National Grid seeks to relocate two High Street poles to clear new construction at 38 Newton Street

A representative for National Grid told the Gardner City Council at a Feb. 2 public hearing that the utility needs to relocate two jointly owned poles on High Street to address clearance problems caused by new construction at 38 Newton Street.

Colton Marshall, introduced himself as a National Grid representative and said, "This is a job for, new construction at 38 Newton Street. The building is close it's too close to the existing overhead high voltage lines, which necessitated us to reroute power." He described the plan as a two-pole relocation: moving Pole 31 westerly to shorten the span and relocating Pole 30 diagonally southwesterly across the street to achieve additional clearance.

The public notice attached to the petition describes starting the work at a point approximately 10 feet south of the center line of the High and New Street intersection and continuing roughly 120 feet east. The petition was filed by Massachusetts Electrical Company doing business as National Grid together with Verizon New England Inc.; the notice to abutters was dated Jan. 23, 2026.

No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition during the hearing, and no council questions were raised before the chair declared the hearing closed. The council did not take a recorded vote during the hearing; the petition was presented and the hearing concluded.

The relocation is intended to alleviate clearance issues between overhead high-voltage lines and the new building; timing and permitting details were not specified in the hearing record. The council packet includes a sketch of the proposed pole locations and the formal petition documents.