Council grants National Grid request for Bayview Avenue poles with condition to relocate Pole 1799

The Salem City Council on Sept. 11 approved a petition by National Grid and Verizon to install jointly owned utility poles on Bayview Avenue, but the approval included a council condition that pole 1799 be moved later to its original mapped location to limit impacts on a nearby homeowner.

The matter drew sustained public comment and a technical discussion among councilors, the utility representative and neighbors. Chris Henderson, who lives at 99 Bayview Avenue, said the proposal as drawn would leave his home surrounded by poles on three of four corners and asked the council to postpone or to decide the full set of adjustments together so the final layout would not create unintended consequences. “My concern is that if we put a couple of the poles' locations in stone, it could cause problems later or possibly cause there not to be a desirable resolution overall,” Henderson said.

National Grid representatives (appearing as Dina/Ida Mahabir Sheehy and a staff member identified as Sabita in meeting discussion) explained that work is intended to address aerial crossing and service issues that pose a safety hazard at 106 Bayview Avenue and that some poles could be split into separate work orders. Sabita told the council the company would write a separate work order to move and rearrange a third pole later and said she could confirm — verbally in the meeting — that the neighbor would not end up with a pole on three corners of her property if the council approved the immediate installations.

Councilor Jerslow made the motion to grant the petition for the jointly owned poles at the corner of Bayview and Cross Avenue in front of 106 Bayview, with the condition that pole 1799 be moved back to its mapped location at a later date. After discussion the council adopted the motion; the hearing was closed and the petition was granted under the stated conditions.

The council record shows several site visits and coordination with the city electrician and the city engineer; councilors said the immediate approval addressed a near-term safety hazard while directing the company to return quickly with the relocated-pole work order. The action was a vote by voice and carried.

The council’s action applies only to the poles and conduit locations authorized in the petitions; additional work orders or changes described by the utility will require return to the council for approval as needed.