OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Summerville Public Utility & Public Works Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, October 16, 2025
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, October 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:37

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Good evening, everybody.

0:06

This is the October 15th meeting of the Public Utility Public Works Committee of the Summerville City Council.

0:13

It is now 602.

0:14

I am Jesse Klingon, the chair of this committee.

0:17

And before we do a roll call, I'm just going to read this blurb that allows us to do this meeting remotely.

0:22

And so that is pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025.

0:26

This meeting of a city council committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:31

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.

0:44

That said, we have uh Clerk for Salise with us this evening.

0:47

Clerks for Salise, could you please uh call the role to establish quo this is roll call, Council McLaughlin?

0:57

Yeah, Councillor Scott.

0:59

Present.

0:59

Councillor Klingon.

1:01

Present.

1:02

Mr.

1:02

Chair, all members are present.

1:04

We have a quorum.

1:05

All right, item one on the agenda.

1:07

So we have just five items.

1:09

It should be a fairly quick meeting.

1:10

You know, I just want to keep up on things in the box as we get close to the end of the year with different changes in, you know, the council or chairs and so on.

1:19

So that said, um item one is the approval of the minutes of the public utility public works committee meeting of June 2nd.

1:26

I'm just gonna lay that on uh the table for approval at the end of the meeting, Peter.

1:32

Uh moving on from that item, we have been asked to take uh an item out of order.

1:37

We have uh staff, we have the commissioner of BPW, Jill Aetham here this evening to address item five, which is Order 25-1133 by Councillor Saeed that the Commissioner of Public Works increase sanitary maintenance of the streets and sidewalks in Maboon Square.

1:55

Um so I hadn't had a chance to speak to the to the um to the counselor, but um I'm assuming this means I guess I don't know, like uh spraying, you know, spraying down of the uh the sidewalks and just general general sort of upkeep.

2:13

Um so here to speak on that is is Commissioner Latin.

2:17

Uh Commissioner, go ahead and take it away.

2:19

I don't know if you had a chance to speak to the counselor.

2:22

Uh maybe.

2:24

Leading chair, uh Joe Lakeland, DPW Commissioner.

2:27

Uh, thank you for allowing me to come tonight.

2:29

Um, they did speak with the counselor.

2:31

I guess this had to do with uh trash and the barrels, um the condition of some of the barrels and the big bellies and condition of some of those big bellies.

2:40

Um we also kind of did some walkthroughs.

2:43

My team did some walkthroughs of that area.

2:46

Um some of the tracks that we've noticed were, for example, we had some significant amount of um cigarette buds and some tree wells at which we've already cleaned up.

2:55

We do regular clean Magoon Square weekly and we dump the trash, you know, daily.

3:00

Um the big bellies, we are gonna they're gonna be on a maintenance on a maintenance kind of contract.

3:06

Uh we did take a look at those to see the condition of those bellies, some of those may need to have some minor maintenance.

3:11

Um, a lot of the stuff that may be seeing in McGoon Squares, like many of our squares, the business owners really do have to have some responsibility in cleaning up around their particular area and their sidewalks.

3:23

Um, for example, we noticed there was a significant amount of cigarette buds we picked up that were thrown in tree wells right in front of um a cigarette bin by the market.

3:32

So regardless of you know what we're gonna put out there, and people have to choose to actually use the receptacles that are readily available for them to dispose of their trash and their cigarette butts.

3:44

Um but having said that, DPW does regular clean McGoon Square.

3:48

We we will be power washing um those uh trash barrels in big bellies, and we'll be sending out maintenance, our maintenance crews um to work on those bed bills to see what kind of things are having in the minor issues with those.

4:00

But as we dove around, we didn't see any significant amount of overflowing barrels or trash concerns besides the cigarette nets and some tree wells, or should we clean that?

4:10

So that's kind of what we are.

4:14

Uh thank you, Commissioner.

4:16

And um, I'll open up to colleagues in a minute.

4:18

Um, I know I mean we we all have sort of well, Jake Council Scott has Union Square and you know, Council of Laughlin has uh the East Summerville Business District, and I have some business on Winter Hill.

4:30

And um, so I guess um, and you know, we don't have like extra hands, if you will, or um so I I mean I understand what you're saying about the business district and the business kind of everybody kind of doing their part.

4:44

I don't know what the regular sort of like general maintenance protocols are, like or schedule in terms of obviously they pick up the DBW guys are great, they pick up the trash.

4:54

Um, but certainly you know, getting more in depth, like whether it be like do we have a power wash the sidewalks in any areas?

5:01

Is that is that like a every so often thing, or do we not?

5:04

Mr.

5:05

We really don't simply do that unless there's uh, you know, we do when we're doing the leaf stuff and our squares, um, we'll do some blowing of leaves and picking up, but we're not out there regularly with uh we need some some additional uh resources uh with that kind of equipment and power washing and uh water trucks and things like that.

5:23

So that's not something currently you know in our ability.

5:26

Our water and trucks currently really have to focus on um our plants that we have to kind of walk us about the city um with the limited watershop resource we have currently.

5:37

Okay, I just thought of that because you know, this is somewhat of a broad um council order.

5:42

And you know, I know that with Davis Square and the issues down there, I know that everybody is really focused on sort of um general maintenance as well, uh, cosmetic, uh, you know, and just general upkeep.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Electricity Management████████████████████████████████32%
Public Works Budget███████████████████████████████31%
Public Transportation████████████████████████24%
Procedural█████████████13%
Summary of Proceedings

Summerville Public Utility & Public Works Committee Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Public Utility Public Works Committee held a remote meeting on October 15, 2025, to address five primary agenda items, including a discussion on street maintenance in Magoon Square, overhead wire safety protocols, and the standardization of bus stop furnishings. The committee reviewed outages in the local area and deliberated on the capacity of Public Works crews. Four items were marked as work complete, while one motion regarding bus stop standards was tabled for further development.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Councillor Scott: Expressed concern regarding the capacity of Public Works crews to maintain green infrastructure (expanded tree wells and stormwater systems). The speaker suggested that a dedicated three-person crew expansion might be necessary to handle the increasing volume of new infrastructure. The speaker also advocated for a public education campaign in Union Square to encourage business owners to maintain their sidewalks and support the "good neighbor" model of cleanliness.
  • Councillor Klingon: Raised an observation regarding a recent incident where a garbage truck snagged an overhead wire. The speaker proposed a systematic review by the lights and lines crew to establish a minimum clearance standard for wires to prevent sagging caused by wind or time, noting that current utility company practices might not account for long-term wire stretch.
  • Councillor McLaughlin: Highlighted that Magoon Square experiences near-annual power outages, particularly in August. The speaker noted that the provided memo from EverSource lacked a specific timeline for the proposed 10-year conversion of the 4 KV circuit to 13.8 KV, expressing frustration at the lack of immediate resolution and requesting a more concrete date for the upgrades.
  • **Councillor McLaughlin **(Additional) Noted that power outages also affected the SCC building in Winter Hill during the same period, expressing interest in preventing rolling blackouts across the city during summer heatwaves.

Discussion Items

  • **Sanitary Maintenance in Magoon Square **(Order 25-1133)

    • DPW Commissioner Joe Lathan: Explained that the Public Works Department already performs weekly cleanings and daily trash removal in Magoon Square. The Commissioner noted that the primary issues identified were cigarette butts in tree wells and the condition of some "big belly" trash receptacles. While the department does not currently have the resources or equipment (water trucks, power washers) to regularly power wash sidewalks or maintain the barrels due to limited staff focus on plants, crews will be sent to perform minor maintenance on the barrels and power wash the trash barrels specifically. The Commissioner emphasized that business owners share the responsibility for cleaning the area in front of their establishments.
    • Councillor McLaughlin: Questioned the regular maintenance protocols for tree wells and new green infrastructure, asking if they are on a rotation schedule. The Commissioner confirmed that maintenance, including bottle repairs, cement work, and trimming, is part of the daily routine but acknowledged that city growth requires additional resources to meet capacity needs.

  • **Overhead Wire Safety **(Ward 7)

    • Councillor Klingon: Shared a personal anecdote where a garbage truck snagged a wire, causing it to hang low, and asked if the city could implement a "measuring stick" or minimum clearance protocol to preempt such incidents involving power and internet lines.
    • DPW Commissioner Joe Lathan: Agreed with the observation as "food for thought" and committed to consulting the lights and lines crew to determine if a methodical and strategic plan for checking minimum wire clearance is feasible and sustainable.

  • **Bus Stop Furnishing Standards **(Resolution by Councilor Scott)

    • Intergovernmental Affairs Director Singh: Stated that while Mobility Director Brad Rossin was absent, the department has begun internal reviews and outreach. The outlined next steps include documenting existing city standards for streets/parks/schoolyards, reviewing MBTA system-wide standards, and inventorying MBTA assets in Somerville. These findings will be shared with boards (PTAC, Commission on Persons with Disabilities, Council on Aging) to solicit feedback before establishing long-term municipal standards.
    • Councillor Scott: Clarified that the order is motivated by frustration over "hostile architecture" installations funded by city funds. The speaker emphasized the need for standardized furnishings (benches, lighting, covered shelters) across all stops, citing a cross-guard request on McGrath Avenue and a lightless stop on Mystic Avenue as examples of current deficiencies. The speaker confirmed that while some furnishings are MBTA-funded, current city-funded ones often fail to meet city standards.
    • Decision: The committee agreed to keep this item in committee to allow for further discussion with director Brad Rossin and to refine the process.

  • **EverSource Power Outages in Magoon Square **(Order 25-1139)

    • **City Staff **(Memo from Jason Wright, EverSource) Reported 26 unplanned outages in the area during the identified timeframe. The memo identified two distribution circuits with bulk outages and a 4 KV circuit with significant equipment failure issues. EverSource plans to convert the 4 KV station and circuits to 13.8 KV over the next 10 years. In the interim, several cable sections and switches have already been replaced to increase reliability.
    • Councillor Klingon: Pointed out the lack of a specific timeline within the "next 10 years" window, questioning the feasibility of continued annual outages over that duration.
    • Councillor McLaughlin: Reiterated concern about the lack of a concrete date for the upgrades and noted similar outages in Winter Hill.
    • Decision: The item was marked as work complete, with Councillors Klingon and McLaughlin to follow up separately to secure a more specific timeline from EverSource.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approval: The minutes of the June 2, 2025, meeting were accepted unanimously.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:12 PM with a unanimous vote.
  • Item 1 (Minutes): Action approved;
  • **Item 2 **(Magoon Square Maintenance) Item marked work complete; DPW to proceed with minor barrel maintenance and power washing of trash barrels only.
  • **Item 3 **(Overhead Wires) Item marked work complete; Commissioner to consult with lights and lines crew regarding minimum clearance protocols.
  • **Item 4 **(Bus Stop Standards) Motion to keep item in committee (#25-145) to further develop standards with Mobility Director in attendance.
  • **Item 5 **(Power Outages) Item marked work complete; Councillors to follow up for a specific timeline on the 4 KV circuit conversion.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. This is the October 15th meeting of the Public Utility Public Works Committee of the Summerville City Council. It is now 602. I am Jesse Klingon, the chair of this committee. And before we do a roll call, I'm just going to read this blurb that allows us to do this meeting remotely. And so that is 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. That said, we have uh Clerk for Salise with us this evening. Clerks for Salise, could you please uh call the role to establish quo this is roll call, Council McLaughlin? Yeah, Councillor Scott. Present. Councillor Klingon. Present. Mr. Chair, all members are present. We have a quorum. All right, item one on the agenda. So we have just five items. It should be a fairly quick meeting. You know, I just want to keep up on things in the box as we get close to the end of the year with different changes in, you know, the council or chairs and so on. So that said, um item one is the approval of the minutes of the public utility public works committee meeting of June 2nd. I'm just gonna lay that on uh the table for approval at the end of the meeting, Peter. Uh moving on from that item, we have been asked to take uh an item out of order. We have uh staff, we have the commissioner of BPW, Jill Aetham here this evening to address item five, which is Order 25-1133 by Councillor Saeed that the Commissioner of Public Works increase sanitary maintenance of the streets and sidewalks in Maboon Square. Um so I hadn't had a chance to speak to the to the um to the counselor, but um I'm assuming this means I guess I don't know, like uh spraying, you know, spraying down of the uh the sidewalks and just general general sort of upkeep. Um so here to speak on that is is Commissioner Latin. Uh Commissioner, go ahead and take it away. I don't know if you had a chance to speak to the counselor. Uh maybe. Leading chair, uh Joe Lakeland, DPW Commissioner. Uh, thank you for allowing me to come tonight. Um, they did speak with the counselor. I guess this had to do with uh trash and the barrels, um the condition of some of the barrels and the big bellies and condition of some of those big bellies. Um we also kind of did some walkthroughs. My team did some walkthroughs of that area. Um some of the tracks that we've noticed were, for example, we had some significant amount of um cigarette buds and some tree wells at which we've already cleaned up. We do regular clean Magoon Square weekly and we dump the trash, you know, daily. Um the big bellies, we are gonna they're gonna be on a maintenance on a maintenance kind of contract. Uh we did take a look at those to see the condition of those bellies, some of those may need to have some minor maintenance. Um, a lot of the stuff that may be seeing in McGoon Squares, like many of our squares, the business owners really do have to have some responsibility in cleaning up around their particular area and their sidewalks. Um, for example, we noticed there was a significant amount of cigarette buds we picked up that were thrown in tree wells right in front of um a cigarette bin by the market. So regardless of you know what we're gonna put out there, and people have to choose to actually use the receptacles that are readily available for them to dispose of their trash and their cigarette butts. Um but having said that, DPW does regular clean McGoon Square. We we will be power washing um those uh trash barrels in big bellies, and we'll be sending out maintenance, our maintenance crews um to work on those bed bills to see what kind of things are having in the minor issues with those. But as we dove around, we didn't see any significant amount of overflowing barrels or trash concerns besides the cigarette nets and some tree wells, or should we clean that? So that's kind of what we are. Uh thank you, Commissioner. And um, I'll open up to colleagues in a minute. Um, I know I mean we we all have sort of well, Jake Council Scott has Union Square and you know, Council of Laughlin has uh the East Summerville Business District, and I have some business on Winter Hill.

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