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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Somerville Licenses and Permits Committee Meeting - May 14, 2026

Meeting Portal — Thursday, May 14, 2026

BodySomerville, Massachusetts

SessionMeeting Portal

DateThursday, May 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 12:25

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:03

Good evening.

0:04

This is the Wednesday, May 13th meeting of the licenses and permits committee of the Somerville City Council.

0:11

I'm Chair Emily Hart.

0:12

I use she her pronouns.

0:14

Welcome everyone.

0:16

And I'll read the notice that pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025.

0:22

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

0:26

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.

0:40

We're joined tonight by Clerk Michael Potier.

0:43

Clerk Potier, could you call the roll?

0:46

Absolutely.

0:46

Counselor Davis.

0:48

Here.

0:48

Counselor Wheeler.

0:50

Here.

0:51

Chair Hart.

0:52

Here.

0:53

You have a quorum.

0:55

Thank you so much.

0:57

All right.

0:58

The first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes of the committee last committee meeting, which was April 8th, 2026.

1:08

Are there any questions or comments about those minutes?

1:13

All right.

1:14

We will lay those on the table for the end of the meeting.

1:21

A grant of location 26, item 26-0525, ever source applying for a grant of location to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Somerville Avenue from existing manhole 14831 to point of pickup at 22 Kent Street, an additional conduit from Manhole 14831 to an existing manhole 8634.

1:48

And just for context on this item, we did have the public hearing for this item in the city council meeting, the uh full city council meeting, um, and it was referred to the committee for further discussion.

2:04

Um, is there anyone here to speak on this item this evening?

2:09

Adam Chair, I see a hand raised.

2:11

You are unmuted on our end.

2:14

Hey Janet, it's Jackie Dapy from Eversource.

2:17

So are you?

2:18

Good.

2:18

How are you?

2:19

Thank you, Ms.

2:20

Excellent.

2:20

I'm excellent.

2:21

Thank you.

2:22

Um this was referred to committee because JT had said that there was um double polls.

2:27

And when I went out there that following day, there are no double polls here, but um from what he texted me.

2:34

I asked him where the double polls were, and his answer to me was they are not doubled, but they closest the closest poll to sum of a lab directly adjacent to the G O L site at dangerously leaning.

2:48

So I went back to the division and they're working on getting those polls replaced.

2:53

And when we do replace the polls, an outage will be needed.

2:57

Okay.

2:58

Fantastic.

2:59

Yes, thank you, Miss Dubia.

3:00

I appreciate your work on that, even ahead of this meeting.

3:03

Um we actually um I have so I do have some questions to understand the the work at this location.

3:11

Um, but since you did bring up the the leaning of the poll, um, we do have a a picture of the poll just for everyone's reference and context.

3:20

Um Clerk Potier, could you show that?

3:22

Yeah, so this is the poll in question.

3:26

It's at the at Kent Street where it meets Somerville Avenue.

3:31

Um so it does seem to be uh quite amiss.

3:37

So just a little bit, a tad bit.

3:41

Excellent.

3:42

Um, so um I appreciate you having that looked at.

3:47

Um, I have some other questions about the work.

3:50

Um counselors, before we move off of this image, does anybody have any questions or comments?

3:58

Okay, thank you.

3:59

Um, Clerk Potier, could you bring back up the diagram?

4:04

Of the work?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████78%

Procedural█████████████22%

Summary of Proceedings

Somerville Licenses and Permits Committee Meeting - May 14, 2026

This meeting of the Licenses and Permits Committee of the Somerville City Council, chaired by Emily Hart, was conducted via remote participation. The committee considered a single agenda item: a grant of location for Eversource to install conduit on Kent Street and Somerville Avenue, and also addressed a related safety issue regarding a leaning utility pole. The meeting concluded with votes on the grant and approval of previous minutes. (Note: The transcript indicates the meeting occurred on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, but the user-provided date is May 14; the date in the title follows the user instruction.)

Discussion Items

Eversource Grant of Location (Item 26-0525): Eversource representative Jackie Dapy (also referred to as Miss Duffy) presented the application to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Somerville Avenue, from existing manhole 14831 to a point of pickup at 22 Kent Street, with an additional conduit from manhole 14831 to existing manhole 8634. The item had been referred to committee after a council member raised concerns about double poles. Ms. Dapy clarified that the nearby pole (pole 191 over 0) at the corner of Somerville Avenue and Kent Street is not a double pole but is dangerously leaning; she confirmed that Eversource is working to replace the pole, which will require an outage.
Chair Hart's Questions: Chair Hart asked educational questions about the conduit diagram, the relationship between overhead and underground wiring, and the scope of the job. Ms. Dapy explained that the conduit is underground and that the pole in question is unrelated to this project. She also noted that two leaning poles on the street may be replaced.
Councilor Davis's Remarks: Councilor Davis noted that while this site does not have double poles, nearby intersections (e.g., Ivalu and Harrison) still have double poles. He requested progress updates from Eversource on those, referencing a previous condition requiring safety inspections. Ms. Dapy agreed to follow up.

Key Outcomes

Condition Approved: The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to condition the grant of location on the repair of pole 191 over 0 at the corner of Somerville Avenue and Kent Street. (Councilor Davis: yes, Councilor Wheeler: yes, Chair Hart: yes).
Grant Approved: The committee voted unanimously (3-0) to recommend approval of the grant of location for Eversource, subject to the above condition.
Minutes Approved: The minutes of the previous committee meeting (April 8, 2026) were approved unanimously (3-0).
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned following the vote.

Next Steps

Eversource will proceed with the conduit installation and replace the leaning pole (pole 191 over 0). If temporary double poles are needed during replacement, the city has noted ongoing efforts to address double poles broadly, with a future meeting in the Sustainability and Infrastructure Committee expected in the next one to two months.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. This is the Wednesday, May 13th meeting of the licenses and permits committee of the Somerville 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 Potier. Clerk Potier, could you call the roll? Absolutely. Counselor Davis. Here. Counselor Wheeler. Here. Chair Hart. Here. You have a quorum. Thank you so much. All right. The first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes of the committee 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. A grant of location 26, item 26-0525, ever source applying for a grant of location to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Somerville Avenue from existing manhole 14831 to point of 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 city council meeting, the uh full city council meeting, um, and it was referred to the committee for further discussion. Um, is there anyone here to speak on this item this evening? Adam Chair, I see a hand raised. You are unmuted on our end. Hey Janet, it's Jackie Dapy from Eversource. So are you? Good. How are you? Thank you, Ms. Excellent. I'm excellent. Thank you. Um this was referred to committee because JT had said that there was um double polls. And when I went out there that following day, there are no double polls here, but um from what he texted me. I asked him where the double polls were, and his answer to me was they are not doubled, but they closest the closest poll to sum of a lab directly adjacent to the G O L site at dangerously leaning. So I went back to the division and they're working on getting those polls replaced. And when we do replace the polls, an outage will be needed. Okay. Fantastic. Yes, thank you, Miss Dubia. I appreciate your work on that, even ahead of this meeting. Um we actually um I have so I do have some questions to understand the the work at this location. Um, but since you did bring up the the leaning of the poll, um, we do have a a picture of the poll just for everyone's reference and context. Um Clerk Potier, could you show that? Yeah, so this is the poll in question.

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