Council approves National Grid petition for new gas mains after company promises enhanced supervision and resident notices

The City Council granted a petition from a developer-customer served by National Grid to extend gas mains on Boston, Second and Third streets, and to install a short crossing on Second Street. The petition had been postponed previously for additional information and a National Grid representative attended the public hearing to answer councilors' questions.

Diana Cutting, the company representative, said the permit packet will include a traffic-management plan, door-hanger notifications for affected residences, and contact information for a dedicated supervisor assigned to Everett. Contractors will handle paving and patching; National Grid said it will perform inspections 30 days after completion and again at one year to address settlement and failed patches.

Councilors raised concerns about previous construction work, patching quality and the sufficiency of advance notice to residents and businesses. Cutting said permit language can prohibit storage of equipment in the public right-of-way, and that in this case the project's customer requested service to three new buildings, which required extending mains. She said the company will include supervisor contact information on the mailers and do door-to-door notifications where work directly affects driveways.

The Council voted in favor of the petition in a roll-call vote recorded as 8 yeas, 1 nay. Councilors said they will monitor compliance and asked the engineering department to ensure permit conditions require clear staging, adequate notice and follow through on patch repairs.

Next steps: National Grid will proceed with the permit application and staging consistent with the conditions discussed; engineering and inspectional services will monitor for compliance and enforce patch repairs after the 30- and 60-day inspection cycle.