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City hears pitch from Mass Save partner on door-hanger outreach; city attorney cautions on solicitation rules
Summary
Revise Inc., the city's Mass Save Home Performance partner, proposed door-hanger literature drops and other outreach under a Community First Partnership grant. The City Attorney and councilors discussed legal limits on door-to-door solicitation and mailboxes and asked for materials and a memorandum of understanding.
Representatives of Revise Inc. described Sept. 9 how the company will deliver outreach materials — including bilingual door hangers and direct mail — to promote no-cost home energy assessments under the National Grid / Mass Save Community First Partnership.
Neil Potter, director of partnerships for Revise Inc., told the Utilities Committee that the three-year Community First Partnership focuses on environmental-justice communities and that Lynn was selected for cooperative outreach. Potter said outreach would include literature drops (door hangers), direct mail and referrals to Revise for home energy assessments, insulation and HVAC interventions. He said the city and Revise signed a memorandum of understanding on June 30 to collaborate in cobranded outreach.
City Attorney LaManna told councilors there is no local ordinance that prohibits leaving literature on doors, but he cautioned about federal restrictions on placing materials in or around mailboxes. He also said the council has previously denied door-to-door canvassing permits and noted the city ordinance carries a $300 fine for unpermitted soliciting/door-to-door activity. He said staff should educate any Revise personnel about those limits.
Councilors asked about program timeline, whether direct mail had been considered and whether the materials could be union-printed; Revise said the program runs on a three-year cycle that began earlier in 2025, that direct mail is planned, and that it would pass the union-printing request to its marketing director. Revise said payment-tier caps from National Grid mean income-eligible customers may be wait-listed until Jan. 1, 2026, when the program’s calendar-year funding refreshes; Revise told the council that the contractor will still enroll residents now and will prioritize eligible households when funds are available.
Several councilors asked Revise to plan for litter control and to instruct field staff to place hangers inside storm doors where possible to reduce blow-away. Revise said the hangers will be bilingual and that final samples would be provided to the council.
No council vote was required; Attorney LaManna and council members agreed Revise could proceed with literature drops provided staff avoid knocking or ringing doorbells and respect mailbox law. The committee asked Revise to supply final hanger proofs and the memorandum of understanding for the council record.
