WORCESTER – The Worcester City Council meets on Tuesday, March 1, at 6:30 PM with a full agenda.
After opening the meeting and public participation, the council is scheduled to go to executive session to discuss strategy for contract negotiations with I.A.F.F. Local 1009, Worcester Fire Fighters.
After returning to open session, the council is set to take up a number of issues, including three that city residents may find particularly interesting: a call for ARPA funds to be used for first-time homeowner down payment assistance, an order asking for a rent-to-own homeowner program in Worcester and the presentation of a report reviewing the cause of a power outage near Lincoln Street that affected nearly 1000 homes and persisted for some for over 24 hours.
The council meets this week in the Esther Howland (South) Chamber of City Hall at 455 Main Street.
The city also implements a change to Zoom as the platform for virtual access to city meetings this week. To access the meeting virtually:
- Access using Zoom through this link
- Access by phone: (929) 205 6099
- City Council Zoom Access Code: 917 2757 4825
Homeowner Down Payment Assistance
District 3 city councilor George Russell is asking City Manager Ed Augustus to consider allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish a down payment assistance program for first-time homeowners in owner occupied properties that would assist current Worcester residents with substantial down payments.”
Russell’s order also asks that the program allows up to three times more assistance when the home buyer would be their family’s first homeowner.
Rent-to-Own Homeowner Programs
The second order related to homeownership, by Councilor-at-large Kathleen Toomey also asks Augustus to allocate ARPA funds. The order asks for the creation of a “rent-to-own program, which would also incorporate a sweat equity component for those wishing to purchase a three decker in the city that is not fully rented out, which would open up more apartments and home ownership availability.
Report on Lincoln Street Power Outage
A report by Director of Emergency Communications Charles Goodwin, requested by City Council, is set to be presented on Tuesday.
The report details the circumstances around the loss of power to 984 homes in the Lincoln Street area that began on Friday, February 4, at 9:05 PM. Some homes remained without service until Sunday, February 6, at 2:30 AM.
According to the report, the affected streets were:
- Lincoln Street
- Barnard Road
- Burncoat Street
- Paine Street
- Shaffner Street
- Burncoat Terrace
- Gilman Street
- Duxbury Road
- Uxbridge Street
- Shattuck Street
- Buckingham Street
- Gorham Street
- Wakefield Street
When the outage occurred on February 4, National Grid dispatched work crews to the area. After inspecting and testing 16 poles, crews began pumping out manholes and to head underground for additional inspection and testing at around 3:30 AM on Saturday, February 5, over six hours after the initial outage occurred.
Around 8 AM on February 5, crews from National Grid believed they had pinpointed the problem as an underground feeder line failure due to weather. Crews determined that replacing a portion of this underground feeder line was required.
An underground feeder line connects power between utility poles, homes and transformers, according to the report.
The replacement was completed around 12:30 PM on February 5, but crews immediately determined the replacement caused faults in other areas.
Throughout the remainder of Saturday, some saw their power restored in the original outage area, while others remained without service. Crews repaired additional faults and eventually isolated a device on a pole that required repair around 11:30 PM. Power was restored to all those affected around 2:30 AM on Sunday, February 6.
The report said that National Grid’s automated alert system sent out notifications of repairs completed during the day on Saturday, announcing power restored, which caused confusion throughout the day. National Grid is working with the city on improvements of that system.
The following resources are the best ways to communicate with National Grid and stay informed during power outages.
- General Information
- Customer Contact Center 1-800-322-3223
- Reporting Power Outage
- Automated Outage Reporting 1-800-465-1212
- Reporting / Reviewing Power Outage
- Outage Central (Online Electric Outage Information)
- Test Message Alerts
- Test REG to 64743 ( NGRID ) or sign up here
