Licenses and Permits Committee

Hello, welcome to the February 11th, 2026 Licenses and Permits Committee. 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. All right, Clerk Pottier, can you call the roll, please?

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

Here.

You have a quorum.

Wonderful. All right, so the first item on the agenda is approving the minutes from the committee meeting, licenses and permits committee meeting of January 21st, 2026. Is there any discussion? on that item. Seeing none, let's go ahead and vote on that.

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

Yes.

Those minutes are accepted.

Wonderful. The second item, we're going to take the third item out of order and do the grant of location. First, this is a... Item that has been carried over from the previous meeting, Eversource applying for a grant of location to install a total of 38 feet of conduit in Warwick Street from Utility Pole 357 over 3 to a point of pickup at 16 Warwick Street.

Madam Chair, I do see a hand raised from the applicant.

Fantastic. All right, wonderful. I would like to ask Jacqueline Duffy to speak.

You are unmuted on our end, Jackie.

Oh, hold on. Hey, can you hear me now?

Yes, we can.

We have been in contact with Matt Penny and he said it works for him. We're going to straighten the pole in the new conduit across the street. He's good with everything that we decided to do. with the rises on the poll. Okay, excellent.

And is Councilor Sait here this evening?

I do see the Councilor's hand raised.

Okay, excellent.

Councilor Sait, you are unmuted on our end.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for having me. Thank you, Jackie. I just first want to make sure we share exactly what was shared with Mr. Penny. in terms of how to approach this and making sure we do it like we're addressing his concerns. and then the second thing is I know this is not really this is more for the city Where there is another project, I think it's to provide internet to the same property, not internet, like cable.

If there is a way, this is again a request for the city to coordinate these two projects because the street is going to be dug up twice if there's no coordination. So again, this is more of a request. And yeah, I want to ask Jackie if this is something that you normally do.

Has Comcast already applied for it? A grant allocation?

That's a good question. Happy to check through the chair with the city so that these two happen. If they already applied, you can... you two can try and coordinate right I just need to know if they've already applied or not yeah I can get back to you on that okay I can ask Kabir anyhow tomorrow okay And then again through the chair to my first request, which is you spoke to Mr. Penny just to make sure. Everything is addressed because apparently the poll is pretty messy and if there's a way to use pre-existing what's already there.

Yeah, we're going to make it a stipulation on the work order.

Okay. All right. Great then. Thank you. You're welcome.

Yes, thank you so much, Councilor Sait, for advocating for this. And thank you so much, Ms. Duffy, for being here and working on this. Ms. Duffy, could I just ask you to repeat again what are the steps that will be taken just so I'm really clear?

A new poll, we're going to put a new poll up there and we're going to use the existing conduits. Okay. Like the existing rises. There's two empty rises on there. So he was in agreement with it. So I'm going to put it all in the stipulation with the work order.

Okay, excellent. And there won't be any new risers or conduits added?

There's going to be conduit going into the risers, but there's two empty risers. the rises are those metal things on the side of the pole and that's what he does too empty then he doesn't he's wondering why they're empty can't we use them so we're going to use them fantastic fantastic okay um

Any further discussion or questions from the committee or Councilor Sait?

No further questions, Chair. Again, thank you for having me. I appreciate you. Thank you. I'm discussing it today.

Absolutely. Thank you. Okay, so if there's no further questions or discussion, I believe we can vote on this. Is that right, Clerk Pottier?

Through the Chair, yes, that is correct. One minor point of clarification, Michael Pottier, Assistant City Clerk. Would you be introducing that agreement as a condition to approving this license? Or would you be wanting to vote on that just as the item straight through and allow the parties to work together?

Would adding those as a condition generate any additional complications or is through the chair no we would just take two votes one on the condition and then one over on the overall item okay why don't we do that then unless anyone has a objection

All right, allow me to read what I have. Sorry, point of order. I'm just seeing a hand from Councilor Sait.

Yep. Yep. Sorry, Clerk Pottier. Let me hear from Councilor Sait first.

Yeah, through the chair. I just want to make sure I'm not complicating the conditions. The second thing I mentioned about coordinating the work, this is not one of the conditions. This is more of a request. If there's a way for the two companies to work together so they can do it at the same time, that would be really great. but it is not I also because we have not looked into this we don't have the other party I want to make sure we're not you know committing to something that may Thank you for clarifying that.

So my understanding is that the conditions are that there will be a new poll. And then we'll use the existing two risers.

Yes. That's correct.

Thank you. Understood. Through the chair, if you'd like, I can take roll on the condition and then roll on the law item itself.

That would be great. Thank you.

On the condition as stated, Councilor Davis? Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hardt?

Yes.

And on the item, Councilor Davis? Yes. Councilor Wheeler? Yes. Chair Hardt?

Yes.

This item is recommended to be approved with the condition as stated.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you again both for coming. Okay, the next item we'll go back to item number two. and this is an item requiring a public hearing and in order to uh we did not give proper notice to have that public hearing tonight but if there is anyone who would who is here to speak on this item please Make it known. Raise your electronic hands now.

Through the chair, I see two attendees in the lobby, but I do not see any hands raised.

Okay.

I do now see a hand raised.

Yes. Okay. And Councilor Wheeler, did you have a comment?

I had a small question, but I'd be happy to defer to the attendee to speak first.

Okay. Okay. Mr. Costa?

Yes, I'm here.

Wonderful. Thank you for coming. Can you state your name and your relationship to this item?

Yes, my name is Gilvan Costa. I'm requesting that the license should work on 611 Prospect Street. Let me know if some of you guys have any questions. I can clarify anything you guys need from me.

Okay, thank you. Yeah, if you could just give us like a brief... overview of is this is there any change in this operation or or tell us more about the license application please.

There is no change for the place. Basically, it has an old owner, which I used to work with him a long time. I also own an auto body shop already. and another city. I'm just trying to open my own used car dealer in Somerville. I also live in Somerville by the way for almost 10 years and Besides modularizing for 15 vehicles, I have a few customers already, which I work also as a wholesaler in different states. I'm just trying to work on a retail business car on Somerville.

Excellent. Thank you. And you said you have an auto body shop in another city?

Yes, I own an auto body shop in Weymouth. It's called South Shaw Prime Collision. It's a five-star place. Review of Google Business that's operating for three years already.

OK, fantastic. As I mentioned before, we cannot approve this tonight. I apologize that we did not give proper notice to allow members of the public to be able to come and speak on this. but we can go ahead and have the initial conversation now and then take the item up again at the next meeting for the public hearing portion.

Okay.

So colleagues, do you have any questions for Mr. Acosta?

I don't have any questions through the chair. I don't have any questions for you, Mr. Costa. Thank you for doing business in Somerville. I'm just curious as a new counselor about which kinds of items require a public hearing and which don't. I'm wondering if the other similar license applications that we were deciding on in the first meeting, if the only difference here is that there was enough notice for those. I wasn't conscious of it being a public hearing, but maybe it's the kind of thing where the public is invited, it's on the agenda, so that constitutes a public hearing if anybody wants to show up to comment.

Yes, that's great questions. I'll ask Clerk Pottier to provide more detail, but actually the period is much longer than just posting the agenda, up to 10 days. And there are notices, specific notices sent out. So, Clerk Poteer, would you like to add anything more about the procedure for a public hearing notice?

Through the chair, absolutely. Certain items, certain new license applications require hearing through city ordinance and sometimes through state law. Used car dealers, garages, flammable license applications are all included therein. The public is welcome to attend City Council meetings, but our are only invited to speak when a public hearing has been advertised in the newspaper and the abutters have been notified of the hearing that's going to be taking place when and where. So in this case, it would be a Zoom meeting. So in advance of the next scheduled licenses and permits committee meeting, which we see on the calendar, I believe it's February 21st, we will have an advertisement placed in the Somerville Times 10 days before that meeting.

Thanks for that explanation. I appreciate it.

Thanks for the question. Great. All right. Mr. Costa, yeah, thank you for doing business in Somerville. Is there anything that you think the committee should know about your project? Your history with your other business or at this location that might be relevant to the license and the public hearing.

I don't think I have much to say right now. Like I said, I'm already working in the business card for 10 years and also A residence in Somerville with clean records, clean background. And I've been working on a business card and just waiting for my own license. I used to work selling cards for somebody else. The old owner, actually, of this place, Mr. Jerome Batista, that used to have the website of our sales at the same location. I'm just changing the name for marketing purpose. And I think that's it.

Okay, excellent. Thank you. So I believe that you're not required to come to the next meeting when we have the public hearing if you're not available. Although, you know, if a member of the public does come with questions and you'd like to be here to address them if that comes up, you're definitely more than welcome. but I appreciate you coming tonight and having the conversation and answering our questions right now yeah thanks so much for having me here right thank you so we're I'm gonna lay this item on the table or leave it in committee whichever the Robert Termes for holding it for the next meeting, the February 21st meeting.

All right.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So that is the end of our Short agenda. So, Clerk Pottier, will you, or I guess I need a motion to adjourn. From Councilor Davis, make the motion to adjourn.

On adjournment, Councillor Davis. Yes. Councillor Wheeler. Yes. Chair Hardt.

Yes.

This committee is adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

All right. Good night. Thanks, all.

Good night.