ORDER-2021-31 : Petition of National Grid to install 1 SO Pole on West Highland Ave beginning at a point approximately 25 ft northwest of the centerline of the intersection of Pratt St and accompanying sidewalk anchor fixture.

Transcript (~12 min @ 30:40)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 30:39 Speaker 1: Yes, yes. Yes, yes, McMaster. Yes, not. Yes, yes, Stuart. Yes, Thomas. Yes, yes.

▶ 31:11 Jen Grigoraitis: President Grigoraitis yes 11. Yes 11. Yes. So the public hearing is now open.

▶ 31:18 Jen Grigoraitis: i believe we have some members of national grid who are coming to speak

▶ 31:44 Speaker 4: good evening counselors good evening gentlemen you have the okay thank you so i'm here on behalf of

▶ 31:50 Speaker 3: national grid the electric side my address is 170 medford street in malvin so national grid is conditioning to install a stop pole on West Highland Ave. This is to serve as an alternative for a pole to tree guy I'll be thinking of soon. There's a tree at the house at the corner 47 West Highland Ave that the customer wants to pick out. So they want to have a replacement for that's guy wire that's why that whole an anchor will be installed thank you

▶ 32:35 Jen Grigoraitis: thank you do we have anyone else from national grid or dbw we wish

▶ 32:52 Speaker 5: do we have i can jen i assume i should wait until uh there are questions yes

▶ 32:57 Jen Grigoraitis: do we sorry ellen i don't even see you on the screen um i didn't even know you were there okay Do we have any, any women from the public wishing to speak in the public hearing? If you're participating wish to speak, please raise your digital hand.

▶ 33:17 Jen Grigoraitis: No. Okay. Do we have questions from counselors?

▶ 33:22 Speaker 4: Counselor Garipay.

▶ 33:26 Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I got a quick question just on the company. It says accompanying sidewalk anchor fixture, if they can just explain, explain what that is just for my knowledge. Is that a cable that comes down from the pole to the actual ground level to support it? Yep, correct. It's a metal rope that attaches to the pole, just to support the pole line so everything doesn't come over. Basically, that technical, that's going to be the last pole along that line. If you look from Pratt Street, so it needs to guide down. It's going to allow passage for pedestrians along the sidewalk. so we have to do that sidewalk angle fixture it's basically you know metallic rope that's tied to the top of the pole then somewhere around 12 feet you have like a perpendicular arm stretching out

▶ 34:24 Mark Garipay: just to give that room for passage so where this pool is going to be located it's on the um it's on the grass between the sidewalk and the street and the cable will be running running down down to the grass um to that section um do i understand it correctly

▶ 34:45 Speaker 3: okay the kid will go you know just at the edge of the sidewalk just by the fence but where the the pole will go to the front edge of the sidewalk yeah i think that sidewalks i mean it's over six feet so i don't know if you picture what you're trying to like slip here yes i don't know

▶ 35:15 Speaker 3: so like i said the pole will go to the front edge of the sidewalk while the anchor the guy and the guy will go at the back end of the sidewalk he's going to hug the fence okay yeah

▶ 35:29 Mark Garipay: um and then i just had one other uh one other concern and it really has to do with um not just um not just your company but i believe verizon i believe you split the polls in belrose i you know some are owned by uh each each utility company and and one of my concerns um and i have addressed this with um with the head of the dpw which is where so probably know where i'm going with this is is the repair of the sidewalks um i personally think it takes way too long for the sidewalks to get repaired we have one on on willow street that i'm not sure if it was your company We have another one with a cone in the corner of Hillcrest and Upham. There's a cable that comes down on Sylvan Street into the sidewalk. And none of those sidewalks have ever been repaired. So these are safety hazards for our residents who are walking. And, you know, this is a major concern for me as a wood counselor. I would really like to see your company really make a better effort, I guess, to make sure we repair these in a timely manner, because I think some of these things that are the sidewalks, at least a couple of the ones I know have been there three or four months. And to me, as a city councilor, I think that's unacceptable, to be perfectly honest with you. So I just want to make you aware of it in your company, and I know it's not just National Grid. Verizon, I believe, owns some of the poles, but I think we need to make an honest effort into repairing these sidewalks in a timely manner. Thank you.

▶ 37:08 Speaker 3: Okay, thank you. So if you allow me to respond to that, maybe I can take a look at all the cases you've mentioned, case by case with the DPW director. I don't know if they're all, you know, where, I mean, all the sidewalks were opened by, you know, done by national grid. But I know technically we install poles, whereas Verizon takes out the poles. I don't know what the situation is for all these cases you've mentioned. But, you know, not the case. I mean, we'll still look into all the cases and, you know, figure out if we have to do something.

▶ 37:43 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Yeah, and I understand they're not all your polls, but I just, this was my opportunity to this was my opportunity to to just make you aware of 1 of my concerns. So I appreciate that. And I can get you that information if you do need it. Thank you. Thank you. Yep.

▶ 38:05 Cory Thomas: Welcome Thomas. Thank you. Madam president. Mr. you said this pool that is being moved. It's currently in front of 7 West Highland Avenue. Is it going to remain 47 West Highland, or is it going to move to a different location?

▶ 38:20 Speaker 3: So, what is 47 West Highland have is an anchor that goes to a tree. For all constructions, the electric company, Mass Electric, they will tie a metallic rope from a pole to a supporting structure like a tree just for support.

▶ 38:45 Speaker 3: so we're going to install a new pole which will stay there you know permanently yeah so the tree is going away new point I'm caught with their permanently okay so it's a pole replacement in

▶ 39:00 Cory Thomas: the same location and the anchors being taken away permanently yeah well guy where replacements if you

▶ 39:14 Cory Thomas: see all right thank you sir thank you for being here and answering our questions thank you to

▶ 39:24 John N. Tramontozzi: Yes, I thank you. Madam president, Mr. attached to the order is a memorandum dated November 6, 2020 from. Elena practice Ellis, a department of public works director, some conditions that have been addressed on this memorandum. Are you prepared to accept those conditions in the performance of your duties and. Obligations in the in the construction of this, have you seen that that memorandum?

▶ 39:57 Speaker 3: I'm not no, sir. I'm not.

▶ 40:03 John N. Tramontozzi: All right, Miss Miss Alice, could you provide that memorandum to national grids representatives? And I would ask that that memorandum be placed into the order in that I would move to. Um, that that memory, the, the order. Be amended to reflect that. The conditions to be adopted before this project can proceed.

▶ 40:41 Jen Grigoraitis: So, we have a motion by counselor chairman to be seconded by counseling master to amend. I just want to make sure I understand what you said to amend the order to add in this memo.

▶ 40:56 John N. Tramontozzi: Yes, rephrasing that correctly. Yes, it would be. My order would be to amend. My, my motion would be to amend the order to add. The specific conditions outlined in the memorandum as as conditions for approval of the, the order.

▶ 41:15 Jen Grigoraitis: Okay, do you want to wait to deal with that motion until we're out of the public hearing person? I just feel like, just to make it a little cleaner while we're still in that. Is that. are you and counselor mcmaster okay with that yes absolutely i just wanted to bring it to

▶ 41:33 Jen Grigoraitis: mr kakoro's um attention thank you thank you are there any other counselors wishing to speak during the public hearing no okay counselor thomas thank you madam president uh i'd like to make a motion

▶ 41:45 Cory Thomas: to close the public hearing for order 2021-31 second so we have a motion to close the public

▶ 41:53 Jen Grigoraitis: hearing on order 2021-31 made by councillor thomas seconded by councillor sanella

▶ 42:06 Speaker 1: adam clark can you please call the role councillor snella yes councillor eccles yes councillor

▶ 42:19 Speaker 1: Garipay yes councillor demoladine yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor mcnaught yes councillor