Flood Forum Committee - Regular Meeting

Good evening. This is the Wednesday, May 13 meeting of the licenses and permits committee of the Summerville City Council. I'm chair Emily Hart. I use she, her pronouns. Welcome, everyone. And I'll read the notice that pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of a city council committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City Of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. We're joined tonight by clerk Michael Poteer. Clerk Poteer, could you call the roll?

Absolutely. Councilor Davis? Here. Councilor Wheeler? Here. Chair Hart?

Here. You have a quorum.

Thank you so much. Alright. The first item on the agenda is, approval of the minutes of the committee last committee meeting, which was 04/08/2026. Are there any questions or comments about those minutes? Alright.

We will lay those on the table for the end of the meeting. We have a very short agenda tonight, a grant of location 26 item 26 Dash 0525. Eversource applying for a grant of location to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Summerville Avenue from existing manhole 14831 to point of pickup at 22 Kent Street, an additional conduit from manhole 14831 to an existing manhole eight six three four. And just for context on this item, we did have the public hearing for this item in the city council meeting the, full city council meeting, and it was referred to the committee for further discussion. Is there anyone here to speak on this item this evening?

Adam Scherr, I see a hand raised. You are unmuted on our end.

Hi, Jackie. It's Jackie Duffy from Eversource. How are you?

Good. How are you? Thank you, miss Duffy.

I'm excellent. Thank you. This was referred to committee because JT had said that there was, double pulls. And when I went out there that following day, there are no double pulls there, but, from what he texted me, I asked him where the double poles were, and his answer to me was they are not doubled, but the closest the closest pole to some of the lab directly adjacent to the GOL site are dangerously leaning. So I went back to the division, and they're working on getting those poles replaced. And when we do replace the poles, an outage will be needed.

Okay. Fantastic. Yes. Thank you, miss Debbie. I appreciate your work on that even ahead of this meeting. We actually I have I do have some questions to understand the the work at this location. But since you did bring up the the leading of the poll, we do have a a picture of the poll just for everyone's reference and context. Clerk Potier, could you show that? Yeah. So this is the Mhmm. This poll in question. It's at the at Kidd Street where it meets Summerville Avenue. So it does seem to be quite a miss. So

Just a little bit. A tad bit.

Excellent. So I appreciate you having that looked at. I have some other questions about the work. Counselors, before we move off of this image, does anybody have any questions or comments? Okay. Thank you. Clerk Potier, could you bring back up the diagram of the work? Okay. Thank you. So, miss Duffy, since I'm really new at this, I'm, you know, learning a lot about reading these diagrams and how the work has done itself.

So if you wouldn't mind, I just have some questions for my own education. Okay. So on the second page of of if you can scroll down, clerk, protier, you can see where the point of pickup is at 22 Kent Street, which is pretty close to the manhole, 14831. And so how does how does it how does the additional work how is that related to this job? Like, the the one going to Summerville Avenue?

So it's coming from Summerville Avenue going to to Kent Street. So that's where we have to get so it's coming from Manhole 20639 Down Kent Street.

Okay. Down Kent Street. And then it goes to that manhole.

And then it goes to 22. Yes.

I see. I see. Okay. That's very helpful. And then is it the same conduit that connects to the overhead wires and the pole, or are those separate?

Where where were you talking about?

Just the pole that we were just

looking at. Oh, the pole? That that pole has nothing to do with. Yeah. The pole that's leaning has nothing to do with this job.

Okay. So what are what's the difference between conduit that's overhead and and the ones that is

So the conduit the conduit's underground. Okay? So it goes underground, but the pole has the overhead wires. So that's why we need to replace that pole, Pole 0 over one six one right there on the corner.

Mhmm. Yep.

So this that pole has nothing to do with this job at all. It's just that they have that for reference right there.

Yeah. Yes. So is just because I don't understand this yet, what is the difference between like, if, you know, giving getting electrical service to 22 Kent Street, what makes the difference between whether it would be underground or through the overhead wires?

That's the engineers call, but they designed it this way. That that's the way they can feed them the best way. So they're going, excuse me, underground to feed them. Sometimes we have to feed them overhead. It can just be like a overhead service, but this is underground.

So it's just kind of a site specific thing. There's not, like, a general rule that covers one type.

There's another

type. Okay. Thank you.

That's just You're welcome.

Helpful for my education. I really appreciate it.

So I believe, just to the tea. I believe they're gonna try to do two of the poles that are on that street. Because when I went down there, I took pictures of them, but I don't know for sure tomorrow. But that's what they told me today.

K. Excellent. Excellent. That would be that would be great.

The two of them looked like they were, leaning. Fantastic.

Counselors Davis and Wheeler, do you have any questions or comments?

Nothing on my end, madam chair. Thank you.

Just per our discussion about polls and and double polls more broadly, I appreciate, miss Duffy, you're absolutely correct. This is not a case of double polls. I do wanna note that, very closely in the same neighborhood, There are some double poles. Some of them we've talked about, like, at at Ivalu, Ivalu and Harrison. Those are are very nearby. So, you know, just wanted to make sure we're we're sort of keeping those in mind. I know that's out of scope of this, but we are, you know, we are hoping for progress from, from Eversource and all of the different utilities.

Yes. I'll go back to the division with that one on Ivalu again. I think it's Ivalu and Harrison.

There's one on Ivalu just on Ivalu and then another one at the intersection.

And Harrison right at the end. Yep.

And and just to re re so for everybody can recall and, for those who might be watching now, we had conditioned the, granted location on Ivalu on a safety inspection of those double poles as well as the wires. Do you have a a status update on that?

I don't. I will go back some I'll go back to the division tomorrow to see how it is. I I have not checked on it.

Okay. That would be great.

That would

be great.

As counselor Wheeler notes, that's those are those are indeed double pulls and have been working on those for a long time. Yes. Great. Thank you. So I would I would like to condition this grant on the so you said that this poll will need to be replaced.

Is that right? Yes. It will.

And I would like to note, I really appreciate that you will you know, that the plan is to replace the poll and not add a and not add a create create a a new new double pole. So that's fantastic. That's great news.

Well, they have to put they might have to put a double pole there until the other utilities come off of it. Just you know? So they'll put they'll set the new pole, and then they have to wait for the other utilities to come off. So there probably will be a double poll on there, but I know we are supposed to be having a meeting to discuss all the double polls in some of them, but I just don't know when that meeting is.

Yes. That is that is gonna be in the sustainability and infrastructure, committee, hopefully, in the next month or two.

But yeah. TBD. Oh, okay. Thank you.

Mhmm. So alright. So, clerk put here, I would like to condition the grant of location on the repair of the leaning pole, and I forget which number it is. I'm not seeing which number.

It's 00Over161.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. I was reading that as 191Over0.

Oh, I think it's, oh, wait a minute. It is. That's my bad. My bad. 191Over zero. I'm looking at it upside down.

Okay. Excellent. Alright. Any comments from the committee? Great. So any do you have any further comments or questions, miss Duffy?

No. I'm good. Thank you.

Okay. Great. So clerk Potier, I think we are ready to move to a vote on that in

the minutes. Yes. Absolutely. Madam chair, we would first take a roll call vote on the condition itself, which I have written as, conditioning the grant on repairing Pole 191 Over 0 at the corner of Summerville and Kent. Is that accurate?

Yes.

Absolutely. Okay. So on the condition, councilor Davis?

Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hart? Yes.

And then I would recommend taking a roll call vote on the item itself. Great. On the item itself, councilor Davis?

Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hart? Yes.

Alright. With three in favor, the condition and the item are recommended to be approved.

Excellent. Thank you.

Thank you, miss Duffy. And I guess we still need to approve the minutes then.

Madam chair, on the minutes, and we could take adjournment in the same vote if you'd like.

Yes, please. So moved.

Very good. On the minutes and on adjournment, councilor Davis? Yes. Councilor Wheeler?

Yes. Chair Hart?

Yes. The minutes are accepted, and this committee is adjourned.

Thanks all. Have a good night.

Thank you, chair.