Committee Report - PUPW - 2-29-12 — File 192661

February 29, 2012 Public Utilities and Public Works Committee Page 1 of 3 Printed 3/7/2012 REPORT OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Sean T. O’Donovan Chair Present Robert C. Trane Vice Chair Present John M Connolly Alderman At Large Present Dennis M. Sullivan Alderman At Large Present Frank Wright City Solicitor Present Stan Koty DPW Commissioner Present Steve MacEachern Supt., Lines and Lights Present Bob Masci NSTAR Present Dana Terone NSTAR Present Douglas Foley NSTAR Present Mark Reed NSTAR Present Stan Usovicz Verizon Present 190062 - That the Commissioner of Public Works Direct the Appropriate Utility to Remove the Double Pole at 29 Delaware Street and Check the Utility Lines for Safety as They Appear to be Touching the House.: Mr. Masci reported that he visited the site and there is no double pole at that address. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 190133 - That the Public Utilities and Public Works Committee discuss the damage done to the roof of 140 Willow Avenue by the utility companies working there.: Mr. Usovicz suggested that the property owner contact him to investigae this matter. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 191056 - That the Commissioner of Public Works contact the appropriate utilities to address the overloaded and low hanging wires at Somerville Avenue at Kent Street, Somerville Avenue at Linden Street, and along Tyler Street.: Mr. Usovicz said that he would investigate this matter.

Committee Meeting February 29, 2012 Public Utilities and Public Works Committee Page 2 of 3 Printed 3/7/2012 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 191674 - That the City Clerk request that representatives of NStar Gas and Electric appear before this Board’s Committee on Public Works and Public Utilities regarding the recent power outage in Magoun Square (June 14-15), ongoing repairs in West Somerville, and ongoing repairs and improvements citywide.: Mr. Koty the recent meeting with NSTAR and stated that Mr. Masci gave assurances that NSTAR is committed to working with the city on the upgrades. Mr. Masci told the members that the problems leading to the January 12th power outage in Magoun Square have been dealt with and customers have been notified. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 191981 - That the City Clerk contact NStar Electric to request that a representative appear before this Board to explain the process for requesting commercial service.: Mr. Reed informed the committee of the process involved for requesting commercial service. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 192242 - That this Board requests that the Administration coordinate efforts with NStar to inventory the non-operating lights in West Somerville and make them operational as quickly as possible.: RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 192279 - That this Board requests that NStar and National Grid create a policy to notify the Mayor’s Office, Communications Dept., Constituent Services Dept. and all affected Aldermen of scheduled outages, ensuring that a repeat of the November 16 incident, where only residents were notified, is not repeated.: Mr. Reed discussed methods of providing notification to customers for planned power outages and spoke about the safety and security concerns involved. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 192309 - That the Commissioner of Public Works arrange for all utilities with equipment on double poles to meet with the Committee on Public Utilities and Works early in 2012.:

Committee Meeting February 29, 2012 Public Utilities and Public Works Committee Page 3 of 3 Printed 3/7/2012 RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 192487 - That the Commissioner of Public Works advise the appropriate utility company to repair/replace the streetlamps at the locations listed within.: RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 192523 - NStar Electric responding to #192310 re: street lights, double poles, power outages, and other items.: Mr. Koty told the members that there are approximately 300 inoperable lights in the city, however, NSTAR claims that all but 55 have been repaired. Alderman Connolly's motion that the Commissioner of Public Works follow up on the information provided by NSTAR relative to the number of inoperable lights remaining to be repaired and follow up on a bi-weekly schedule on NSTAR's progress in anticipation of completing the repairs within 60 days, was approved. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 192593 - That this Board’s Committee on Public Utilities and Works investigate the repeated power outages around 470 Medford Street and take the necessary steps to ensure that NStar resolves this problem.: Mr. Reed stated that he would be responsive to the customers involved. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 192597 - That the Commissioner of Public Works update the Public Works and Utilities Committee with the status of double poles and street lamps not working.: Mr. Koty informed the committee that there are 110 double poles in the city at the present time, of which 41 are scheduled to be remediated by NSTAR within the next 30 to 60 days. There was a discussion about ways to track the number of double poles, including utilizing Parking Control Officers and possibly hiring an intern, since the city no longer has access to the double pole database. Mr. Usovicz assured the members that Verizon will continue to make progress in this matter and that he would provide an update at the next committee meeting. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE