Cheshire Asks for Verizon Pole Cleanup, Hears Park Update
 The board asked Verizon to remove old poles that aren't being used. |
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen want Verizon to remove decommissioned utility poles.
A representative from Verizon attended Tuesday night's public hearing on the installation of a new utility pole off Curran Road. Although selectmen approved the placement of the pole, they asked if Verizon could remove decommissioned ones.
Highway Superintendent Peter LeFebvre said the double poles are particularly bad on Church Street.
"There is a pole that is still there, and it has been there over a year," LeFebvre said. "Whoever put the pole there left a big mess, and we had to clean it up so people could use the sidewalks."
Chairwoman Carol Francesconi said this is an ongoing problem with Verizon.
"Every single time we have a pole hearing it's always a problem," Francesconi said. "It's not where you are putting the new pole, it is where you leave the old ones. Seems the only way we can get your attention is when you need something."
The Verizon representative said if Cheshire can supply him with the locations of the poles he will try to make it a priority to have them removed.
Ron Lancia of the Pine Valley Homeowners Association updated the board on recent construction at the Morgan Management-owned mobile home park. He said they finished installing units and fixing lawns, but the roads are still unpaved.
"In my opinion the job isn't finished until the roads are blacktopped and the systems inspected," Lancia said. "I haven't seen anybody come in ... to sign off on anything so we don't even know if the system is legal."
He said if the roads remain unpaved there will be problems at the park.
"It was a four-month job that turned into a year and four months," he said. "We had to walk all winter long because we had no driveways and you think they would give us a rent decrease for a few months. I can see stones flying if they don't blacktop."
Town Administrator Mark Webber said he believes the Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for signing off on the park and he would contact them.
In other business:
• Webber said he received complaints about a chlorine smell in the water. Francesconi said she noticed this as well.
"That's the case all over town. It was terrible," she said. "You could just run the water and smell it."
Rick Gurney with the Water Department said it was because of a routine cleaning.
Francesconi said it would be better if the Water Department informed people when this happens.
"What they should do is do a reverse-911," she said. "It would save a lot of headaches and a lot of phone calls."
Gurney said the department will inform people during the next cleaning, which should be sometime in late October.
• Webber also reported a minor gas leak on Church Street. He said the leak is not dangerous and is marked off for construction.
• The board continued discussion on the updating of town job descriptions and the town employee handbook. The board signed off on new discipline items in the handbook and will meet with department heads to go over the guidelines.
• The selectmen approved the planning board's recommended fee increases for special permits. Special Agricultural fees will increase from $200 to $300 and residential and commercial special permits will be raised from $300 to $400.
Tags: mobile home park, utility pole, Verizon,
