Milford Aldermen postpone vote on three United Illuminating easements after extended questioning

The Milford Board of Aldermen on April 7 postponed action on three utility easements requested by United Illuminating for the Millvaughn–West River 115-kilovolt transmission-line rebuild, voting 8 in favor and 7 opposed to table the items until the board’s May meeting.

The easements — described by United Illuminating counsel Jody Driscoll as two permanent aerial-rights parcels and one temporary access parcel linked to work at the Milford train station — were the final segment of a multi-year project approved by the Connecticut Siting Council in 2022. Driscoll told the board the company will not place poles on city-owned parcels and that the easements are primarily to allow the rebuilt lines to “sway” safely and to permit tree trimming and limited access for construction and maintenance.

Why it matters: the work runs along a busy rail corridor and touches downtown Milford near the train station and adjacent properties. Aldermen raised questions about visual impacts, electromagnetic field (EMF) effects, precise structure heights, the geographic extent of any sway over city land and the adequacy of materials provided in advance. Several aldermen said they had not seen the siting-council submission or visualization materials before the meeting and asked for those documents to be made readily available.

Details of the request and schedule United Illuminating attorney Jody Driscoll said the project will install new self-supporting steel monopoles mostly within Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) railroad corridor property; in a few locations the rebuilt lines could overhang or temporarily use adjacent parcels. At 0 River Street (a portion of the train-station parking lot) UI sought a permanent aerial easement of about 0.001 acres and a temporary work easement of about 0.04 acres for construction staging, including matting and a short-term work pad.

Project manager Paul Kenlein said UI documents preconstruction photographs to support restoration and that construction at the Milford train station would include foundation drilling and temporary closures timed to minimize disruption. Driscoll said the company expects drilling and pouring to begin on CDOT property in June 2025 and estimated the overall local work will take six to eight months, with disturbance on any single city parcel limited to several nonconsecutive days or up to roughly six nonconsecutive weeks during that period.

Payments and parcel values Driscoll said the city assessor provided compensation formulas used to value the easements. The figures presented in the meeting were: $12,304.04 for the easement identified near West River (0 River Street), a temporary-access valuation of $2,000 (described as an annual temporary fee tied to the short-term access), and $31,346 for a 0.029-acre portion of Prospect Street. Aldermen asked whether the $2,000 temporary fee is annual during the work and were told it is billed for the temporary period rather than a perpetual payment.

Safety, restoration and technical questions Driscoll and Paul Kenlein told the board UI conducts restoration and will restore property “to the condition that they found it in.” Kenlein said the company documents pre-construction conditions with photographs to match post-construction restoration. Miriam, introduced as UI’s land-management lead for transmission lines, told the board that properties that declined to grant rights on other projects prompted redesigns elsewhere in the region; she said the company had accommodated requests during earlier phases.

Aldermen pressed for specifics the company did not have at the microphone: exact monopole heights varied by span and topography and were part of the siting-council application and engineering plans, Driscoll said. The company said many details — including visualization studies and the full engineering package — are publicly available on the Connecticut Siting Council website but were not distributed as part of the aldermen’s meeting packet.

Board reaction and next steps Aldermen repeatedly said the packet lacked sufficient visuals and engineering details to evaluate aesthetic and safety impacts; several asked for a clearer list of materials the board expects to review before any final vote. After debate and two procedural roll-call votes (an earlier motion to “move the question” failed), Alderman Archiola made the motion to postpone action on agenda items 8C, 8D and 8E until the May meeting; the motion passed on a roll call of 8 yes, 7 no.

The board did not approve any easement language or payments on April 7. Driscoll said UI prefers to work with municipalities and would accept the board’s cooperation but also noted the company’s project had siting-council approval. No timeline for a revised presentation to the board was set at the meeting; aldermen indicated they intend to review the CSC filing and visualization materials and requested UI provide copies or links in advance of the May meeting.

Ending: The postponement leaves the last segment of the Millvaughn–West River rebuild unresolved in Milford until the board reviews the siting-council materials and additional documentation next month. The project team said drilling and foundation work is scheduled to begin on adjacent CDOT property in June 2025 and that access and coordination with city departments and the train-station operator will be part of the work plan.