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Date: 10/14/2021
LONGMEADOW – The Longmeadow Select Board approved a utility pole on Forest Glen Road at its Oct. 4 meeting, but not everyone was happy about it.
The matter was first discussed at the Sept. 20 board meeting, during which an Eversource representative explained that the residence at 161 Forest Glen Rd. was receiving less than reliable electrical service because the transmission to the house ran from a hard-to-reach pole at the rear of the property and experienced extended service interruptions, as it was the last house to be serviced during an outage.
Fixing the issue would require driving a bucket truck onto a neighbor’s lawn and removing trees and other vegetation near the pole. Instead, Eversource requested a utility pole be placed on the tree belt in front of the house so wires can be overhead run from an existing pole across the street.
Select Board members Mark Gold and Thomas Lachiusa had objected with concerns that overhead electricity lines would impact the character of the street. After a site visit from Select Board Chair Marc Strange, Clerk Josh Levine, Town Manager Lyn Simmons, Administrative Assistant Mike Barbieri, the Eversource representative and the homeowner, Strange explained that if the pole was not installed on the tree belt, the resident would have it installed on their private property, which is out of town control.
Lachiusa asked why a bucket truck was needed to service the existing pole and suggested lineworkers could climb the pole to do the work. Levine said that the required work was not that simple and there may be regulations to consider. Gold told Lachiusa, “[Eversource] insisted they have the right to bring house electrical power” from the existing infrastructure “and come across the street.”
Levine told his colleagues that the home was in a unique position due to its location. “There’s no other really good option for these folks.” He added, “If a utility pole goes in there, I don’t think it ruins the integrity of the neighborhood.”
Gold responded that the homeowners are “kidding themselves” that a line running only to one house will be serviced faster than the existing set-up at the rear of the property. He went on to say that Eversource will “start to string all kinds of wires from [the new pole],” but Levine and Strange pointed out that all of the other houses on the street are served through underground lines and there would be no other houses that require overhead transmission.
Marantz commented the choice between a pole on the tree belt or on the resident’s lawn was “pretty crummy,” but said a pole on a lawn was “significantly worse.”
The board voted 3-2 to approve the project, with Gold and Lachiusa opposed.
Short-Term Rentals
During public comment, three Meadowbrook Road residents voiced their concerns about a property owned by Maureen Weeks. Resident Caitlyn Millet told the board that Weeks provides short-term rentals and “has turned her home into a flophouse.”
She read a letter from a neighbor, who said people are moving in “at all times of the day and late-night” and that this has “stolen” the neighbors’ “sense of security.” The letter went on to say parents have stopped their children from playing in their yards and that Weeks has allegedly rented “to a known sex offender.”
Millet alleged Weeks’ tenants carry open containers of alcohol “up and down our street.” She stated that one tenant was “drinking and smoking and trying to climb a tree” and that he then stared at her daughter. When police responded to Millet’s complaint, she said, Weeks “shut the door in their face.” Millet also said that she has called the police late at night because one of Weeks’s tenants took a suitcase from a vehicle parked in front of Millet’s home and she thought they were going to break in.
Millet insisted that Weeks’ property be “regularly patrolled, monitored and taxed.” She did not explain what kind of tax she was requesting beyond the property tax Weeks is already required to pay.
Residents Susan Goldman and Robyn Barthel corroborated Millet’s account of activity on Meadowbrook Road. “We welcome everyone, culturally, of color, or race, religion, etc., but we do not want people who make us feel unsafe,” Goldman said. Barthel asked what the Select Board was going to do about the situation. She asked for restrictions on to whom and how often Weeks can rent her property. Strange told her that he will “take a look at it.”
Proposed Pipeline
On another topic, resident Deborah Sirulnik spoke against the proposed Eversource pipeline expansion project. “We are happy to see leaking pipes repaired or replaced but we are not fooled by Eversource claiming that the pipeline expansion through Longmeadow benefits the residents of Longmeadow. Previously publicized information on the project shows it involves a new metering station on land belonging to Longmeadow Country Club and pipes running into Springfield.
Later, Select Board Vice Chair Steve Marantz spoke about the proposed pipeline, which was originally a Columbia Gas project, and said he wanted residents to understand that the pipeline is “on the table.” He continued, “Columbia Gas managed to blow up Merrimack Valley.” Now that Eversource took over that company’s holdings, they are “bringing this thing back to life.” He urged residents to attend the Springfield City Council subcommittee meeting on Oct. 14 and the virtual forum that Eversource has organized on Nov. 9.
Warrant Process
The board had a lively discussion on the way for property owners to request zoning changes. An article for consideration on the Special Town Meeting warrant would rezone residential property adjacent to the Longmeadow Shops to commercial use. Marantz asked what the process was to add owner-requested zoning changes to the warrant. Simmons explained that the process is regulated by M.G.L. Chapter 40A Section 5. The petitioner for the zoning change must go to the Select Board, which refers it to the Planning Board for review and recommendation. Then, the Select Board chooses whether or not to include it on the warrant.
Levine explained that it had gone through the proper channels, as it had come before the Planning Board while he served on it. That body had recommended against the change 4-1.
Gold and Marantz argued that the property owner should have to get signatures, similar to a citizen’s petition, but Strange said that would curtail the rights of the owner.
Gold then changed tactics and said that it was a matter for the Annual Town Meeting, as the Special Town Meeting was designed to “clean up” matters not finished in the spring.
“The broader issue here is we’ve been chasing down ways to avoid hitting our tax ceiling and one of those ways to mitigate and elongate the timeline is to develop the parcels that we have to develop to increase our tax revenue,” Strange said. “This parcel is one of, if not the primary target for that.”
The board voted 3-2 to keep the article on the final warrant. Gold and Marantz dissented.