The Worcester City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to seek a report on how the city can improve the system it uses to track road construction projects and share updates with residents when the timeline for their street’s rehabilitation changes.
Councilor John Fresolo reopened an order held from the Sept. 8 meeting to discuss streets and sidewalks he had been told would be completed during the current construction season, only to learn that some had been pushed to 2027.
Fresolo said he was shown a list identifying specific roads that would be rehabilitated by the end of this construction season, but on recent visits to those roads, he saw that no reconstruction had been done.
“I was told that these were the streets and sidewalks that would be done this construction season,” he said, adding that he was subsequently told the work would be done by this August or September. He later learned that those projects had been added late in 2025, specifically in December, and would not be completed until the 2027 construction season.
Fresolo said he was disappointed because he had told constituents their roads would be fixed soon and now has to tell them they will have to wait about another year. He wants the city’s departments of Transportation and Mobility and Public Works to consult with district councilors to determine which roads are priorities for residents in their districts.
“I was given that list,” he said. “I spoke to people who had their streets and sidewalks on this list, and told them their street and sidewalk was going to be done this year. Now, I have to go back and tell them that it’s not going to be done this year, it’s going to be done next year’s construction season.”
Fresolo said he was not accusing anyone of wrongdoing but wants better planning and communication between city departments, the council and residents. He said he campaigned on the idea that he would help get things done but is frustrated when the city does not meet projected timelines.
Stephen Rolle, the city’s commissioner of Transportation and Mobility, said street and sidewalk projects and permanent speed humps are tracked on different lists, and that the current round of speed-hump projects is expected to begin within another week or two. Fresolo said he appreciated the update on the humps but that the larger communication problem remained.
“I need to keep my word. Your word is your bond,” Fresolo said, citing another example involving four streets that were added to the rehabilitation list in 2024, some of which have yet to start.
Councilor Satya Mitra said project timelines are determined through a process and that when something changes significantly, residents should be told when and why.
“We should have a deadline when this [project] is done, and it’s done through some good calculations,” he said. “Nobody is not finishing the job intentionally. DPW, DTM, they’re all working hard to get this done. But, if it is not done in the time that you mention, maybe there should be a communication, maybe there should be an explanation.”
Public Works Commissioner John Westerling said it would not be difficult to add information to the city’s project spreadsheet explaining why street work has been delayed.
“The point is well taken that, if we’re showing 0% [completion], we can add a column in there that shows what the reason is,” he said. “If it’s a utility hold, or funding issue, or something else, but we can absolutely provide that information.”
Councilor Gary Rosen said Fresolo’s frustration was familiar to him from his years as chairman of the Public Works Committee, and that he no longer promises constituents a date when a project will be completed. He also questioned why work cannot begin on a road and continue until it is finished.
Westerling said part of the answer lies in how contractors and subcontractors with different specialties move among road projects.
“The way construction works, there would be a contractor or subcontractor that is skilled in removing, for example, asphalt off the road,” he said, explaining that the contractor would perform that work on other roads on the list as well.
“The next contractor coming in would be raising structures,” Westerling said. “The next contractor that would come in would have a skill set in installing granite curbing, so they would come in and do all of those roads. It’s a process that we need to tighten up the timeline, and we can do that through our contract and we’re committed to doing that.”
“There are so many days where there is just nothing happening,” Rosen said, asking whether contractors could face penalties for failing to finish work on time.
Westerling agreed that the process needs work.
“We need to look at how do we shorten the time frame for each one of the roads?” he said. “Perhaps we only issue contracts for two roads, and they have three months to complete them.”
Councilor Morris Bergman said he sympathized with Fresolo because he has had the same experience and asked whether an “anticipated completion date” could be added to the city’s Pavement Management Program and monthly updates.
“One of the things that I think frustrates people in neighborhoods like that is that there is no public discussion,” Bergman said. “When there are significant road changes, what is wrong with asking the neighbors what their opinion is? When you do things like this after the fact, and people like Councilor Rosen and myself have to ask you what’s going on, to me that spells an absolute failure of communication to the neighborhood, when the councilors themselves don’t know what’s going on.”
City Manager Eric Batista thanked councilors for raising the issue and said his administration is working to improve the city’s reconstruction processes and communication. He said other municipalities use practices that Worcester could consider, although some could require difficult discussions about the council’s role.
“This is something that is a priority, in terms of we are trying to provide better messaging,” he said. “There are significant best practices across the entire nation. Some of those best practices are things that would require tough conversations on this floor, because it would remove the ability, potentially, for council involvement.”
Councilor Jose Rivera proposed an amendment to Fresolo’s order that would require Public Works to create a policy explaining to the council and public how projects are prioritized.
“I think it’s important that…the taxpaying residents get what they deserve,” he said, adding that some streets and sidewalks have been ignored for decades.
The council unanimously adopted the amended order and will await a report from the departments of Public Works and Transportation and Mobility.
A separate proposal that had been expected to draw significant discussion Tuesday — the city administration’s new homelessness strategy and proposed public camping ordinance — was not taken up after Vice Chairman Khrystian King held the item under personal privilege for further review. The proposal nevertheless dominated much of the meeting’s public comment period, with numerous residents speaking in opposition to the ordinance before it was held. King announced earlier Tuesday that he wanted additional time to review the proposal and receive a more comprehensive briefing from the Batista administration before council deliberation.
The controversy surrounding Councilor Kathleen Toomey’s Sept. 2 car crash also surfaced during public comment, despite not being on Tuesday’s agenda. Several residents used their time at the microphone to raise concerns about Toomey and the police response to the crash, prompting Mayor Joseph Petty several times to remind speakers that the matter was not before the council that night. Toomey, who announced earlier Tuesday that she would temporarily step down from the Public Safety Committee while an internal police investigation is underway, participated in the council meeting remotely via Zoom.
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