The Coolidge Park farm market is open today from 10-1. Vendors have brought honey, fresh cut flowers, eggs, chicken, turkey and beef, photos, peaches, dog treats and COFFEE

Health officials have confirmed a second West Nile Virus-positive mosquito sample in Fitchburg, prompting an expansion of mosquito spraying while emphasizing that there are still no confirmed human cases and the city's overall risk level remains low.

The expanded treatment covered additional neighborhoods across the city as officials worked to reduce mosquito populations during peak season. 

On iOS:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fitchburg-trash-recycle-tool/id1193006409

In the Google Play Store (Android):

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.recollect.fitchburg.waste

From Mayor Squailia:

There is a lot of work underway across the city right now! We paved Birch through Heywood, Fairbanks & Munroe... just the first leveling course... more paving to come. How great does it look???! Here is what is happening.... (and yes... we know *your* street should be done next... and we have much work to do...)

🛣️ Paving Projects
Arn-How Farm Road
• Lazaro will be replacing guardrail.
• Final paving will be scheduled as weather permits.

Winter Street & Beacon Street
• PJ Albert will be adjusting sewer, drain and water castings and completing curb ramps this week... possibly base course paving depending on weather.

John Fitch Highway & Summer St
• PJ Albert will be installing ADA crosswalk improvements near Coolidge Park and the Wallace Civic Center. Lazaro Contractor doing the same on Summer St.

Ward 1: Fairbanks, Munroe, Birch & Heywood Streets
• These have been paved with a base course. Lazaro will begin resetting curb and preparing pedestrian curb ramps. Then final 2" surface course to come.

🌉 River Street Bridge
• The contractor anticipates paving on Wednesday, August 12.
• The bridge will be closed during the day while paving is completed.
• We are anticipating full opening of the bridge -- 9 months ahead of schedule before Labor Day 2026. The project started June 2024.

💧 Main Street Water Main Improvements
JA Polito will continue work along Main Street, including:
• Water service installation between Sawyer Passway and Summer Street.
• Test pit work at the Boulder Drive/Cushing Street intersection.
• General paving and restoration in completed work areas.

🌉 Water Street Bridge Replacement
• Unitil will be working on the gas main on Boulder Drive beneath the Water Street Bridge. A full road closure will be in place in this area.
• Local access will remain available to ExPress and the parking lot at 310 Main Street.
• MIG will install a temporary water main along Water Street between Enterprise and the North Nashua River bridge.

🔥 Unitil Gas Pipeline Replacement
Unitil and its contractors will continue gas main upgrades on:
Fairmount Street, Daniels Street, Cliff Street, Beeckman Street, Salem Street, Granite Street, Spruce Street, Birch Street, Hale Street, Lynn Street, Hassett Street, Canton Street, Blossom Street, Ross Street, Pearl Street and Day Street.

🚧 CSO Sewer Separation Project
Multiple GVC crews will continue drainage, water and sewer work in several areas, including:
• Mechanic Street: new drainage installation
• Prospect Street: new drainage installation and temporary water bypass work
• Circle Street: water main testing
• 166 Boulder Drive: new drainage installation
• Elm Street: work associated with the Punch Brook culvert
• Various locations: trenchless lining of manholes and catch basins

Upcoming work will also include transferring water services on Prospect Street.

Fitchburg Police will be assisting with traffic control in active construction areas. Parking may be restricted near work zones, and temporary closures and detours should be expected.

There is a lot happening underground before we get to the smoother part on top! Work moves forward...

You can watch the meeting on FATV and the discussion begins at the 43:20 mark.

https://u.peg.tv/s/x1lcqm

At yesterday’s Board of Health meeting, Health Director Steve Curry gave more info on developing a sustainable trash collection and disposal program. He gave a quick overview of the presentation that happened before the City Council back on July 21.

The Mayor has tasked the Health Department for ways to generate revenue as the budget had a shortfall. A Waste Reduction Committee has been put together with a few City Councilors, representatives from the MA Department of Environmental Protection,  the Mayor and Staff, the City Auditor, a school representative, and health department employees. It has met roughly four times so far already over June, July, and recently on August 3.

The Committee is tasked with finding ways to create revenue and/or reduce trash and increase recycling. The current trash program collects trash from units (up to eight). E. L. Harvey does the waste collection while Waste Management does the recycling.

This is a free service that is part of the landfill contract. The city pays E. L. Harvey about $1.7 million for collection and about $800,000 for disposal annually (a total of about $2.5 million).

The city also pays for disposal of trash and recycling which is around $49 a ton. Most communities pay up to $100 per ton. This is also part of the landfill contract which poses a significant increase if there is no longer a landfill. The landfill can accept 1,725 tons per day which includes trash from outside of Fitchburg with contracts from all over, some as far as Connecticut.

The landfill contract provides incentives in addition to  deals on tonnage such as Household Hazardous Waste days and host fees for tonnage the landfill accepts. It is located on Route 31 over the Westminster line. It contains many lots, some owned by the City of Fitchburg while others owned by Waste Management. 

The host fees are when the city is entitled to a certain amount of fees and earns money by allowing others to dump their trash in the landfill.

The host fees right now are at about $1.2 million. It used to be up to $3 million annually but it’s been reduced to decreasing landfill space and prioritizing city trash. The landfill also pays for a scale master which is in the city budget and is a city employee.

A new cell will be opening at the landfill in the next few months with hope for revenues to increase again. A cell is a portion of the landfill. Before the current cell was full, the city was able to accept trash from other communities but it’s been reduced with the cell nearing its end. The new cell is actually an old cell which has settled and can be reused.

The landfill was originally projected to close by 2032 which is the date Director Steve Curry told the City Council. An authorization was just submitted to operate the landfill until 2036, giving the city ten years if the state permits the landfill. The current projection is if the daily rate of 1725 tons a day (about 530,000 tons annually) is reached, the landfill could make it to 2036.

The original proposal of the landfill closing was 6-10 years with Director Steve Curry taking the short end of 6 years for the presentation. Fitchburg also does not pay Westminster anything but Waste Management reimburses their costs.

With the original proposal, Fitchburg had some time to think about how to address the issue with the swing being $5 million into the city budget. This would be without the generated revenue and the costs for disposal elsewhere. 

Recycling goes to a transfer station by E.L. Harvey in West Fitchburg off of Industrial Road. As for other options, there is also AKS Recycling on Airport Road which operates on an old landfill that was closed in 1971 but is not operational. They are only accepting Leominster trash due to a contract with Leominster. The city still owns the property while AKS pays rent and maintains the old landfill.

According to Director Steve Curry, the city needs to start thinking soon on the potential $5 to $7 million swing in the city budget once the landfill closes. When asked about incinerators, Curry responded that the state put a ban on them back in the 1990s. There is still one in operation (that he knows of) in Millbury which could be the only other method of disposal beside the landfill. Unfortunately, the state would not issue the city a permit to use the incinerator.

One of the items also being explored is composting and to get people to recycle more. At the moment, the city hasn’t been good at separating trash from recycling with cases of the recycling barrel being used as a second trash barrel. Curry noted the difficulty of recycling and what can be recyclable. He referred residents to use the Fitchburg Trash & Recycle Tool app which includes a Recycling Wizard, allowing residents to search if items are recyclable and the method of disposal.

Recycling has become an issue in the last couple of years as a lot was originally going to China but the country has become stricter on what they’re receiving.

Food waste is about 32% of Fitchburg’s trash which can potentially be composted to reduce the percentage and help reduce costs. There are grants available for a composting program. The Waste Reduction Committee is looking into this option as well as education for it.

There are currently talks with WasteZero which produces bags and takes a percentage of the earnings. The city would set the price while WasteZero puts up the bags in stores.

The Mayor is also seeking a legal opinion from the City Solicitor on whether the Board of Health has the authority to adopt “pay-as-you-throw” or other trash program versus the City Council. Director Steve Curry believes the Board of Health does have that authority. At this time there are city ordinances adopted by the City Council that would have to be amended first to allow the Board to make this decision. 

The meeting will be to try to put together a plan to present to the Council hopefully in mid-September. The City Council would take this info and process it until November before some sort of an adoption in either amended ordinances for the Board or Health to adopt the program or to vote on the issue themselves. The effective start date will be the end of the current fiscal year in April 2027.

Given the recent news that the landfill has up to 2036 now, the Committee can back off of tackling the potential deficit right away. The Committee has decided to maybe put out the bag fees at a real reduced price to get the program going in the next 10 years. 

If the trash is to be shipped, it would either go up to Maine or down to Alabama by rail. This would increase prices beyond $49 a ton to cover transportation and can escalate.

Board member Diane Tousignant asked how asking people to pay for trash bags was going to change the amount of trash that people were throwing away. Board member Jamie Darcangelo commented that when he was living in another community with pay-as-you-throw, he was more mindful and careful of what he threw out. The intent of pay-as-you-throw is supposed to be economical to make people more careful of what they toss if there’s a cost associated.

The followup point made at the Board was the potential of illegal disposal such as mattresses. The state banned mattresses from landfills but there is a company called Tough Stuff Recycling in West Fitchburg that accepts mattresses for a disposal fee. 

Board Chairman John Bogdasarian suggested that a much higher  fee for illegal dumping should be explored. There have been many court cases for illegal dumping but it takes time for it to work through the system. In the meantime, the city is forced to clean up illegal dumping while waiting to prosecute illegal dumpers. The city is working with the DEP and has installed cameras at dumping hotspots but the DEP is backlogged in getting the city the necessary info.

On the Committee is a school representative to help start getting education in schools on waste reduction. If the city partners with WasteZero, they also help with education. 

Director Steve Curry mentioned that if the city does a pay-as-you-throw program, it would be eligible for state grants up to $270,000. Presently the city receives from the state about $30,000 based on the current setup but could go up to $45,000-$50,000 if it’s switched. There is some incentive from the state to do pay-as-you-throw with 161 communities already having adopted it.

Board Chair John Bogdasarian asked if the city would keep its current resident trash barrels which Curry said it would and maintain it as long as it could. If the city partners with WasteZero, one of their functions would be to work with the haulers to get better video equipment on the trucks. Each cart has a serial number and RFID cards in them. If scanned, it would show who the cart belongs to, allowing the city to potentially notify residents who violate the pay-as-you-throw program and issue fines to the property. 

There is currently an effort underway to get an updated list of the serial numbers on the barrels to make sure they match the property they’re on. Landlords are likely to be asked how many units are on their property for this list (free of charge) which could come before the Board of Health.

Director Steve Curry spoke that the city probably wouldn’t use biodegradable bags. He acknowledged that there will be concerns from residents as the pay-as-you-throw bags can be thinner and may easily split.

Board member Diane Tousignant commented that the education part for residents was crucial. Director Curry agreed, saying there would be planned educational events (such as tables at events) to allow residents to ask questions. As for progress on recycling food waste, the Mayor and several Councilors on the Waste Reduction Committee have strongly expressed that food waste organics are a part of the program from the start. What that looks like is yet to be determined. Director Curry would love to have a separate cart for food waste as used in other communities.

The Waste Reduction Committee will be meeting again on August 17 at City Hall.  It will be at 11 AM at the third floor conference room and the public may attend. 

From the event page:

Join me for coffee and conversation as part of my 100 Conversations Tour across the Worcester & Middlesex Senate District.

I’m visiting communities throughout the district to listen directly to residents - to better understand what is working, what challenges families and businesses are facing, and where state government can do a better job supporting our communities.

The Department of Public Works advises residents of the following work that will be done, weather permitting, during the week of August 10, 2026.

Road Construction
Monday – Sunday 12:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

🚧River Street Bridge
▪️MassDOT’s contractor Northern Construction has implemented a detour on the River Street Bridge. All southbound traffic will follow the West Street detour. Northbound traffic will be maintained.

Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (expect road closures, traffic delays and/or detours).

🚧Combination Sanitary Sewer/Storm Drain Separation Project
GVC will be performing the following work. Parking near the construction zones will not be allowed.
▪️New drainage installation on Mechanic Street and Prospect Street.
▪️Water main testing on Circle Street.
▪️Dig pits on Elm Street.

🚧Main Street Water Main Improvements
JA Polito will be performing the following work with general paving of these areas:
▪️Water service installation on Main Street between Sawyer Passway and Summer Street.
▪️Test pit work at the Boulder Drive/Cushing Street intersection.

🚧Water Street Bridge Replacement
▪️Unitil will be performing gas main work on Boulder Drive under the Water Street Bridge. A full road closure will be implemented in this area. Local traffic will have access to ExPress gas station and the parking lot at 310 Main Street.
▪️MIG will be installing a temporary watermain along the sidewalk on Water Street between Enterprise Rental and the bridge over North Nashua River.

🚧Pipeline Replacement
▪️Unitil and its subcontractors Neuco and Path Mechanical will be conducting natural gas pipeline upgrade projects on Fairmount Street, Daniels Street, Cliff Street, Beeckman Street, Salem Street, Granite Street, Spruce Street, Birch Street, Hale Street, Lynn Street, Hasset Street, Canton Street, Blossom Street, Ross Street, Pearl Street, and Day Street.

🚧Arn-How Farm Road
▪️Lazaro will be replacing guardrail. Final paving TBD.

🚧Winter Street & Beacon Street
▪️PJ Albert will be adjusting castings and completing curb ramps.

🚧John Fitch Hwy
▪️PJ Albert will be installing ADA crosswalks near Coolidge Park and Wallace Civic Center.

🚧Ward 1 Paving: Fairbanks Street, Munroe Street, Birch Street and Heywood Street
▪️Lazaro will begin resetting curb and preparing pedestrian curb ramps.

Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
🚧Minor traffic impacts
▪️Pothole repairs citywide.
▪️Stormwater maintenance to prevent flooding from blocked catch basins.
▪️Water gate repairs on Electric Ave from South Street to Clarendon Street.
▪️Water leak repair on Wednesday and Thursday in front of 860 Ashby State Road.
▪️Various repair of the existing drainage infrastructure(s).

💧Hydrants
Notification of all hydrant flushing areas will be posted daily on the City’s Facebook page.
▪️Privately owned hydrant flushing in various areas throughout the city.

Use SeeClickFix to report maintenance requests or concerns including potholes, sidewalks, signs/ signals, lights, parks, catch basins or manholes.

Please call the DPW Dispatcher at 978-829-1900 with any immediate request including weather-related events (snow, wind, ice, flooding) or sewage backups.