Methuen City holds public hearing on petition to set new utility pole on Lowell Street

Methuen City held a public hearing April 20, 2025, on petition 31004482 from National Grid and Verizon to set one new utility pole on Lowell Street to raise low-hanging communication wires.

A representative from National Grid told the council the company visited the site after a resident request and found communication wires sagging over the street. "I could see immediately why that was the reason," the National Grid representative said, describing an incident in which a trash truck would not pick up cans at the curb because the truck's lifting arms were catching the low wires. The representative said National Grid planned to place the new pole about 95 feet from an existing pole and pull the lines toward the grass shoulder within the public right-of-way to increase clearance.

The petition affects the frontage of 790 Lowell Street. Mary Burke, who said she lives at that address, told the council she requested the pole after several service disruptions and safety issues. "The trash truck with their arms lifting up the cans are getting caught in the wires, so we have to put our trash on the opposite side of the street," Burke said. She added septic and delivery vehicles have also been reluctant to enter the driveway because of the low wires and that she has sought a pole since a pole was hit further down the road in December 2023 or January 2024.

Council members asked no substantive questions during the hearing, and no other members of the public spoke. The transcript does not record a formal vote or final decision on petition 31004482; it records the public hearing and public comment but does not indicate approval or denial of the petition.

Later in the meeting a motion to adjourn was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote (recorded as six in favor); the transcript does not clearly identify the mover or seconder for the adjournment motion.

The proposed pole would remain in the public right-of-way but shifted onto the grass shoulder rather than the travel lane, according to the National Grid representative's diagram described to the council. Further procedural steps or final action on the petition were not captured in the provided transcript segment.