The Union of Public Safety Committee heard an update from the Gardner Health Department on staffing, housing enforcement, landfill work and community programming.

The health representative said the director vacancy has been filled and the new director will start Jan. 5. The department remains short an administrative coordinator and a transfer‑station supervisor; staffer Aaron Babin has been handling additional duties in the interim, including supervising and plowing at the transfer station.

On housing, the department recounted a severe bed‑bug infestation in one apartment unit that required two pest treatments so far and a third, targeted treatment scheduled for the week of the meeting. The department condemned that unit because it posed a danger to occupants and said surrounding units were also impacted. Separately, a building on Sherman Street previously condemned in 2024 has been renovated, reinspected and returned to service with four units back on the market. A Greenwood Street building damaged in a fire at the end of last month was condemned and will require roughly 18 months of renovations; tenants were relocated with property-management assistance.

Regarding landfill operations, the department said an annual DEP inspection on Nov. 19 identified two action items that are already on the city’s radar. Work on LEHA pumps began about two days after funding was approved and is expected to take about three months to complete; the site is also being pumped on a biweekly basis with levels monitored by staff.

The health department highlighted a partnership with Monty Tech students who are assisting with construction‑related prep work for an emergency operations kitchen; the department said donated bike gifts coordinated by E.L. Harvey and Sons were being delivered for local youth. No formal action resulted from the health presentation.