GARDNER ― The city’s downtown economic progress was the topic of discussion as Mayor Michael Nicholson led U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan and other elected officials on a tour to meet local business owners on Monday, May 8.
Congresswoman Trahan, a Democrat who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional district, was specifically interested in how local businesses utilized federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, which was passed by Congress in 2021 to help small businesses and restaurants which negatively impacted by the pandemic shutdown.
“Survival,” answered Patti Bergstrom, owner of The Velvet Goose, when asked by Trahan what she used her store’s portion of the $6.1 million the city received from the federal legislation. “Just covering the basics. It was hard, it was very hard.”
The current economic climate, including workforce shortages and recent bank failures, were also reasons for concern, Bergstrom added.
“I would say the last two months have been especially hard, with fewer people shopping and buying less,” she said. “It is a little scary. Everything is falling apart.”
But Bergstrom, who has owned her store for 36 years, said she was excited and hopeful for the future of the city’s downtown, and Trahan agreed that the area was experiencing an economic revitalization.
