Boston Globe NorthWest
October 30, 2003

Bedford shoots down FedEx boycott, targets double poles

By Denise Dube, Globe Correspondent

BEDFORD -- Town Meeting members voted Monday night to try to force NStar to remove double utility poles, and defeated a bid to boycott Federal Express as it considers flights serving Hanscom Field.

The two measures highlighted a marathon session, which also reaffirmed the Community Preservation Act's 3 percent property tax surcharge, and approved the use of $235,340 of the preservation act's money, as well as $26,700 of the town's money, to complete renovation of Town Hall. To balance the budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, the 277 members also took $98,000 from free cash accounts and cut $105,263 from from school, public works, and other town departments.

The FedEx proposal, which was defeated 73-64, was modeled after actions by Lexington and Lincoln, which are boycotting the courier in an effort to discourage service to Hanscom. Critics say they are concerned about noise, pollution, and heavy truck traffic. FedEx hasn't said when it will decide on its plans for Hanscom.

''The town of Bedford has the right not to be a FedEx customer,'' resident Lori Eggert told the crowd. ''Lexington and Lincoln have already done this. Let's be as courageous as they are.''

Bob Fagen, chairman of the Planning Board, asked, ''How can we use a vendor that pollutes us?''

But opponents of the proposal said with less than $1,000 a year in FedEx business, Bedford would be sending a weak message, and some officials wondered whether the message should be sent at all.

''The selectmen would have great hesitation in supporting such a boycott,'' Selectman Sheldon Moll said.

Resident Jeptha Wade and others said air traffic is part of life in the area. ''Nobody moved into this town not knowing there was an airport next door,'' he said. ''We've lost all common sense. This, to me, is a terrible way to do this.''

In the action on double poles, members voted to hold NStar to the state-mandated bylaw requiring double poles to be removed within 90 days or face a $100 fine for each day of violation. Though there are serious questions over whether the town can enforce the bylaw, Finance Committee officials said Bedford is the first community to have a bylaw that would charge for such infractions.

Double poles occur when a new utility pole is placed next to an old pole, and the wiring is moved, but the old pole remains in place even though it is no longer in service. NStar owns the poles in question, though other utilities also use them.

''Bedford is literally littered with double poles and hanging poles and leaning poles, thanks, to my mind, to the total indifference of our state-protected monopoly electric energy distribution company, NStar,'' Selectman Gordon Feltman told Town Meeting members before the vote. According to a report submitted by Verizon to the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy on Oct. 14, there are now 318 double poles in Bedford.

Feltman said, however, that state law ''provides for no inspection, reporting or enforcement whatsoever of this sensible and reasonable requirement. So NStar ignores the law.''

But Feltman noted that town counsel advised the selectmen that the new bylaw might not be enforceable.

Meanwhile, in a letter dated Oct. 22, NStar's assistant general counsel, Jeffrey Stevens, discussed the state law and ''respectfully'' urged the town ''to withdraw its proposed amendment'' to its bylaw ''until such time as the Massachusetts Legislature renders its findings relative to the enforcement of'' the law.

Feltman also noted that Attorney General Thomas Reilly reviews all new bylaws to determine their legality, and could strike down Bedford's effort.

In a telephone interview, NStar spokesman Michael Durand said, ''We have heard loud and clear that the double poles are a concern to the community, which is why we continue to work hard to address the issue.''

NStar officials, he said, are working with officials of Verizon and Comcast, which also use the poles, to address pole removal.

At Monday's meeting in the Bedford High School auditorium, Ingrid Klimoff of Lexington took notes. Lexington has 373 double poles, according to Patrick Mehr, chairman of the Lexington Electric Utility Ad Hoc Committee.

Mehr made a presentation to the Department of Telecommunications and Energy last month and said that NStar officials are expected at Monday's selectmen's meeting to tell officials how they will address the problem.

NStar's Durand said the company already has started talking with Lexington.

''We are currently monitoring the progress of a pilot program underway in Lexington that we expect will lead to more timely pole removal,'' Durand said.

Mehr said, ''We've heard about it but they have never told us officially. We assume they will tell us more at the selectmen's meeting.''

Denise Dube can be reached a dube@globe.com

This story ran on page 3 of the Boston Globe NW on 10/30/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. ==========
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