of the major plans that guide our work for this agenda. Department of Transportation and Mobility (DTM) Commissioner Steve Rolle provides an update on the Mobility Action Plan, which is a road map to creating a more efficient, effective, and safe transportation network in the city. Additionally Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell provides the 2025 Green Worcester Plan Annual Report, describing the progress the city has made on its vision to become a greener and more resilient Worcester.

As we head into the summer months, we also sent the councilors communications on the municipality’s summer 2026 aquatic program and plans to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution as we get closer to Independence Day.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

City Manager’s Self Evaluation

In order to successfully achieve your goals, it is important to continuously evaluate your progress, and my annual self-evaluation gives me a chance to do just that. I take the opportunity to outline our financial situation, which is stable thanks to careful planning and our financial integrity plan. We did face the same headwinds as other municipalities, which in many cases have asked to override property tax limits to help bolster their budgets, but Worcester did not have to do that. We are in fact, nearly $26 million away from reaching our tax levy capacity.

One of our main responsibilities as a municipality is public health and safety, and in the past year we’ve made significant progress. From 2024 to 2025 our homicide rate dropped from 16 to 2. Our efforts to address substance misuse contributed to a 23% decrease in overdoses from 2024 to 2025. We also worked to address substance misuse and violence among our youth with several programs including a tobacco and nicotine prevention education program through Recreation Worcester and a Youth Resilience and Wellness summit.

We also continued our efforts to increase housing production as the city’s population continues to rise, with a concerted effort to maintain affordability in the city. This involved developing a Housing Production Plan which was approved by the City Council in August and the state in February. My Administration has already taken action on 15 of the 35 strategies laid out in the plan and it is these efforts that led to more than 25% of the new housing units permitted in the city in 2025 being deed-restricted affordable units.

These efforts have to exist alongside efforts to connect our unhoused population with services and this year we broke ground on a Day Resource Center, the third of its kind in the state. Central Mass Housing Alliance will manage the project and the municipality provided them with $4 million to help with the acquisition and renovation of the space that will serve as a centralized place for the unhoused to access resources. We have also developed a draft Homelessness Strategic Framework, that will be publicly presented to the City Council later this year.

Another highlight from the year was the relaunch and expansion of the Keep Worcester Clean Program, revamping efforts to improve and beautify Worcester’s streets and greenspaces. Those efforts included support for community-led clean-up efforts, the placement of 150 dual-stream recycling and trash bins, the near-completion of the Zero Waster Master Plan and more.

We also made strides in business development. We were named a TechHub by the Commonwealth for our status as a leader in the life sciences industry and were given $5.2 million to help create a “BioHub” as well. To support small businesses we exempted any account of $10,000 or below from personal property taxes, provided stipends for 122 businesses to become certified with the Supplier Diversity Office, facilitated business planning sessions at the Worcester Public Library, and more. These efforts will continue into the next fiscal year as we add a position to our Business and Community Development Division to further support their work.

That just covers some of the work I highlight in my evaluation. The City Council will take all the work into consideration as they conduct their own evaluations.

Mobility Action Plan

DTM produced an annual report updating the council on the Mobility Action Plan and its efforts to better the city’s transportation network.

The annual report details four corridor reconfigurations on Burncoat, Grove, Stafford, and Mill Streets which initial reports show have reduced crashes and speeding without increasing travel delays or congestion.

Other improvements include the installation of 14 new crosswalks, 13 curb extensions to shorten crossing distances and calm traffic, and 22 new rectangular flashing beacons at cross walks to enhance pedestrian visibility and safety.

Green Worcester Plan

In 2020, Worcester adopted the ambitious Green Worcester Plan in the hopes of becoming the greenest mid-sized city in the country. While shifting federal priorities and global uncertainty has impacted the municipality’s ability to achieve the goals set out in the plan, we’ve still been able to make significant progress.

As I noted in the evaluation, we expanded our zero waste efforts with the installation of 150 WooBins across the city and advanced the development of the Zero Waste Master Plan which is set to be completed this year. We strengthened our green infrastructure by installing 15 electric vehicle charging ports, audited our municipal buildings for energy efficiency and solar opportunities, expanded our tree canopy and biodiversity initiatives, and launched early actions from the Zero Waste Master Plan.

With these efforts, we will make the Heart of the Commonwealth more sustainable and resilient for generations to come.

2026 Aquatic Program

For the third consecutive year, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts will oversee the municipality’s aquatic program.

The YMCA will staff lifeguards and gate keepers at four beaches (Bell Pond, Coes Pond, Indian Lake, and Shore Park) and one pool (Crompton Park). The beaches and pools will open Tuesday, June 30 and stay open through Saturday Aug. 22. The municipality’s spray parks will open the same day, but stay open through Monday, Sept. 7.

As a part of the program, the YMCA will offer free swim lessons and manage and supervise the Department of Parks, Recreation & Cemetery’s free kayak and paddleboard rental program at Coes Pond Beach.

250^th Anniversary of the American Revolution

The City of Worcester will celebrate its role in the American Revolution across several events in the coming weeks. At the city’s Annual Independence Day Celebration on Thursday, July 2, the display will include a reflection of the city’s place in the story of our nation and celebrate the partnerships that continue to move Worcester forward.

On July 14, the city will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the local reading of the Declaration of Independence with a modern recitation at City Hall at 10 a.m.

Other ways the city is celebrating include visual imagery and storytelling at the Game On Worcester watch parties and the visual references in the current Denholm Window Exhibit.

Discover Central Massachusetts has also worked on several other initiatives, including a MA250-themed destination map, a companion self-guided tough, and a targeted digital advertising campaign to drive heritage and tourism to the region.

Whatever you chose, there are several opportunities to celebrate this historic milestone.

Other Item Notes:

• Kathleen Head is being appointed to the Worcester Arts Council

• Zantia Seda is being appointed to the Affordable Housing Board of Trustees, pending City Council confirmation.

• Human Resources is proposing an amendment to the municipality’s Salary Ordinance that would allow the position of Forester (Watershed) for the Water Filtration Plant to be compensated for overtime at time-and-a-half the hourly rate, bringing it into compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

• Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn is recommending the execution of a Conservation Restriction for the 0.55 acre property at 9 Ellie Way, also known as Pakachoag Spring, in Worcester and Auburn, which would preserve a small but historically, culturally, and environmentally significant property in perpetuity. The property is part of the historic Nipmuc Village of Pakachoag.

• Dunn also provides an update on the city’s efforts to host NCAA tournaments. Since 1992, Worcester has hosted the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Regional 17 times, more than any other city. The city has also hosted NCAA Division I Basketball twice, in 1992 and 2005. It has not been successful in securing the opportunity since 2005 due to falling short of some NCAA requirements, most notably the number of hotel facilities and total hotel room industry.

As we near the end of the current Fiscal Year and wrap up budget hearings for the next one, this week’s agenda is fairly light to allow the council to focus on that important work. The agenda does have several housekeeping items related to both ensuring the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget is balanced and preparing to finalize the FY27 budget. My Administration has also shared a legal opinion related to repairs on private streets, an update on the speed hump program, and the results of a recent Senior Center constituent survey.

Here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

• Commissioner of Transportation & Mobility Steve Rolle provides an update on the 2026 speed hump program, which will include 67 speed hump/table installations along with three raised crosswalks previously designed in 2025. Speed humps have shown to be extremely effective at managing travel speeds and keeping them at appropriate levels on neighborhood streets. Installing these additional speed humps will help us move toward our Vision Zero goals.

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• Responding to a request by the City Council, City Solicitor Alexandra Kalkounis provides an overview of the municipality’s legal options for making repairs to private roads in certain emergency situations. In short, there are three potential options:

  • Temporary improvements to private ways where betterments are not assessed;

  • Repairs addressing drainage issues, which result in betterments being assessed;

  • Full conversion to a public way in which case the municipality would make improvements in accordance with public street standards, assessing the adjacent property owners with the cost of the improvements.

  The Department of Public Works (DPW) recommends private street conversion as the best option for value and quality.

• The results of the FY26 Senior Center Survey are in. It achieved a 98% satisfaction rate, which is a testament to the services and resources provided to promote healthy aging for our residents. A report from the Department of Health & Human Services provides the full results, which reflect high comfort level experienced by visitors, participating in a wide range of activities, meals as a positive source of socialization, and overall strongly supportive programming.

• The Department of Human Resources is submitting several Salary Ordinance amendments that will bring it into full alignment with the changes adopted in the pending FY27 Budget, Funding the Future: Smart Spending, Stronger Outcomes. Changes including:

  • Aligning the pay grades of various non represented positions with those of their represented counterparts

  • Updating select job titles to more accurately reflect the scope, responsibilities, and contributions of the position

  • Implementing the 2% cost of living adjustment for non-represented municipal employes effective July 1, 2026

• Ryan Hacker is being appointed, and Dara Pazooki is being reappointed, to the Off-Street Parking Board.

• Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy provides two financial reports through March and April of FY26, noting that both revenues and expenditures are stable.

• DPW is requesting a financial transfer to fund its increased hours of operations for the Drop-Off Center this year.

I’ve often said that the City of Worcester has only been able to get where we have through collaboration. An item on the upcoming City Council Agenda reflects that.

As a city, like many others, we are facing a housing crisis. However, we have several tools in our toolbox to address the crisis from a Housing Production Plan to a coordinated effort to build a Day Resource Center to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

These efforts are working: of the 546 net new housing units in 2025, over 27% are deed-restricted affordable housing.

Funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proved to be a critical tool in our toolbox, with nearly $6 million in allocations from three different HUD programs for the upcoming fiscal year. The funding needs to be accepted by the City Council.

As we look to increase housing stock it is also important to reflect on our own building stock and think about the maintenance and care they need. This week Public Facilities Chief James Bedard gives a breakdown of the status of Worcester Police Headquarters and what immediate updates are needed to best serve the employees that work there as well as the public.

We will also be discussing how the municipality will be honoring our veterans for Memorial Day and beyond.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

HUD funding

Worcester’s demographics, like its population size and household income, qualify it for funding from three HUD programs: the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME). In Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) the municipality will see an overall decrease in HUD funding of 1.5% compared to the previous fiscal year.

The CDBG funds will be used to fund 17 organizations including after school programs, food pantries, case management programs, workforce readiness programs, literacy programs, and more.

Funds will also be used within the municipality for affordable housing development, street resurfacing, enhanced code enforcement, microloans and grants for small businesses, and neighborhood-based public school facility improvements.

ESG funds will go to direct homeless service providers to support their work related to emergency shelter, street outreach, homeless prevent and more. The funds are being distributed among several providers including the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Open Sky Community Services Inc., Veterans Inc., Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance (CMHA) and the YWCA of Central Massachusetts. The funds will also be used to support the hiring of an additional staff person within the municipality’s Department of Health & Human Services to join an existing team that works with the city’s unsheltered population.

The HOME program funding represents multi-year commitments rather than annual appropriations, and as such Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn will provide program updates in his semi-annual Economic Development reports.

Worcester Police Headquarters Needed Repairs

Like any building built in 1970s, our police headquarters is in need of repairs. To address those repairs, my Administration has intentionally shifted building management functions from the Police Department to the Department of Public Facilities. The move has the added bonus of improving continuity in building operations across the municipality.

The building’s maintenance needs include replacing the roof and updates to the HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems as well as components such as restrooms, locker rooms, holding cells, and parking areas. In total it’s expected that the repairs will cost nearly $20 million through Fiscal Year 2029 (FY29).

While the construction of a new headquarters has been raised, I am confident that making these needed improvements over exploring a new building will address current concerns about the headquarters while best using the resources at our disposal. The first project is expected to be roof replacement funded through an anticipated $5.5 million loan in the FY27 Capital Budget.

Other Item Notes:

• Kristen Gutierrez Livoti is being appointed to the Community Preservation Committee.

• Michael Ekene Nwogbo is being appointed as a constable for civil and criminal business.

• Michael Baker is being appointed as an alternate member of the Historical Commission.

• Carlos Rosende is being appointed as an alternate member of the Planning Board pending City Council confirmation.

• Sherri Pitcher is being appointed as the Chair of the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, pending City Council Confirmation.

• Enxhi Muharremi is being appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals pending City Council confirmation.

• Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier provides a report on the number of hospital guards the Worcester Police Department (WPD) worked in 2025 and so far in 2026. In 2025, WPD oversaw 733 hospital guards, totaling more than 6,750 hours of guard time by officers. To date in 2026, WPD has conducted 251 hospital guards, totaling nearly 3,250 hours of guard time this year. WPD is required to provide detainees medical care when required and, for safety, an officer is required to stay with the detainee throughout the length of their hospital stay.

• The municipality is co-sponsoring four ceremonies to recognize Memorial Day:

  • Water Ceremony, Sunday, May 24, 2026, 1 p.m., Elm Park

  • Memorial Day Observance & Remembrance Ceremony, Monday, May 25, 2026, 9 a.m., Hope Cemetery

  • Wreath Laying Ceremony, Monday, May 25, 2026, 11 a.m., Massachusetts Vietnam War Veterans Memorial

  • Wreath Laying Ceremony, Monday, May 25, 2026, 1 p.m., Korean War Memorial

• The Departments of Health and Human Services and Parks, Recreation & Cemetery will host a public hearing to present a proposed plan for Purple Heart and Gold Start Memorials at Worcester Common on Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at 50 Officer Manny Familia Way.

This agenda marks one of the most important of the year. It’s so critical because it contains my Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) operating and capital budgets. The decisions in these documents will impact city operations for the next year as well as what projects we will invest in for our future.

The Worcester City Council has the important job of combing through what my Administration has prepared and deciding if anything should be cut from the budget. The Council has the jurisdiction to make reductions but cannot increase the proposed budget without my recommendation.

Our Department of Administration & Finance and Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy worked alongside my Office and met with every city department to develop our proposed budget over the course of several months.

Like other municipalities, this year we are facing several financial stressors. In October 2025, the Massachusetts Municipal Association released the report, “A Perfect Storm: Cities and Towns Face Historical Fiscal Pressures,” highlighting the cost pressures, rigid revenue limits, and eroding state aid that are impacting municipal budgets, and that report came out even before international events started causing cost spikes on daily items.

However, due to smart budgeting decision in FY26, the municipality is still in stable financial shape. My Administration knew a period of uncertainty was coming and we prepared for it. FY26’s budget was reserved with minimal new expenditures to guard against risk and a $5 million Contingency budget as a buffer to deal with any unexpected challenges. That contingency money has come in handy as the cost of our snow removal was double what we budgeted due to the severity of the winter season. And because of smart budgeting, unlike other communities, we do not have to vote to override our property tax cap in order to balance our budget. We are even nearly $26 million away from taxing at the maximum rate, though as the realities of the world make our budget tighter I am asking the council to look at ways we could use that unused tax levy capacity.

We will continue to be forward-looking with our budget, with this year’s theme Funding the Future: Smart Spending, Stronger Outcomes.

While the main focus of the meeting will be the budget, we will also address items impacting the daily operations of the city from the suggested water and sewer rate for FY27 to pavement restoration.

So here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Proposed FY27 Operating and Capital Budgets

My Administration is proposing a historic more than $1 billion operating budget, crossing into nine figures for the first time in city history. The increase is driven largely by State Aid contributions through the Student Opportunity Act as well as Worcester’s growing property values and new private investments.

This proposed budget marks a $50.8 million increase from the FY26 Final Budget, however while the budget is sizeable, much of the funds are already committed. The majority of the funds are funneled to education with $612 million or 61% committed to Worcester Public Schools, charter schools, school choice and special education.

Another $172.5 million is other Fixed Costs, which includes a significant increase in health insurance costs and pension obligations.

While our budget is tight, because of strategic budgeting decisions in previous years, we are still able to make key investments in the city’s future:

• We are investing in our employees by providing a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to unrepresented employees and placing funds in Contingency once new contacts are signed with various unions.

• We are working to support business growth with the addition of new plumbing and gas fitting and wire and electrical inspectors to help businesses get through the permitting process more efficiently and adding a position to our Business Development Division of the Executive Office of Economic Development to support small businesses who are facing the same financial constraints we all are.

• Thanks to our strong financial position, we are proposing a $46 million or 41% increase in our Capital Budget over FY26 to invest in some of our residents’ top areas of concerns including an increase of $11 million or 66% in DPW borrowing over FY26 that will go toward improving our streets and sidewalks, purchasing equipment including snow equipment, and building improvements.

• We are investing in our Public Safety infrastructure to support our first responders in their critical life-saving work through directing $25 million to the construction of the new South Division Fire Station and $5 million to conduct upgrades to Worcester Police Headquarters.

• And, we are continuing to invest in quality education, with an increase in $10 million to Massachusetts School Building Association projects including the close out costs for the construction of Doherty Memorial High School and the start of the Burncoat feasibility study.

I believe being conservative with our budget while still investing in our future will help Worcester continue on its growth trajectory while preparing us to weather any storms that my come.

Water and Sewer Rate

Department of Public Works Commissioner John Westerling provides a report proposing the new water and sewer rates for FY27. The proposed water rate is the same as last fiscal year, $3.85 per hundred cubic feet, while the proposed sewer rate is increasing to $10.22 per hundred cubic feet, a $0.73 increase from FY26.

The sewer rate increase is due to a rise in costs for ordinary maintenance, sewer treatment, salary and fringe, and anticipated debt service on capital improvements.

With the new sewer rate the average single-family home sewer bill will increase by $36.21. My Administration tried to strike a balance to prepare for the budget impact of the municipality’s settlement with Holden regarding their sewer rates while also minimizing the impact on residents. That is why we are keeping the water rate the same. I am confident that we were able negotiate the best possible outcome with Holden through spreading out the $35.5 million judgement over the course of three years and eliminating interest accrual. We were able to make an initial payment of $10 million from our sewer reserves and the remaining amount will be paid through a $25.5 million loan order.

We will continue to explore options to mitigate the settlement’s impact on Worcester ratepayers.

Pavement Restoration

I know our road conditions are a top concern for city residents especially after the harsh winter season brought out potholes in droves.

Commissioner Westerling and DPW have been hard at work to address the potholes and are looking for ways to improve overall road conditions. Two items that Westerling provides to the City Council for this agenda relate to pavement restoration specifically in regard to the digging of trenches on municipal roads and the associated repair work.

Westerling provides a deep dive into the trench-permitting process. In 2025, permits to dig trenches accounted for nearly half of the 5,210 permits issued by the DPW Engineering division. Utilities like Eversource and National Grid and Communications companies apply for permits to dig trenches to access their underlying networks, along with our Water and Sewer Departments and others.

All of these entities are required to repair the roads they work on with a temporary patch the day the trenches are back filled and with permanent patches within 90 days of the temporary patch, excluding a winter moratorium period. One staffer with the Engineering Division works full time performing pavement restoration inspections and five staffers focus part time on inspections. The volume of pavement restoration projects and the number of available staff preclude immediate inspections of restorations or city-wide inspections outside of one intensive period per year.

Data shows that there are over 3,000 permanent asphalt restorations performed in the city a year, which would require 125 inspections a week. As such Westerling is working with my Administration to determine how best to manage their capacity and whether it warrants changing staffing.

The existing inspectors have found that many asphalt patches are not holding up over time. To help address issues with premature deterioration and repeat repairs, Westerling is recommending a modification to the pavement restoration ordinance to extend the warranty period for pavement restoration from 24 months to 60 months for patches to disturbed pavement.

Having the longer warranty period would require permit holders to focus on durable, high-quality restoration work rather than short term fixes, leading to better maintenance of our roads.

Other Item Notes:

• Joseph Kahoro is being appointed to the Board of Health.

• Susan Ledoux is being appointed to the Election Commission, pending City Council Confirmation.

• Aaron Green, an asset manager in the Department of Public Works, will be awarded the Paul J. Moosey Employee of the Year Award in a ceremony on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 12 p.m. at the DPW Garage located at 20 East Worcester Street. Green will be celebrated for his achievements and dedication to public service.

• May 17 marks the start of National Public Works Week across North America, which helps remind us of the important role public works plays in our daily lives.

• My Administration is working with the Veterans Services Division to develop a monument or plaque recognizing individuals from the city who died in World War II under non-combat circumstances.

As my Administration works to make the final decisions on our proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, we are being reminded of the importance of planning for the unexpected. With the eighth snowiest winter in Worcester history, the municipality relied on our Department of Public Works and independent contractors to clear more than six and a half feet of snow across 22 incidents in the 2025-2026 winter season. The need outpaced the budget for a typical winter and we’re not alone, municipalities across the Commonwealth are feeling a strain on their budgets from spiking snow removal costs.

For the upcoming agenda, I asked DPW Commissioner John Westerling to review our performance this winter, acknowledging what we did well along with areas for improvement.

While we are reviewing our winter performance, we are also announcing some exciting opportunities for the warmer weather. Following my Administration’s recommendation, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved the consumption and sale of alcohol in four additional parks. It is our hope that existing events, and the small businesses and community groups involved, will benefit from the opportunity to expand on their existing offerings and new events will be drawn to the city.

In another effort to ensure our policies best serve our residents, our Inspectional Services department is transitioning from an occupancy-based food permitting system to a risk-based system.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Winter Snow Operations

Commissioner Westerling provides a deep dive on the municipality’s winter snow operations during a season that relentlessly brought snow and ice to our streets. That dive includes a look at the finances; operational data; a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis; and recommendations for how to improve our response, among other details.

The program is performing well and has an experienced and dedicated workforce, according to Westerling’s findings, but there are several ways to strengthen the program moving forward.

Westerling’s report helps express just what our DPW was up against when it came to clearing. The cost was nearly double what was budgeted at more than $10 million due to the high number of storms and increased costs for labor, materials, and contracted services. Luckily, when we were completing our FY26 budget we recognized that the nation was in a period of financial uncertainty and included a contingency fund that we are now using to help cover some of the overage. As a result, our DPW budget has been at the front of mind as we’ve prepared the FY27 Budget which we will be sharing with Council next month. This winter season helped to underscore the importance of investing in our snow and ice removal programs.

The report from DPW provides several other recommendations for strengthening operations, improving consistency, and aligning resources with current service demands. Steps to achieving those recommendations include establishing a more sustainable staffing model, investing more in the municipal fleet to increase reliability, expanding the usage of technology and data practices, and increasing route efficiency, among other things.

Prior to the next winter season DPW will prioritize implementing the improvements that are feasible while continuing to plan and advocate for the resources needed to address more significant capital and structural needs over time.

Alcohol in the Parks

I appreciate that the Parks and Recreation Commission followed my Administration’s recommendation to expand our program allowing the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages at municipal parks. In addition to the Worcester Common and Green Hill Golf Course, events can now apply for liquor licenses at Green Hill Park, Elm Park, Cristoforo Columbo Park (East Park), and Institute Park.

It is our hope that this will help increase the revenue for existing events and associated businesses through offering an additional draw that leads to overall increased event attendance, new job opportunities, and increased support for local businesses. Interested event applicants need to submit an application to the License Commission 90 days prior to the event after receiving tentative approval from the Department of Parks, Recreation & Cemetery (DPRC).

Food Permitting

Inspectional Services Department Commissioner Nicholas Antanavica provides a report detailing the transition from occupancy-based food permitting to risk-based permitting for businesses serving food. The goals behind the change are to both better protect the health of patrons and treat businesses more equitably. This method prioritizes inspection of high-risk establishments i.e. those handling time or temperature-controlled foods or serving vulnerable populations over prioritizing businesses based on their size.

The current fee-structure is also based on size which we deemed inequitable because an establishment that has a low risk for food borne illness because it serves pre-packaged food could be paying more than a business serving higher risk foods like those involving raw meat simply because it has more seats. The new fee structure will now reflect the risk level of the business with cost increasing by risk-level, from level 1 businesses paying $225 to level 4 businesses paying $600.

These changes better align Worcester with national standards and we expect to see a reduced incidence of foodborne illness, more efficient use of ISD resources, and resilient, responsive public health oversight that adapts to emerging threats.

Other Item Notes:

• The Executive Office of Economic Development is asking the council to accept a deed to Brooks Dairy Farm, along with additional actions, in order to conserve the area and create a public access point from Romala Road to Nelson Place Elementary School.

• Worcester has been chosen by the Arbor Day Foundation as a 2025 Tree City USA Community for the 40th conservative year and received a 2025 Tree City USA Growth Award for the 27th consecutive year. These awards show that outside organizations are recognizing the progress we have made in fulfilling the goals set out in our Urban Forest Master Plan.

• Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy provides a report on the first eight months of FY26 noting that both revenues and expenditures are stable and highlighting potential impacts from the settlement the municipality made with the Town of Holden regarding sewer rates.

• John DiCicco and Paul Franco were reappointed to the Election Commission, pending City Council approval.

• DPRC in partnership with University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning (LARP), the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Urban Forestry Tree Commission have scheduled the master plan review for Newton Hill at Elm Park (Newton Square Tennis & Basketball Court area) for Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the Park View Room of Cornerstone Bank.

As a municipality, it is important to constantly review our policies and ordinances to make sure they are best serving the residents in the current realities of the city. What served residents 20 years ago may not serve them today and as a resident-service provider it is our responsibility to pay attention to that.

Several items on the upcoming agenda reflect such reviews including reviews of our policy on residential chicken keeping and our specialized stretch code. We also reviewed police response time, particularly focusing on response times in Main South at the request of residents.

I also know residents are concerned about the potholes that have emerged following the snowiest winter the city has seen in a decade. The Department of Public Works has been hard at work to address the common post-thaw issue and Commissioner John Westerling provides a report on its progress. I also make a commitment to provide the resources necessary to improve overall road conditions in the city.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Residential Chicken Keeping

Inspectional Services Commissioner Nicholas Antanavica provides a report on residential chicken keeping after residents petitioned the municipality to allow the restricted practice. While recognizing that fowl-raising has its benefits, including egg and fertilizer production, Commissioner Antanavica ultimately recommends keeping the practice restricted.

In his report he cites the limited lot sizes in the city, meaning the majority of properties wouldn’t allow residents to follow best practices for healthy coop size; concerns related to noise, waste, odor, pests and rodents; the communicable diseases chickens carry that spread to humans; and concerns about the ability to implement provisions for keeping chickens equitably across the city as part of the reasoning for his recommendation.

While we understand this is an issue some residents care deeply about, we are making this recommendation with health and equity as our top priorities.

Specialized Stretch Code Change

After this item was held at the April 14 meeting, I issued the following statement on Monday April 27:

Following further discussion with state officials, the municipality is no longer seeking a pause to the specialized stretch code. No action can be taken until three years after the effective date of the policy.

I am recommending for the City Council to file the item Tuesday night, April 28, 2026.

In 2023, the City Council voted to adopt a specialized stretch code for new construction which “stretches” energy code requirements beyond the base code to require more rigorous standards for the building’s overall energy efficiency. Since the code went into effect in 2024, the council has voted to make some modifications and recently the Council made a request for this report determining the feasibility of freezing the Specialized Stretch Code for a year.

Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn provides a report that analyzes factors like the code’s impact on upfront costs – an average of 2 to 4% in additional costs; the code’s alignment with the Green Worcester plan – it aligns with the municipality’s sustainability goals; and the impact on housing development – over 2,500 units of housing that have been proposed in the city have been delayed. While there are many variables impacting housing production, the enforcement of the Specialized Stretch Code is within our local control, so I, along with the Chief Development Officer, recommend pausing enforcement of the Specialized Stretch Code until Jan. 1, 2028.

The municipality is often put in a position where it has to balance competing interests. Looking at the current factors facing housing development, we have decided to recommend the pause, however it does not mean we have forgone our sustainability goals and we will reassess as more information about the impact of the specialized stretch code becomes available.

Police Response Times

Emergency Communications and Management Commissioner Charles Goodwin undertakes a review of the Worcester Police Response Time, analyzing nearly 158,000 calls. The commissioner found that the average incident response time was under 10 minutes at 9.65 minutes, with the concentration of demand for police services at the central core of the city.

Public health and safety has always been a priority for my Administration and when residents showed concern about response time in Main South in particular I asked Commissioner Goodwin to provide a special focus on that neighborhood while working on this report. The data showed that Main South is part of the central core of the city that sees some of the highest demand for WPD calls, but despite the high demand also has a faster-than-average response time. This data indicates that the elevated demand for services is being met with an effective police response and the overall analysis shows WPD is able to meet the service demand in the city.

This data shows that we are meeting our objective to develop and maintain a public health and safety infrastructure that is responsive to community needs and builds trust and cooperation.

Addressing Potholes

As the snow has melted and the ground has thawed our city streets have become covered in potholes. They have appeared due to a combination of factors including New England weather conditions, aging infrastructure, high traffic volumes, and historic funding constraints and I know they have been a source of frustration for residents. In particular, we need to scale up capacity to meet the demand of requests through Worcester 311.

My administration takes full accountability for that frustration and our Department of Public Works (DPW) crews are working tirelessly to respond to work orders and make critical demands. For two weeks in March DPW deployed three to 10 pothole repair crews daily depending on weather and staffing and since April 1, up to three crews have continued repair alongside the start of Spring Street Sweeping.

As we enter Fiscal Year 2027, my Administration is committed to improving roadway conditions and as such is recommending allocations to significantly increase the resources available to address staffing, pothole repair, and other key departmental priorities.

Other Item Notes:

• Human Resources releases the municipality’s annual payroll data listing the pay any municipal employee received for their work in 2025.

• Arbor Day is just a couple of weeks away and the city will be celebrating with a speaking program and the planting of a Red Oak Tree on Worcester Common on Friday, April 24 at 10 a.m.

• City Solicitor Alexandra Kalkounis breaks down the claims process detailing how claims are investigated, the filing process, how the department handles the volume of claims, and ensuring the process is fair and equitable.

• George Russell and George Sedares are appointed to the Worcester Ballpark Commission.

• Penelope Herideen is reappointed to the Civic Center Commission, pending City Council confirmation.

• Rosemary de la Cruz Toribio was appointed as a constable.

• The Executive Office of Economic Development (ED) is applying for $800,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to increase the Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund’s capitalization.

• ED received a $600,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC)’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Program to design, develop, and deliver and Entry Level Electronic Assembly Tech training program for up to 24 eligible participants.

As we enter a new season, my Administration is putting forward several items to encourage the use of our parks and relaunch programs to keep our residents informed.

For 17 years, we have seen the success of events at both Worcester Common and the Green Hill Golf Course that allow the purchase and consumption of alcohol. Now, along with the Parks & Recreation Commission, my administration is exploring expanding the number of parks that allow it in order to take advantage of the economic and social benefits.

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery (DPRC) is also looking to make sure our parks best fit the wants and needs of our community and will be working to adjust both the Worcester Common Master Plan and the Newton Hill at Elm Park Master Plan accordingly. DPRC is also looking to encourage the use of Green Hill Park with programming for the whole family at Green Hill Farm.

I am excited to announce that we are relaunching our automated notification system, ALERTWorcester, and encourage all residents to sign up to receive real-time information about parking bans, street closures, trash and recycling delays, spring street sweeping and more. Make sure to sign up before spring street sweeping is scheduled to start on April 6.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Alcohol Policy for Park Events

DPRC Commissioner Rob Antonelli discusses a potential policy we hope will positively impact economic development for our small business vendors and event organizers. My Administration, along with DPRC Commissioner Rob Antonelli, are proposing expanding the parks where the consumption and sale of alcohol is permitted during park special and sporting events. It has already been permitted at the Green Hill Golf Course and Worcester Common for 17 years. If this policy, which is set to be discussed by the Parks and Recreation Commission, is eventually approved by the Council, it would expand the program to include Green Hill Park, Elm Park, Institute Park, and Cristoforo Columbo Park (East Park). It is our hope that this measure will not only help draw more visitors to events that choose to serve alcohol, it will also drive the amount of revenue the events are able to produce.

ALERTWorcester

The municipality’s automated notification system, ALERTWorcester is relaunching and Emergency Communications & Management Commissioner Charles Goodwin is providing the City Council with an update about how to reenroll in the program and its expanded capabilities.

The system, which notifies residents of winter parking bans, leaf collection, trash and recycling delays, street closures, and more, was disabled in November, after the software platform that powered the system, CodeRED, experienced a security breach. Luckily the municipality had already been looking for an alternative and is now ready to relaunch with the program Genasys.

This program not only restores the municipality’s ability to alert the public of emergencies, but it adds the ability for individuals to choose the types of non-emergency updates they wish to receive and has a mobile app and website residents can use to stay informed.

Residents who were previously enrolled in the program need to reenroll as data could not be transferred from the old system. Residents can enroll on the municipal website, by texting JoinAW to 65513, or visiting the 311 Customer Service Center and working with a member of the customer service team.

DSR Updates

Chief Sustainability Office John Odell provides the council will several updates on the work the Department of Sustainability & Resilience (DSR) is doing to make Worcester the greenest mid-sized city in the country. Those efforts include working to both reduce energy costs for residents and reduce their consumption through several programs including the Smart Energy Advice Program and reducing the City’s own energy usage through an audit of municipal facilities that the municipality has selected Honeywell International to conduct.

The department has also worked with the Executive Office of Economic Development and DPRC to plant more than 1,100 street trees, is nearing the completion of the Zero Waste Master Plan, and is revitalizing Rain Gardens and designing CoolPocket shade installations.

Odell also provides an update on the state of the municipality’s lakes to the council, following the annual State of the Lakes event on Feb. 26. 2026. The update includes assessments of the waterbodies during the 2025 season. Highlights include Bell Pond earing an “Excellent” overall water quality for the ninth year running, Coes Reservoir remaining open throughout the season with no closures due to bacteria, and Lake Quinsigamond received an overall water quality score of “Good” with the beach at Lake Park closed for a total of seven days and Regatta Point Beach never closing.

Other Item Notes:

• The Worcester Police Department (WPD) provides an update on where it stands with the voluntary accreditation process with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Committee. It is on Phase-3, the self-assessment stage, which will be followed by certification, and then accreditation.

• WPD also provides an update on the use of its drone, deploying it four times between September 2025 and March 2026 for use during SWAT incidents.

• The state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) declared a Level 3 Critical Drought for Massachusetts, triggering the prohibition of all nonessential outdoor water use.

• Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy provides an update on the municipality’s financing through Jan. 31, 2026, reporting that property tax collections and local receipts are stable with no cause for concern and no issues with expenditures.

• Department of Public Works Commissioner John Westerling provides a report on the 2025 Fall Leaf Collection program, which collected approximately 64,160 cubic yards of leaves and waste or the equivalent of as many as 6,400 standard-sized dump trucks worth.

• Westerling also announced the schedule for Spring Street Sweeping which is set to start on Monday April 6, 2026, in the zone of the city that has their trash picked up on Fridays.

• DPRC announced a series of fun-filled barn activities at Green Hill Farm from April to October including egg-decorating, rock painting, and an animal craft party.

• DPRC will be working with 18 students from University of Massachusetts Amherst to review and plan renovation and improvements to Newton Hill at Elm Park, starting with hearing community feedback at a meeting on April 2 at 6 p.m. in the DPRC Office at 50 Officer Manny Familia Way.

• The department will also be working to update the Worcester Common Master Plan with the first public hearing scheduled for the April 16 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting at 50 Officer Manny Familia Way.

• David Hoffman and Stephen Mita were appointed as constables.

Worcester has developed a great deal in the past decade. That growth happened in large part because of the strategic planning of the municipality, guided by its Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED). It is important that both the City Council and the public are aware of what the office is working on so they can share their input on that work, which is why two council meetings a year are designated as Economic Development meetings.

While the EOED can submit to any City Manager Agenda, these meetings offer an overview of the biggest projects it is working on. This meeting, Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn provides updates on several initiatives, including redevelopment projects such as the former RMV and the Denholm Building, business development programs, and our overall Housing and Neighborhood Development Activities, among other updates.

The items this week are full of exciting measures to help the city grow while also ensuring that we are looking out for the best interest of our residents and making sure everyone participates in that growth. We are working on aligning funding for our Day Resource Center that will serve our unhoused population, proposing rezoning sections of the city so they can best serve the population, ensuring a percentage of new housing units are affordable, and more.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Economic Development Initiatives

The EOED oversees several significant redevelopment projects and businesses initiatives that are integral to the growth of the city’s Downtown and neighborhoods and provides an update on them with this item.

The office’s Downtown revitalization efforts include several important properties. The EOED has been working with the Worcester Redevelopment Authority (WRA) and Menkiti Group to facilitate construction of a new seven-story, 190-unit residential building in place of the current Denholm Building. The WRA is also looking to take ownership of the former RMV property at 611 Main St. and get input from the community on a vision for the site’s redevelopment as well as advertising a Request for Proposals in late spring/early summer.

The redevelopment of the Table Talk Pies property has resulted in the creation of 137 units of both affordable and market-rate housing between District 120 and Tavolo Lofts and additional projects from Rossi Development and SMC Management on the site that will contribute an additional 349 units that already have Planning Board approval. Madison Properties has brought 228 market-rate units online in the Canal District and have sold a property to GFI Partners who already have Planning Board approval for a 197-unit development. Madison has still been working on its efforts to open a hotel and the EOED is cautiously optimistic that the delayed project will move forward since the city’s hotel market has improved to pre-pandemic levels.

The EOED has also been working alongside state and local partners to help improve Union Station for commuters and visitors with the addition of a Center Platform and the relocation of the Worcester Regional Food Hub to the ground floor to help ease transport and show off what Worcester has to offer.

Previously closed or underutilized properties in the city are also seeing new life. The former site of the Worcester State Hospital is now The Reactory Biomanufacturing Park thanks to the work of EOED and Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC). The land has now all been sold to private entities for companies like WuXi Biologics and Galaxy Life Science and development that is bringing investment and jobs to the city. Similar work is underway at the former Saint Gobain Property that WBDC has worked to transform into GreenTech Park with 30 acres of land that are now pad ready. Lincoln Square is also getting renewed attention. The former Lincoln Square Boys Club is months away from opening as 80 units of mixed-income housing for seniors and efforts are underway to redevelop the Worcester Memorial Auditorium as a multi-purpose entertainment venue. The Architectural Heritage Foundation is spearheading money raising efforts to restore the grand space to its former glory while bringing it into the 21st century.

The EOED is also working to make sure the municipality’s own surplus properties can be best utilized and is looking to redevelop the former Becker College properties at 51 and 61 Sever St., the former fire station at 100 Providence St., 36 Washington Sq. and the former St. Vincent Hospital Nurses’ building attached to the Worcester Senior Center. Plans are underway to turn the Washington Square Property into a 90 – 100 room hotel and turn the former nurses’ building into 100 units of mixed-income senior housing. Habitat for Humanity has also proved to be a great partner in turning surplus properties into opportunities for affordable homeownership, recently welcoming three families to affordable homes.

Several efforts are also underway to support small businesses. The Business and Community Development Division oversees several programs that help small businesses connect with grant opportunities to launch, maintain, or expand their businesses. Since 2025, the division awarded $625,000 Community Development Block Grant funding to 13 small businesses, with over half of the awardees identifying as women, minority, or immigrant owned.

The Division also connects entrepreneurs to technical training and certification opportunities, oversees Transformative Development Initiatives like one in Main South and a current initiative in Pleasant Street that has resulted in businesses receiving $450,000 in grant support, and a Legacy Business Program to honor long-standing businesses that are part of the fabric of the city.

Housing & Neighborhood Development

The Housing Strategy established in the municipality’s Strategic Plan is working and the city is making strides toward achieving its goals of creating and preserving housing units. In 2025, building permits showed the creation of 546 net new housing units, more than 27% of which are deed-restricted affordable housing. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) has helped contribute to that percentage.

After initially being established with American Rescue Plan Act funds, the AHTF is now sustained by Community Preservation Act Funds and Payment in Lieu under Inclusionary Zoning. Since its creation in 2021, the fund has supported the creation of 752 total units of housing, 381 of which are affordable, as well as 105 ADA accessible units. Inclusionary Zoning has resulted in more than $475,000 being contributed to AHTF and the creation of 11 affordable units.

Through programs like AHTF, the Home Investment Partnership Program, Inclusionary Zoning, the municipality has maintained a Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) of 12.34%. While the city’s SHI is above the state’s required 10%, my Administration wants to ensure we stay on top of the city’s affordable housing needs and adopted a Housing Production Plan that was approved by the council in August 2025.

Other ways we have addressed housing needs are by ordaining an amendment to allow for Accessory Dwelling Units which has resulted in the issuance of 50 permits, investing in housing preservation programs like Elder Home Repair that has assisted 14 elder homeowners, and distributing the Emergency Solutions Grant to support critical programs that aid the unhoused population.

Day Resource Center

My Administration recognizes the wide range of needs of our unhoused population and is looking to provide them coordinated resources though the development of a Day Resource Center. We have partnered with Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance (CMHA) on the project and committed $4 million to support CMHA’s acquisition and renovation of a property at 134 Gold St.

The property will take significant investment to get off the ground and both the municipality and CMHA are looking at all the tools at our disposal for financing. To unlock eligibility for Historic Tax Credits, CMHA established a for-profit real estate holding entity. However, by doing that they also made what would’ve been a tax-exempt property subject to property taxes. My administration is asking the Council to approve a TIF Agreement for the property for a term of 10 years at 100% exemption on the incremental value. The agreement would still result in $150,000 in tax revenue for the municipality.

Through a network of community partners the Day Resource Center will offer housing assistance, employment resources, wellness services, and basic need facilities.

Other Item Notes

• EOED put forward a proposal to rezone the Belmont Street/Plantation Street Corridor to help better align the zones with the needs of the community and the plans for its future.

• EOED submitted an informational communication on tree canopy protections in hopes of promoting a discussion on how to best protect the city’s tree canopy and reform planting requirements.

• EOED is proposing the transfer of more than 220 acres of open space to the care, custody, management and control of the Conservation Commission.

• Kristen Gutierrez Livoti is being appointed to the Historical Commission.

• Willdalize Perez-Faria is being appointed to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees, pending City Council confirmation.

In some ways it’s hard to believe it’s already time for the last City Council meeting in February. But we’re heading into March and with it, springtime.

In addition to the warming weather, the City of Worcester has a lot to look forward to, which we have highlighted with some of the items I’m submitting to the Feb. 24, 2026 City Council agenda.

From the more than 120 community garden beds that will open for applications to Arbor Day celebrations to efforts to curb illegal dumping, Worcester is getting ready for spring.

We are also sharing data from the past year, including 2025 Crime Statistics and a December 2025 Council update, among other council items.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

Green Hill Community Garden Beds

I am excited to share that the more than 120 community planting beds we held a ribbon-cutting for last August at Green Hill Park will soon be available to reserve. The Department of Parks, Recreation & Cemetery (DPRC) will be opening an application period for the beds beginning on Monday, March 2, 2026 and running through Friday, April 3, 2026.

The beds will be available on a first come, first serve basis and full guidelines are included with the report. I can’t wait to see what our community members grow.

Arbor Day

The municipality will continue its tradition of planting a tree on Arbor Day, April 24. The event, scheduled for 10 a.m., will serve as a symbol for the more than 500 trees the municipality will plant in the spring. The plantings are part of the municipality’s efforts to increase our Urban Tree Canopy, which helps increase air quality, cool Urban Heat Islands, and reduce flooding, among other things.

DPRC will provide more updates about the Arbor Day event as the date approaches.

Illegal Dumping

In an effort to continue my Administration’s commitment in the municipality’s FY25-29 to Clean City Initiatives, we are proposing an amendment to the municipality’s Illegal Dumping Ordinance.

The proposed amendment, which requires council approval, would increase the fine for first-time violation from $200 to $500 and increase subsequent fines in the same year from $200 to $1,000.

It is my hope that by raising these fines, we will deter future violators and send a clear message that illegal dumping will not be tolerated in the city. This amendment will build on our existing efforts to prioritize Clean City Initiatives. Those efforts have included deploying WooBins, launching the Zero Waste Master Plan, and expanding the Keep Worcester Clean (KWC) Program, which we kicked off with a month-long all-hands-on-deck effort to clean up the city in August 2025. The KWC expansion also included a revamped page on the municipal website, newly highlighted initiatives including the Clean Streets Collective (CSC), resumption of recurring reports to City Council, and amplifying the ongoing interdepartmental collaboration that makes the campaign possible.

Crime Statistics

The Worcester Police Department provided a report detailing the crime statistics for the city in 2025. The report showed many positive trends including a drop in the number of homicides from 16 in 2024 to two in 2025, and steady declines in violent crime, property crime, traffic crashes, and noise disturbances.

These declining statistics, especially as the city’s population continues to increase, show that the WPD’s efforts are working. These efforts include community policing which involved launching a Community Engagement Program requiring officers to spend at least half an hour per shift outside of their vehicles engaging with residents, the use of technology, gun violence reduction strategies which involved the efforts of the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit, and youth programming.

I want to thank the Worcester Police Department, first responders, and community partners for helping Worcester remain one of the safest mid-sized cities in the United States. We will continue to do what it takes to ensure Worcester remains safe and welcoming for all.

December Financials

Dec. 31, 2025 marked the halfway point in Fiscal Year 2026. In this agenda, Chief Financial Officer Timothy McGourthy provides the council with an update on where things stand. In many categories the municipality is on track, including property tax collections and local receipts which are both slightly higher than last year.

However, a $2.7 million decrease in State Aid is going to impact both the municipal government and Worcester Public Schools. On Nov. 18, 2025, McGourthy submitted budget adjustments to account for this loss in State Aid through appropriating additional new growth (tax revenue generated by things such as new construction, renovations etc) over what was anticipated for FY26 and prior year carry-over new growth in the amount of more than $1.5 million. Those allocations ensured that WPS and municipal operations continued with limited disruption in this period of uncertainty. The Council approved the budget adjustments in a 10 to 0 vote during the Dec. 9, 2025 meeting after the item was held under privilege at the previous two meetings.

My Administration knew that these cuts in funding were possible as we work to provide services during a time of unpredictability, which we outlined in our FY26 budget book. As we stated at the time, we have provided a robust Contingency in case of significant budget impacts, and we are prepared to manage expenditures and strategically address non-essential activities as necessary. We have planned for these budget impacts, and we are prepared to handle them.

Other Item Notes

• DPRC provided a report regarding the municipality’s event permitting fee process, permit fees paid by applicants, and if any funds are currently owed by applicants.

• The City of Worcester Division of Youth Opportunities received more than $950,000 from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security through its Shannon Community Safety Initiative to help them provide services for youth violence intervention, prevention, and suppression.

• DPRC will be applying for a $1 million grant from the FY26 Land and Water Conservation Fund to renovate Indian Lake Beach. If PRC is selected, they would use the funds to construct a new accessible restroom and lifeguard building, a small shelter, new benches, and more.

Feature Stories highlight the work of municipal departments and their employees across the city. These posts are written in the third person and are not authored by the City Manager.

One of the many services the City of Worcester provides its residents is emergency preparedness and response. Those emergencies can extend to managing the ramifications of New England’s wide-ranging weather patterns.

To help get a handle on them and allow the city to be best prepared, the Department of Emergency Communications & Management (ECM) contracts a team of meteorologists, who can predict the weather down to tenths of an inch of snow. Right now, during one of the snowiest winters in years, their use is obvious as our Department of Public Works consults the meteorologists’ reports to help prepare snow operations. What is less obvious is how teams like ECM and the Worcester Fire Department rely on the meteorologists’ reports throughout the year.

ECM has three divisions: the Worcester Regional Emergency Communications, which is responsible for all of the emergency and non-emergency calls for Police, Fire, and EMS; the Division of Emergency Management, which is responsible for all the pre-planning for emergencies such as natural disasters; and Worcester 311, which handles non-emergency resident communications, such as the reporting of a pothole or downed tree.

When the current ECM Commissioner Charles Goodwin took the role in 2021, the department was relying on weather reports from the National Weather Service.

While he called the reports pretty robust and significant, Goodwin said he realized early on that “weather played a significant role in the city and how we responded.”

“Where my building (the Emergency Communications Center at 2 Coppage Dr.) is we’re about 1,000 feet above sea level versus where City Hall is significantly lower, and the weather can affect one side of the city at a higher level much differently than it can at a lower side,” Goodwin said. “So, it could be snowing by my building and raining by City Hall, because there’s just that difference where there’s enough warm air, where it’s melting before it’s hitting the ground.”

So, when Goodwin was scrolling X (formerly Twitter) and saw a local television meteorologist, Danielle Noyes, post that she was going into private consulting, he reached out.

At first, Noyes provided him with the background he needed to interpret the National Weather Service reports. Then she was able to offer more developed weather reports specifically for Worcester.

They would touch base to determine whether the weather warranted opening heating and cooling centers and during heavy rainfall events to determine what streets in Worcester were likely to flood.

Then when Noyes and her husband, Matt Noyes, former Chief Meteorologist of NBC Boston, created the company 1DegreeOutside in April 2024, they were able to expand their offering.

“Danielle had worked with Charles and the team at Worcester EMC for quite some time and they had a lot of trust and a great relationship,” Matt said. “And then when we launched 1DegreeOutside it was kind of a natural fit…to continue that great relationship.”

The Noyes have continuously worked to fine tune their system and have custom tailored it to tell Goodwin when precipitation rates are going to hit the level that would cause flooding of specific intersections and underpasses in the city.

“We will actually go so far as to give you the precise rainfall rate hour by hour, so that you can actually see when you’re going to exceed your threshold for any given part of town,” Matt said.

That gives the city time to prepare – getting sign boards to notify people to avoid the area, having metal rakes at the ready for city workers to clear the storm drains, and having extra fire crews on call to deal with the flooding.

Goodwin shares the information with other departments as well. 1DegreeOutside is able to determine down to the tenth of an inch different snow fall rates from one neighborhood to another, and the Department of Public Works consults the forecasts when determining if they are going to call for a parking ban and activate plowing operations. The Worcester Police Department uses it to determine if they’re going to put additional officers out to ticket and tow cars during a ban.

The municipality’s Executive Office of Economic Development also uses the weather data the Noyes share.

“Economic Development’s teams for events will use it often to determine if they need to cancel things like Out to Lunch or Movies on the Common,” Goodwin said.

Having specified weather reports came in particularly handy when Worcester was under a tornado warning on Saturday Sep. 6, 2025, falling on a weekend full of events in the city.

Worcester was celebrating its Pride weekend- with a Pride Parade scheduled the day of the tornado warning, the Canal Diggers 5k, and the Breakaway Music Festival at the Palladium, among other events across the city.

The day of the warning, Danielle and Matt were live streaming, giving Worcester departments the information they needed to evacuate events and get everyone to safety before the city was struck with thunder, lighting, and hailstorms.

While many residents first learned of the possibility of a tornado touching down from a loud alert on their phones, the Noyes’ forecast that morning showed a low but present chance of tornadoes.

They were able to give a specific predicted start time of the storm that was bringing the tornado possibility to between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

That let Goodwin know he had to communicate to all the outdoor event organizers in the city that they had to wrap things up before then for everyone’s safety.

Worcester Fire Chief Martin Dyer was able to watch 1DegreeOutside’s live coverage from his office and called their reporting “very specific” and “phenomenal.”

Shortly after the municipality’s different emergency responders coordinated the evacuation of the outdoor events, including the Pride Parade downtown, there was a lightning strike across from City Hall that caused a two-alarm fire.

“Thank God that the area had already been cleared,” Chief Dyer said.

In addition to providing forecasts like the one that day, 1DegreeOutside creates reports specific to the Fire Department’s needs.

When firefighters respond to an active fire, wind has a significant impact on their operations.

“You don’t want to go against the wind, so if the wind is coming from the rear of the house and there’s an opening and then you open the front door and you open the window, now that fire is going to come blasting at you,” Chief Dyer said.

The breakdown of wind speed and direction in Worcester on an hourly basis helps the department consider the consequences of every ventilation and determine where to set up hoses. It also helps them determine the risk of surrounding buildings getting involved in the fire.

Previously, firefighters just used surrounding flags to help determine wind direction and strength, but Chief Dyer says, there’s not always a conveniently located flag.

It’s Chief Dyer’s hope that these specified reports that are shared with the entire department will get firefighters thinking what impact the wind will have on the condition of the fire and what impact their interventions will have given the wind conditions.

The fire department also uses the weather reports to determine things like if they need to put snow chains on the trucks and the potential for frostbite exposure when firefighters are working in winter conditions.

“It just helps us understand how the weather is going to impact us in the future and helps us make some, hopefully, better decisions on the front end,” Chief Dyer said.

Chief Dyer specifically commended the meteorologists on their understanding of the topography of the city, citing the maps they provide noting different conditions across the Heart of the Commonwealth.

The specialty forecast includes information such as “expect high profile vehicle sensitivity on elevated roadways/bridges (I-290 viaducts; Belmont/Claremont corridors). Overnight signage and detours should be double anchored.”

Chief Dyer says that gets the department to think about its individual situation in a way that the generalized television forecasts don’t allow.

1DegreeOutside is working with about 15 different partners at the moment, and they are careful not to overburden themselves, they said, because they want to retain the high quality of their product.

Their other partners include Duxbury, MA, Dedham, MA, and various colleges and universities, like Brandeis University and Babson College, but they say Worcester has been their flagship.

“I think our response, compared to a lot of communities, we’re better prepared in advance to know how the weather patterns are going to affect the city,” Goodwin said.

Choosing to work with meteorologists is one of many examples of the municipality’s efforts to be proactive and innovative in how it runs its departments and makes decisions.

I always appreciate the start of a new year and the renewed energy and focus that it brings. 2026 also brought us a City Council with six new members – and although multiple newly elected Councilors previously served terms – that means six new legislative perspectives on the operations of the municipality.

One topic that has generated discussion among the Councilors is related to how their orders are processed, prioritized, and tracked by the City Manager’s Office. We have a detailed tracking system, and my Administration works closely with the City Council and their staff to prioritize which orders require full reports brought to the Council floor and how soon that should happen. Some requests are straightforward and can be answered without a full report back to Council.

Upon reflection, while that can help efficiently answer Councilor requests, I acknowledge that the response doesn’t always reach the public. Furthermore, some orders can take a long time to answer, whether it be because data needs to be gathered or analyzed, or more research is needed, or we need to find the capacity to implement a new program. My Administration realizes that this could lead to questions about our progress on such orders.

Therefore, in an effort to enhance transparency and public accessibility to what my Administration is relaying to the City Council, we are pleased to roll out two brand new initiatives.

First, this will kick off a recurring series on The Buzz Substack published the Friday before a City Manager Agenda to keep the public in the loop on which items have been submitted to City Council with some additional context around why and how we are responding to the Councilors’ orders. Some Council reports can be very dense! This newsletter will help to distill some of the key information and conclusions from the items my Administration brings forward. You can expect it to be publish once the full agenda is posted on the municipal website.

Second, beginning with the Feb. 10 City Council meeting, my Administration will roll out City Council Status Updates, a compilation of quick responses to orders that may otherwise be answered via a text or email with a Councilor, along with interim status updates on more complex orders or projects that are in progress. This new item will be submitted to the agenda, with highlights included here.

It is my hope that these new communications platforms will give the public better insight into how my Administration works with City Council to ultimately deliver exceptional public service.

So, here’s what’s on the agenda for next week…

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ARPA Update

My Administration is presenting a robust update on the management and distribution of the municipality’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In total, the municipality received $146,634,604.20 with deadlines to have the funds allocated for use by Dec. 31, 2024 and expended by Dec. 31, 2026. I am pleased to share that we are on target to have all funds spent by the end of this year. The report includes a detailed expenditure tracker by category along with a breakdown of budget adjustments based on our progress and adapting to current community needs. For example, you’ll notice an increase in food security and utility assistance that reflects October’s announcement to support residents during the federal shutdown.

Winter Storm Operations

One of the most dominant topics of discussion on the Council floor in recent weeks is the Department of Public Works’ (DPW) snowstorm operations. DPW has provided two reports that provide both a deep dive into their general preparation for and active response to storms, along with an analysis of the storms on Jan. 17-18 and Jan. 25-26. In particular the blizzard that began on Jan. 25 ranks as the tenth snowiest, two-day snowstorm in Worcester’s history. When Commissioner John Westerling took his role in February 2025, I charged him with improving our winter storm operations. His team conducted an audit that resulted in repaired salt sheds and brine system, salt spread recalibration, increased pay rates and contractor recruitment, and retrofitted vehicles to better equip DPW for preparedness.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funding

There have been concerns regarding potential cuts in federal funding to states and municipalities nationwide. In response to a Council order requesting information relative to potential cuts in funding for Permanent Supportive Housing (under the Continuum of Care), the Executive Office of Economic Development provides an in-depth analysis of entitlement funding the municipality receives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on an annual basis. While we will stay on top of any challenges related to federal funding, my Administration is cautiously optimistic that the upcoming fiscal year will maintain its usual level of HUD funding.

Police Department Retention

The Worcester Police Department (WPD) provides a summary of its turnover rate since 2024, during which time 29 officers have retired, 10 officers departed for other agencies, three officers left law enforcement entirely, and three officers were terminated. In order to boost retention, WPD has pursued an extensive recruitment strategy, with a focus on diversifying its force through working with the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We’re also striving to further reduce barriers to entry by expanding the residency requirement and increasing the maximum age that is allowed to take the Massachusetts Police Civil Service entrance exam from 32 years old to 39 years old.

Administrative Updates

• Replacement of the Federal Plaza Garage front stairway is underway and expected to be completed in April 2026.

• The departments of Transportation & Mobility and Public Works have collaborated on planning and designing improvements to Newton Square and the portion of Highland Street near Doherty High School. The project will improve safety, reduce speeding, provide safe routes to school, and improve accommodations for all roadway users. A public meeting to review and provide input on preliminary complete streets project design options will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 at Doherty High School (299 Highland St.) in the Guidance Seminar Room E230 from 6 - 8 p.m.

• Our Senior Tax Abatement Program is open for applications for 2026. This program offers up to 20 residents aged 60 or older the opportunity to earn an abatement up to $2,000 in exchange for work performed for the municipality. In 2025, volunteers performed general office work, helped with research projects, and one volunteer taught a Spanish class at the Senior Center.

• The Department of Parks, Recreation & Cemetery (DPRC) will be piloting bottle filling stations at Beaver Brook and Vernon Hill Dog Parks. Upon completion of the pilot program, a review will be conducted to assist the DPRC in the development of potential water access points as future renovation programs are implemented.

• Since its inception, Worcester 311 has received a total of 11,335 pothole requests, at least 11,145 of which have been filled. The vast majority of outstanding requests were submitted this calendar year and likely remain open due to factors such as timing, location, and snow and other weather conditions that prevent the potholes from being filled.

• The Department of Sustainability & Resilience is partnering with the Division of Planning & Regulatory Services (DPRS) to draft a scope of work for a terrestrial invasive plant management plan. They recently partnered with a group of freshmen at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, whose research project suggested some key species to address.

Other Item Notes

• The Worcester Arts Council announced 54 grant recipients, with awards totaling $250,299. A total of 163 applications were received, including 21 fellowship applications, reflecting continued interest and need within Worcester’s arts and cultural community.

• The Treasurer and City Manager are required to file a report with the City Council stating that the revenues received pursuant to the Special Act which created the DCU Special District Improvement Fund are sufficient to cover proposed debt service. It is our opinion that these revenues collectively are sufficient to cover debt service.

• Patrick Lowe is being appointed to the Board of Health

• The following departments are filing for approval to receive grants and donations:

  • Fire Department: $50,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety & Security, Department of Fire Services to purchase firefighting equipment

  • Police Department:

    • $80,000 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for the purchase and installation of safety equipment

    • $76,597.65 from the Violence Against Women Act STOP Formula Grant Program from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Office of Grants and Research to provide vital services to victims of domestic violence and related crimes

  • Worcester Public Library:

    • $40,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to expand and strengthen English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services and collections

    • $75,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the Library in Every Classroom Program

    • $1,550 from the Worcester Public Library Foundation and $150 from Richard Merakian to support the Talking Book Library Program

  • Economic Development, Cultural Development Division: Painting from Massachusetts artist Mark Charles Shertheton

Feature Stories highlight the work of municipal departments and their employees across the city. These posts are written in the third person and are not authored by the City Manager.

When Risk Management and Safety Officer Michael Mullen was conducting one of his first CPR training sessions for the municipality, he was called out of it to provide the lifesaving procedure to someone in a city department experiencing a crisis.

The experience underlined the importance of the course for Chief Human Resources Officer William Bagley, Jr.

“That prompted me to take the course next time,” Bagley said. “The very next time Mike did [the training] I was like ‘get me in there.’”

The course is offered for free to all municipal employees, like many of the trainings the Safety Division offers.

The work is paying off. When a Department of Public Works employee was recently found unresponsive in the field, one of his colleagues was able to use what he learned in the municipal training to perform CPR. Doctors later said that action helped save the worker’s life.

In a recent conversation, Mullen downplayed his own actions but outlined the importance of the training the municipality offers employees and emphasized his desire to lead by example.

You will never see Mullen on duty without his safety goggles on and any time he enters a construction zone he always puts on a hard hat and safety vest.

Prior to his time with the municipality, Mullen had a career in the fire service for 25 years and has spent time working in construction.

Mullen has worked for the City of Worcester since May 2023, when the municipality moved the Safety Division from the Department of Public Works (DPW) to the Human Resources (HR) Department.

Bagley pushed for the Safety Division to come under HR’s umbrella because, he said, safety is important in all municipal departments, not just DPW.

“He’s basically built our Occupational Safety Program,” Theresa Reichert, HR’s director of labor relations and workers’ compensation, said. “So it’s really morphed from just DPW labor safety to an overall Occupational Safety and Health Division.”

In his role, Mullen has developed an Occupational Safety Management Program and is regularly conducting Workplace Safety Program meetings with city officials.

He has developed policies and procedures relating to respiratory protection, bloodborne pathogens, site specific emergency action plans, public Automated External Defibrillator (AED), and more.

While these policies and procedures and their enforcement are his priority, Mullen often finds himself in unexpected places over the course of the day.

“We will start the day with… a few things in mind and we may or may not even get to those because we’re off in other directions,” Mullen said.

Those directions include responding to accidents that involve municipal workers or vehicles, water main breaks, sewer collapses, or any big construction work going on in the city.

Mullen is not a first responder, so he’s not arriving at the scene with lights and sirens.

“We’re not there when the vehicle is smoking and there’s blood on the road,” Mullen said. “We’re there right after that, as we try to piece things together.”

Mullen’s job is to find out what happened in order to put mechanisms in place to help prevent it from happening again. That process includes an inspection of the scene employee interviews, and root cause analysis.

“We never look at this in a punitive way, but only in a purely preventative way,” Mullen said. “We evaluate these cases in a fact-finding, not fault-finding way.”

The Safety Division is also the point of contact for any Department of Labor Standards (DLS) Investigations and ensures the municipality is compliant with the Massachusetts Workplace Safety and Health Program (WSHP) regulations — the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration-approved program.

The WSHP wasn’t established until 2022, so part of Mullen’s job has been to make sure Worcester is following the recently created programs best practices.

Mullen isn’t taken on that work alone.

Under Mullen, the division has also expanded from a one-person operation to a soon-to-be three-person operation.

In Fiscal Year 2025, the division established a Safety Specialist position. The position, which is currently held by Scott Morris, supports the Risk Management and Safety Officer by conducting trainings, participating in investigations, and more.

The division is now in the process of hiring a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Coordinator, which will expand the division’s training offerings to include CDL Training for all municipal employees.

The division is no stranger to training, having offered 60 free occupational training safety programs in 2024.

“Our expectation is that [the position] will go beyond just CDL, that it’ll really be more of an addition to the safety team in general with a focus on driver safety and regulations and things along those lines,” Bagley said.

A number of municipal employees already have CDLs, but the municipality has found it difficult to find more licensed workers, finding that the cost of the CDL acts as an impediment.

Getting a CDL can cost as much as $10,000. And while the municipality’s program will not be free — according to Bagley it will be expected to cost $6,000 — there will be extra incentive to those that take to stay with on with the municipality.

“We knock $100 off their obligation every month they work for us,” Bagley said. Meaning if someone who took the training worked for the municipality for five years, the entire $6,000 would be waived.

The training position has already received several applications, and Bagley is confident the department will make a hire soon.

With a nationwide shortage of CDL-certified drivers, Reichert sees this as a recruitment tool for the municipality that will benefit both its employees and the municipality itself.

Mullen sees the hire as expansion on what’s already been a team effort to address safety in the municipality and continued move in the right direction.

“The City Manager has made it clear that worker safety and health is a core organizational value,” Mullen said. “That mandate trickles down to us and empowers us to go out and say to everybody, ‘let’s do the right thing.’”

As the municipality works to complete the hiring process for CDL Coordinator, Mullen will continue to show up where he’s needed with safety glasses on and a hard hat at the ready.

Feature Stories highlight the work of municipal departments and their employees across the city. These posts are written in the third person and will not be authored by the City Manager.

Last spring the production crew of “Walking Dead: Dead City” transformed parts of Downtown into a post-apocalyptic New York City. Every Wednesday in September, food trucks, live music, and games filled 167 Pleasant St. as part of the Pleasant Street Vendor and Food Truck Series.

While the two occurrences may seem unrelated on the surface, they are connected by something behind the scenes – the Executive Office of Economic Development’s Business & Community Development Division.

The four-person division was involved in bringing both the “Walking Dead: Dead City” to Worcester and planning the Vendor and Food Truck Series.

The division works with businesses of all sizes, helping them at every stage of their life from selecting a location to getting permitting to opening to expanding.

Division member Edgar Luna helps production companies scout locations for everything from Hollywood Blockbusters to a commercial over the summer featuring Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

“These productions bring financial benefits to the local economy by utilizing local transportation, restaurants, hotels, and short-term leasing locations, and hiring local staff,” Luna shared. “These movies and commercials are viewed internationally; thereby showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of the city.”

The division is also involved in the creation of Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) districts through a partnership with MassDevelopment. TDIs focus intensive resources to a district for a defined time period.

Worcester had a TDI in Main South from 2018 to 2022. During that time the Business & Community Development Division worked to establish the Main South Business Association – a group of local business owners in the Main South commercial corridor with the intent of creating strong relationships between businesses, community members, and organizations.

The division also took steps to beautify the corridor, including adding banners and planters along Main Street.

The Main South Business Association recognized all those efforts by awarding the division’s Assistant Chief Vaske Gjino its 2024 Standout for Small Businesses Recognition.

“It was an honor to receive 2024 Standout for Small Business award from the Main South Business Association and a testament to the public-private partnership that is needed within our commercial corridors,” Gjino said.

Similar efforts are being made now on Pleasant Street, which became a TDI district in 2022 and will be sunsetting its three-year district designation in Sept. 2025.

The Pleasant Street TDI Partnership has applied for and been awarded more than $450,000 from MassDevelopment, which has allowed it to award 16 microgrants to Pleasant Street businesses.

The funds have also been used for seven storefront improvement projects, supported renovations to the Pleasant Street Neighborhood Network Center, and supported the installation of a public art sculpture at Peace Park, among other efforts.

“The Pleasant TDI Partnership has brought together a group of business owners, nonprofits, and community partners while unlocking crucial grant funding to support improvements in the Pleasant Street corridor with the support of MassDevelopment’s Pleasant Street TDI Fellow Ivette Olmeda,” Gjino said. “The group has been successfully able to tackle projects that wouldn’t have been able to move forward without TDI support.”

In addition to hosting the vendor and food truck series to highlight local businesses on Pleasant Street, the division is in the process of establishing a business association for Pleasant Street and taking beautification steps including helping businesses refresh their facades.

The division oversees a city-wide Façade Program and is part of the Massachusetts Vacant Storefront Program, which provides additional incentives to small businesses owners who locate their businesses in a formerly vacant first-floor storefront.

Since the beginning of 2024, the division has administered more than $1.1 million in financial assistance to 20 small businesses and façade projects in the municipality. Thirteen (or 65%) of the small businesses are women, minority, or immigrant-owned and the businesses have created more than 20 full-time and 32 part-time jobs.

Awardees included Pho Sure Worcester with their relocation efforts to the city, Crown Meat Market’s expansion of their butchery and market, and Coney Island’s restoration of their iconic neon sign landmark.

“Pho Sure's expansion would not have been possible without the support of the City of Worcester, especially the Business & Community Development Division,” Pho Sure Manager Nikki Vo said. “Navigating the permitting and licensing maze can be daunting, but Edgar Luna, with incredible patience, worked closely with us every step of the way, from the initial building permit application to securing our liquor license.”

The process was longer and more expensive than expected, with the business running into significant financial hurdles, according to Vo.

“Vaske Gjino and his team at the Business & Community Development Division were amazing: they helped us secure the Small Business Grant, which gave us the boost we needed to keep going.” Vo said. “The grant came just in time to help us cross the finish line. We are very grateful for the City of Worcester's support and for believing in us.”

George’s Coney Island’s sign is a Worcester landmark. The Worcester institution took advantage of the municipality’s Façade Program to keep the neon sign lighting up.

“Thanks to the City's support, we were able to restore our historic neon sign: a landmark that's meant so much to generations of customers and Worcesterites alike,” Solon Kelleher, Chief Operating Officer and fourth generation of the family behind George’s Coney Island, said. “The project has sparked renewed attention, with several media outlets covering the restoration and countless customers commenting that they saw the sign getting some much-needed TLC. We're deeply grateful to the City of Worcester for helping preserve this piece of local history.”

The municipality also played a role in the expansion of Crown Meat Market, which the owner Graciene Macedo said reinforced her confidence in investing further in the community.

“The City played a vital role in supporting Crown Meat Market’s expansion efforts by streamlining the permitting process, offering guidance on zoning compliance, and connecting us with local development resources,” Macedo said. “Their support helped us navigate regulatory requirements efficiently, saving time and reducing costs…The City’s commitment to local businesses like ours is a powerful sign that Crown Meat Market is part of a growing, business-friendly environment.”

One of the largest efforts the Business & Community Development Division has undertaken in the past year is using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help businesses become certified as diverse business enterprises with the State’s Supplier Diversity Office.

Getting those certifications allows businesses to qualify for state contracts as Minority; Women; Service-Disabled Veteran; Veteran; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender; and Disability-Owned Business Enterprises.

So far, the division’s Diverse Business Certification Grant Program has helped 185 businesses through the grant process. That has more than doubled the number of businesses that have successfully completed certification in Worcester to 160. Before the program launched in April 2024, 65 businesses in the city were certified.

“Improving and encouraging greater certification of diverse businesses in the city is an important step in creating opportunities for Worcester-based certified businesses to increase their participation in government contracting,” Gjino said.

These are just a few examples of the many different efforts the Business & Community Development Division is undertaking to support the city’s small businesses and foster a sense of community. If you’re thinking of opening a business, the division is your go to source of support in the city. You can find out more about the resources it offers on the municipality’s website.

The City Manager’s Office is pleased to share its latest edition of Municipal Updates ­­­­­– an aggregation of departmental and divisional news and updates related to programs and policies.

Housing Production Plan Available for Viewing

The municipality’s Housing Production Plan (HPP) is now available for public review. The HPP was presented to the Planning Board on April 9. It is scheduled to go before City Council for adoption in June.

Read the plan and explore how Worcester is planning for a more affordable and inclusive housing future.

In Massachusetts, the HPP is a plan that helps a community better understand local housing needs and demand, development constraints and opportunities, and a vision for future affordable housing. The HPP is a proactive strategy that focuses on developing and preserving homes that meet the requirements of the state's affordable housing law, commonly known as Chapter 40B.

An HPP is approved by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for a five-year period and includes:

• Data: an assessment of housing needs and demand based on current data, population and development trends, and regional growth factors.

• Limitations: an analysis of physical and regulatory development constraints.

• Goals: housing goals, including an annual numeric housing production target.

• Strategies: implementation strategies to work towards goals.

The City of Worcester's HPP has been made possible through an FY2023 Housing Choice Grant Program award. It is part of Worcester's commitment to plan for and foster the production of housing that meets the needs of current and future residents.

Pedestrian Crossing Improvements/Street Project Updates

The Department of Transportation & Mobility (DTM) recently shared news that construction of pedestrian crossing improvements is underway at eight locations across Worcester this spring.

These improvements are being constructed on busy arterial and collector streets that lacked crosswalks or in locations where existing crosswalks did not provide adequate safety and accessibility accommodations. The designs include elements such as curb extensions to shorten crossing distances and improve visibility, center medians to protect pedestrians mid-block, Americans with Disabilities Act compliant wheelchair ramps, marked crosswalks with pedestrian crossing signs, and rapid flashing beacons.

Construction of these projects is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Follow progress and learn more at: Pedestrian Safety Improvements | City of Worcester

Residents can also view DTM’s new project mapping tool for a full list of street resurfacing and improvement projects underway or scheduled to start later this year: 2025 Roadway Projects.

Speed Humps

You may have noticed something in the middle of your street. It’s not a jump. It’s a speed hump to help slow you down.

The City of Worcester launched a pilot seasonal speed hump program in 2021 that involved the placement of 20 temporary speed humps during the June - October timeframe. The program has expanded considerably since that time and 80 speed humps, including a combination of seasonal, permanent, and raised crosswalks are planned for 2025. These new installations, in addition to permanent speed humps installed in previous years, will result in over 100 of these traffic calming elements installed on Worcester's streets.

In 2025, permanent speed humps are being installed at locations where initial trials using temporary speed humps proved effective at managing vehicle speeds, as well as on a few streets that have been selected for new speed hump installations but are undergoing roadway reconstruction.

Other locations that are either new or in their second year of trials will receive seasonal speed humps. The status for both permanent speed hump locations and seasonal pilot speed hump locations are mapped and summarized below.

View speed hump locations and installation status here.

Community Preservation Program

The Community Preservation Program (CPP) successfully closed the first round of funding applications on Friday, May 9. Overall, there were 28 applications received across the three funding categories, including 17 projects related to historic resource perseveration, 9 projects related to open space and outdoor recreation, and two projects related to community housing. The total requested amount was $8.9M for an available $4M.

Recommended projects will be presented to City Council for final approval at the July 15 City Council meeting. City Council can affirm, reject, or lower CPC funding recommendations. City Council is bound to act only upon an affirmative recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and cannot consider requests that do not receive a CPC recommendation per M.G.L Chapter 44B.

Once City Council has approved a recommended project, the contract with the City of Worcester may be executed and projects may begin.

Residents can stay up to date on the process by signing up for the CPP Newsletter here: Sign up for the Newsletter.

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed us off to so much of the world, parks were a place we could feel some sense of normalcy and engage with our community. They were a lifeline back to the world we had known. That’s one of the reasons it felt so important to invest back into the municipality’s parks with the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds we received.

In this edition of ARPA at Work, my administration’s campaign highlighting how the municipality spent its ARPA dollars, I’ll be discussing the more than $14 million we allocated for Park Capital Improvements in Worcester.

We focused those funds on improving the parks and open spaces that serve low-income populations without access to private open spaces or resources, targeting spaces within Qualified Census Tracts.

Grant Square Park

The first project to receive funding from Park Capital Improvement dollars was Grant Square Park, with approximately $1.2 million going to support improvements to the 1.7-acre park located in the Green Hill Neighborhood.

The funding was used to enhance the improvements that started in 2015 with the installation of a state-of-the-art playground, brand new basketball court, and community garden beds.

The latest round of improvements included the installation of new lights on the basketball courts, the creation and lighting of accessible walkways, expanding the community gardens, and landscaping.

Tacoma Street Playground

A large chunk of the ARPA dollars is going to completely makeover the Tacoma Street Playground. The park is currently a construction zone as exciting changes are underway, but in fall 2025 it is set to reopen with a new synthetic turf field for sports from soccer to lacrosse to field hockey, a spray park, a playground, a parking lot, and a dog park. More than $8 million in ARPA funding is going toward the reconstruction.

Mulcahy Field

Residents and guests can already see changes at Mulcahy Field, where we celebrated the completion of two renovation projects, that were partially funded by ARPA, with a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 21 last year.

The renovations included transforming a little league field into a 50/70 baseball field (a field with a pitching distance of 50 feet and base paths that are 70 feet apart) with new dugouts, a backstop, a batting cage, sports lighting, and irrigation. ARPA dollars were focused on installing a new basketball court, with accessible and lit walkways installed to both the field and the court, and improvements to the playground.

Vernon Hill Park

We are currently working on completing renovations to four support buildings for our youth leagues at Vernon Hill Park with $500,000 of ARPA funding. The 15-acre park located atop Vernon Hill includes a playground, two baseball fields, two softball fields, a basketball court, a swimming pool, and a dog park.

The work on the support buildings, which we anticipate will be completed by June 2025, includes accessibility upgrades, interior/exterior upgrades, restroom upgrades, security infrastructure, painting, and door replacements.

We are also using Parks Capital Improvement funds to maintain our waterways, putting $2 million to construct a sediment basin for water coming into Salisbury Pond from the north and sediment separation structures off Park Avenue.

It is my administration’s hope that updates like these to our open spaces and parks that increase recreational opportunities and make them more user-friendly will help encourage more and more people to use them and engage with the community. Using the parks on a regular basis will help residents improve both their mental and physical health.

We are working to expand our programming in the parks as well, by simplifying the municipality’s Special Events Permitting Process and launching a lottery to select parks concession vendors for 28 parks and beaches across Worcester in 2025. We also activated Rockland Trust Plaza by selecting F.A.M. Jam! Event Group, through a Request for Interest process, to host at least 50 events in the parcel adjacent to Polar Park. Keep an eye out for the next episodes of our Buzz Video series to learn about the changes to the permitting process and the plaza activation.