Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/13/2022
LONGMEADOW – Half a dozen residents attended a public hearing at the Longmeadow Select Board meeting on April 4 to voice fears that Eversource would install overhead electrical wires on their street. However, an Eversource representative worked to dispel concerns by explaining the infrastructure involved in the Ellington Street project.
Resident Richard Fontaine said Ellington Street is a “residential ideal” in layout and has “a certain aesthetic and a certain character.” He described the idea of overhead power lines as “outrageous,” “a catastrophe” and an “abomination.”
Resident Betsy Huber Port expressed concern that overhead lines might pose a danger due to the number of old trees on the street. Residents Dave Marinelli and Kathy Burroughs both said the petition was confusing.
The project proposal cited an upgrade to the service at 47 Ellington St. as the main reason a new transformer was needed. Brian Prast, the resident at that address, spoke before the board with questions for Eversource. He pointed out that an upgrade to his electrical service was performed in December 2021 and asked what additional upgrades were needed. He also asked why the location, between house numbers 33 and 47, was chosen for the transformer. He expressed concerns that it would be “intrusive.” Finally, he asked if there would be trenching of neighborhood yards and the street.
A representative from Eversource, Matthew Fuller, addressed Prast’s questions and the other concerns. He said the first portion of the upgrade to 47 Ellington St., from the house to the street, was done last year. With a moratorium on further work over the winter, Eversource had to wait until spring to finish the job.
The electrical infrastructure runs from Route 5 to an existing transformer, so that the power can be regulated to an amount that houses can handle. However, Fuller explained there are 18 homes served by one transformer and that will be insufficient as homeowners seek to upgrade their service in the future. The electricity for the street will now be split between the two transformers. Additionally, should one stop working, the other will act as a backup and prevent an outage.
Fuller said the placement of the transformer on the tree belt, between the homes, was chosen to accommodate the houses on that end of the street.
As for the look of the new transformer, Fuller said it will be completely below ground with a metal grate over it, similar to the existing transformer on the street. “We have absolutely no intent,” of adding overhead lines, Fuller said.
Fuller said the confusion about overhead lines stems from the boilerplate language used in the introduction of the petition. That introduction, which mentions “a pole, wire or cables,” is used in all work petitions to towns. The rest of the document and the attached diagram, which is specific to each project, makes no mention of poles or wires.
“We don’t want boilerplate, we want a document that describes what you want to do,” commented Select Board Chair Steven Marantz.
Select Board member Mark Gold said that petitions “all read this way.” He said, “Rest assured, there will be no poles, no wires on Ellington [Street].”
Select Board Clerk Josh Levine agreed, and assured residents the Select Board does not “accept poles easily.”
Gold went on to say that as more people buy electric vehicles, the demand for electricity will increase. He asked if there would be a trench dug in the road. Fuller said there would be and that Eversource was aware that they would need to repair the street with an eight-foot patch.
The project was approved.
Adult Center Use
The board reviewed three one-day liquor licenses from the Longmeadow Adult Community Center Fund (LACCF). The organization has hosted several events at the center at which alcohol has been served. Gold questioned whether the private organization should be charged to rent the center, as is the case with other private organizations. Marantz also noted the licenses were not filled out correctly. It was decided to approve the licenses before the board without charge with the caveat that the paperwork is completed.
Updates
Town Manager Lyn Simmons gave a quarterly update to the board on the town’s legal expenses. She said that Eversource-related legal matters have cost $7,200 year-to-date, while $2,800 has been spent so far in the lawsuit and counter suit over the land on which Department of Public Works garage sits.
Simmons informed the board that Community Echo Power (CEP), the vendor it has used for solid waste disposal, went bankrupt in 2021. The town has recently been made aware that all contracts with the company are up for cancellation. Simmons said the town will have to search for a new vendor. “It’s looking like whatever we do is going to cost more,” she said. The solid-waste hauling contract will also need to be restructured because it is based on the distance the waste is hauled, which will change with a new vendor.
Select Board member Thomas Lachiusa expressed concerns about the lack of mental health resources available to dispatchers at WestCOMM, the regional dispatch center used by the town.
Lachiusa cited a recent case in Pittsfield during which a resident, Miguel Estrella, was having a mental health crisis. Responding police killed him when he did not comply with orders to drop a knife. Lachiusa said having a crisis team who is trained to handle mental health incidents available to police 24 hours a day could save lives.