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.

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

Um so it does seem to be uh quite amiss.

So just a little bit, a tad bit.

Excellent.

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

Um, I have some other questions about the work.

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

Okay, thank you.

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

Of the work?

Um okay, thank you.

So um, Miss Duffy, uh since I'm really new at this, I'm you know, learning a lot uh 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.

Okay.

Um so on the second page of of if you can scroll down, Clerk Potier, you can see where the point of pickup is at 22 Kent Street, which is pretty close to the manhole.

Um 14831.

And so um, how does how does it how does the additional work how is that related to this job, like the 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 um 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 are you talking about?

Um just the pole that we were just looking at.

Oh, the pole that that poll has nothing to do with.

Yeah.

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 condu the conduits underground?

Okay, so it goes underground, but the pole has the overhead wires.

So that's why we need to replace that pole.

Uh poll zero over one six one right there on the corner.

Yep.

So this that poll has nothing to do with this job at all.

It's just that they have that for reference right there.

Yeah.

Yes.

Um, so is uh just because I don't understand this yet.

If um 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 just 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 is another type.

Okay.

Thank you.

That's just helpful for my education.

I really appreciate it.

So I believe uh just through the tier, I believe they're gonna try to do two of the polls that are on that street.

Um, 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.

Okay, excellent.

Excellent.

That would be that would be great.

There's two of them look like they were uh leaning.

Fantastic.

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

Not on my adventure.

Thank you.

Uh just per our discussion uh about polls and and double polls more proudly.

Um I appreciate uh uh Ms.

Duffy, you're absolutely correct.

Uh this is not a case of double polls.

Uh do want to note that uh very closely in the same neighborhood.

There are some double poles, some of them we've talked about, like at Ivalu, Ivalu, and Harrison.

Uh those are very nearby.

Um, 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.

Um, but we are, you know, we are hoping for progress from uh from every source and all of the different utilities.

Yes, I'll go back to the division with that one on Ibaloo again.

I think it's Ivalu and Harrison.

There's one on Ibaloo just on Ivalloo, and then another one at the end of the Ivalu and Harrison right at the end.

And just to um re so for everybody can recall and um for those who might be watching now, we had conditioned the um grant of location on Ivalu on a safety inspection of those double poles as well as the wires.

Um do you have a a status update on that?

I don't.

I will go back.

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.

Yep.

That's counselor wheeler notes.

That's those are those are indeed double polls.

Um and have been working on those for a long time.

Yes.

Great.

Thank you.

Um, so I would I would like to condition this grant on the uh so you said that this poll will need to be replaced.

Right.

Yes, it will.

And uh I would like to note I really appreciate that you will, you know, that the plan is to replace the pole and not add another not add a create a new double pole.

So that's fantastic.

That's great news.

Um 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 and some of them, but I just talked when that meeting is yes, that is that is going to be in the sustainability and infrastructure um committee, hopefully in the next month or two.

But yeah, it's TBD.

Um so all right, so um Clerk Potier, I would like to condition the grant of location on the uh repair of the leaning poll, and I forget which number it is.

I don't know which number zero zero over one six one.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, I was reading that as one nine one over zero.

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 any more do you have any further comments or questions, Miss Duffy?

No, I'm good.

Thank you.

Okay, great.

Um, so Clerk Potier, I think we're ready to move to a vote on that.

Absolutely in the minutes.

Absolutely.

Yes, absolutely.

Um, Madam Chair, we would first take a roll call vote on the condition itself, which I have written as um conditioning the grant on repairing poll one nine one over zero at the corner of Somerville in Kent.

Is that accurate?

Yes.

Absolutely.

Okay, so on the condition, counselor Davis.

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes, Chair Hart.

Yes.

And then I would recommend taking a roll call vote on the item itself.

Great.

On the item itself, Councillor Davis.

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes.

Chair Hart.

Yes.

All right.

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

Excellent.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Duffy.

Um, 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, so we'll move.

Very good.

Um on the minutes and on adjournment.

Counselor Davis.

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes.

Chair Hart.

Yes.

The minutes are accepted, and this committee is adjourned.

Thanks all.

Have a good night.

Thank you, Chair.