Licenses and Permits Committee

Good evening. This is the Wednesday, May 13th meeting of the Licenses and Permits Committee of the Somerville City Council. I'm Chair Emily Hardt. I use she, her pronouns. Welcome everyone and I'll read the notice that pursuant to Chapter 2 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 Pottier. Clerk Pottier, could you call the roll?

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

Here.

You have a quorum.

Thank you so much. All right, the first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes of the last committee meeting, which was April 8th, 2026. Are there any questions or comments about those minutes? All right, 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 26-05, 25, Eversource applying for a grant of location to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Somerville Avenue from existing manhole 14831 to point a pickup at 22 Kent Street, an additional conduit from manhole 14831 to an existing manhole 8634. And just for context on this item, we did have the public hearing.

For this item in 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?

and I'm sure I see a hand raised. You are unmuted on our end.

It's Jackie Duffy from Eversource, how are you? Good, how are you? Thank you, Ms. Duffy. I'm excellent, thank you. This was referred to committee because JT had said that there was double poles and when I went out there that following day there are no double poles there but from what he texted me I asked him where the double poles were and and his answer to me was they are not doubled, but the closest pole to some of a 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 Ms. Tevye I appreciate your work on that even ahead of this meeting um we actually um I do have some questions to understand the work at this location. Since you did bring up the leaning of the pole, We do have a picture of the poll just for everyone's reference and context. Clerk Pottier, could you show that? Yeah, so this is the... Poll in question. It's at Kent Street where it meets Somerville Avenue. So it does seem to be quite a miss. Yes.

Just a little bit, a tad bit.

Excellent. So I appreciate you having that looked at. I have some other questions about the work. Councilors, before we move off of this image, does anybody have any questions or comments? Okay, thank you. Clerk Pottier, could you bring back up the diagram of the work? Okay, thank you. So, Ms. Duffy, since I'm really new at this, I'm learning a lot about reading these diagrams and how the work is done itself. So if you wouldn't mind, I just have some questions for my own education. So on the second page of, if you can scroll down, Clerk Poteer, 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 the additional work, how is that related to this job, like the one going to Somerville Avenue?

So it's coming from Somerville Avenue going through to Kent Street. So that's what 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 were you talking about?

Just the poll that we were just looking at. That poll has nothing to do with it. The pole that's leaning has nothing to do with this job.

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

So 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 161 right there on the corner.

Mm-hmm.

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

Yeah. Yes. 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 engineer's 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 kind of a site specific thing. There's not like a general rule that covers one type. Okay. Thank you. That's just beautiful for my education. I really appreciate it.

So I believe, just through the tea, I believe they're going to try to do two of the polls that are on that street. Because when I went down there, I took pictures of them, but I'll know for sure tomorrow. but that's what they told me today.

Okay, excellent, excellent. That would be great.

Those two of them look like they were leaning.

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

Nothing to my advantage, Chair. Thank you. Just per our discussion about polls and double polls more broadly, I appreciate Ms. Duffy, you're absolutely correct. This is not a case of double polls. I do want to note that very closely in the same neighborhood, there are some double polls. Some of them we've talked about, like at Ivaloo, Ivaloo and Harrison. Those are very nearby. Just wanted to make sure we're 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 Ivaloo again. I think it's Ivaloo and Harrison.

There's one on Ivaloo, just on Ivaloo, and then another one on Ivaloo and Harrison right at the end.

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

I don't. I'll go back to the division tomorrow and see how it is. I have not checked on it. Okay, that would be great.

As Councilor Wheeler notes, those are indeed devil poles and have been working on those for a long time. Yes. Great. Thank you. So I would like to condition this grant on the... So you said that this poll will need to be replaced. Is that right?

Yes.

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, create a new double poll. So that's fantastic. That's great news.

Well, they might have to put a double pole there until the other utilities come off of it. So 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 pole on there. But I know we are supposed to be having a meeting to discuss all the double poles in Somerville, but I just don't know when that meeting is.

Yes, that is going to be in the sustainability and infrastructure. um committee hopefully in the next month or two but okay TBD okay thank you um so all right so um Clerk Pottier, I would like to condition the grant of location on the repair of the leaning pole. And I forget which number it is.

It's 0 over 161. Okay, thank you.

Okay, I was reading that as 191 over 0. I think it's...

um oh wait a minute it is that's my bad my bad 191 over zero I'm looking at it upside down okay excellent all right um any comments from the committee

All right. So do you have any further comments or questions, Ms. Duffy? No, I'm good. Thank you. Okay, great. So Clerk Pottier, I think we're ready to move. Do a vote? Absolutely.

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 zero at the corner of Somerville and Kent. Is that accurate?

Yes.

Absolutely. Okay. So on the condition, Councilor Davis? Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hardt?

Yes.

And then I would recommend taking a roll call vote on the item itself. On the item itself, Councilor Davis? Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hardt?

Yes.

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

Excellent. Thank you.

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

Madam Chair, on the minutes, and we could take adjournment in the same vote if you'd like. So moved. Very good. On the minutes and on adjournment, Councillor Davis. Yes. Councillor Wheeler. Yes. Chair Hardt. The minutes are accepted and this committee is adjourned.

Thanks all. Have a good night.

Thank you, Chair.