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A multiyear plan to reinforce Marblehead’s electric supply by replacing aging poles and burying key power lines along the rail trail anchored the Marblehead Select Board’s Dec. 10 meeting, as Marblehead Municipal Light Department officials described a three-phase project backed largely by federal grant funding.
The presentation detailed how the light department intends to convert wooden sub-transmission poles to galvanized steel near the National Grid substation in Salem and eventually move several thousand feet of lines underground along the utility right-of-way in Marblehead. Officials said the work is designed to reduce exposure to storms, vegetation and wildlife while preserving access to the popular recreational corridor.
Beyond the power project, the board heard updates on municipal building work, filled vacancies on the Marblehead Disabilities Commission, reviewed a 3-year financial forecast, renewed business licenses, adjusted senior tax relief guidelines and advanced contracts ranging from fence repairs to a stormwater utility study. Members also backed letters supporting a housing-planning partnership and a bridge replacement grant tied to the rail trail.
Rail-trail sub-transmission lines to be fortified and buried
MMLD energy programs manager Michael Hall told the board the department, established in 1894, now serves more than 10,000 customers through about 4,000 poles, four substations and 90 miles of distribution lines. As a transmission-dependent utility, it relies on two parallel sub-transmission lines that bring power from a National Grid substation in Salem to MMLD’s Village 13 substation at the Y-junction.
Hall said peak power demand now exceeds roughly 30 megawatts during peak events, a major reason MMLD “want to reinvest in local electric system and fortify the grid to make sure that those two lines are functioning.” He described vegetation, weather and wildlife as ongoing risks for the overhead design, showing drone footage of bent poles and stressed tensioners on segments in both Salem and Marblehead.
“MMLD’s fortification of Marblehead’s power supply will be conducted in three distinct project phases,” one slide stated. “Phase 1: Converting several of MMLD’s wooden poles to galvanized steel near the National Grid substation in Salem. Phase 2: Undergrounding 1800 feet of the sub-transmission lines along the most rural span of the utility right-of-way in Marblehead. Phase 3: Undergrounding the remaining 3900 feet of lines along the utility right-of-way.”
Hall told the board Phase 1 is estimated at $318,593 and Phase 2 at about $1.6 million, with roughly one-third of each phase paid by MMLD and two-thirds covered by grant funding. He said Phase 1 work, including procurement and public outreach, could begin this winter, with completion targeted for October 2026 and Phase 2 undergrounding finishing by June 2027.
He added that the work is designed to “eliminating a key vulnerability of critical infrastructure,” accommodate future load growth and allow removal of obsolete poles along the rail trail, while “working with community stakeholders along the way and maintaining consistent, regular communication.”
Hall credited Beacon Climate Innovations for helping secure outside support. A memo in the board packet noted that “this work will be completed in part through a DOE grant awarded to Beacon Climate Innovations.”
Board members questioned how the project would affect trail access and customer rates. Hall said Phase 2 construction would likely be “done in phases” and that crews would “be trying to minimize the public impact as much as possible during the construction phase.” He and Select Board member Moses Grader said the local one-third share is not expected to require a rate increase.
Kezer reports building work, fire alarm fixes
Town administrator Thatcher Kezer summarized several capital projects in a written update. He reported that “the full roof replacement at the Mary Alley Building is now 100% complete, marking the successful conclusion of a major facilities stabilization effort,” and said attention is shifting to interior improvements, including HVAC replacement, new windows, elevator restoration, accessibility upgrades and expanded meeting space.
Kezer wrote that roof work at the Community Center has also been finished, with a protective coating applied and new snow guards installed “to reduce winter safety hazards caused by sliding snow and ice.” He said staff report that the roof system “is performing well and that no additional corrective work is required at this time.”
At Hobbs House, Kezer said the rear lower deck replacement “addressed structural and safety deficiencies identified during facility assessments,” providing safer access and meeting current standards. He added that fire alarm repairs at fire headquarters, the Community Center, Old Town House and the Department of Public Works facility have been completed and that all four systems are “fully compliant, tested, and in good working order.”
Board members also approved contracts for on-call fence repairs and installations with Premier Fence LLC, replacement of siding on the right side of the Franklin Street fire station with Unicon Inc., towing services for snow events with Todisco Services LLC and Phase 1 of a stormwater utility fee study with Woodward & Curran Inc.
Disabilities Commission, finances and tax relief
The board filled two vacancies on the Marblehead Disabilities Commission, appointing Julie Matuschak and Amy Malkoff to staggered terms. In her application, Malkoff described herself as “a longtime resident of Marblehead, and supporter/advocate of people with disabilities” and said she “designed the instructional sign for the sling lift at the harbor.”
Finance Committee Vice Chair Alec Goolsby and Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin walked the board through a 3-year revenue-versus-expense forecast and a review of free cash trends using spreadsheet slides. One chart showed estimated town-side revenue of about $105 million in the current year, with modest increases projected over the next several years, and another depicted free cash declining toward the range set in the town’s policy.
Goolsby noted that actual revenue in the last fiscal year exceeded the budget estimate by about $3.3 million. Benjamin responded that she preferred to frame it as conservative budgeting rather than an error.
“I’d like to rephrase that, that the revenue came in more than I estimated,” she said. “It was not under budgeted.”
Later in the meeting, the board approved a Council on Aging request to update income eligibility guidelines for the senior tax work-off program to reflect a higher federal baseline.
