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Eversource Holds Open House to Discuss Proposed Sub-Station

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Eversource held an open house at Greenwich Town Hall to discuss their proposed additional sub-station at Kinsman Lane.
Eversource held an open house at Greenwich Town Hall to discuss their proposed additional sub-station at Kinsman Lane.

By Anna Mansager
Sentinel Correspondent

Eversource held an Open House at Greenwich Town Hall on July 15 regarding their proposed additional sub-station at Kinsman Lane, following continued work with the Greenwich community and local officials.

The Open House was a part of Eversource’s continued effort to receive feedback from the community and keep members of the community informed.

The Cos Cob station that currently serves Greenwich was built in 1964, and Eversource expects that current demand may exceed what the station can produce by 2018.

The proposed sub-station is the answer to the possible exceeding of demand, as it is expected to meet demand for the next thirty years and will be built before demand increases beyond the station’s ability to handle it, with construction forecasted to be finished in 2018.

The project was first introduced in February, and Eversource held an Open House in March to inform the community of their plans regarding the new sub-station. The feedback they received was the focus of the most recent Open House.

“Open House is to show we heard the public’s comments were heard and we have made the necessary revisions,” said Kate Shanley, a representative for Eversource.

A main concern that the Open House addressed was the route variations for transmission lines through Bruce Park.

According to Jackie Gardell, another Eversource representative, the preferred route proposed is one that has the least impact to Bruce Park and residential roads.

“We understand the location may not be popular with everyone, but it is the best location,” Kate Shanley said.

Frank Poirot, a communications specialist for Eversource, explained how the location for the station was chosen. “The proposed location is in the most effective spot because it puts it as close to the need as they can get,” he said. “We did an electrical survey and could tell where the greatest demand would be.”

The aesthetics of the project were another concern among the community. Eversource representatives said that the architecture of the proposed project is favorable to the viewscape of the Railroad Avenue area, and tried to mirror the architecture and color of the building next to it in order to match the rest of the town.

Following comments from planning and zoning and members of the public, Eversource revised their project to reduce the height of the building and set it back from the street to allow for landscaping, in keeping with the rest of the town’s aesthetic.

The original plan proposed an expansion of the Cos Cob sub-station into Bruce park, but after hearing various community concerns about it, Eversource presented a redesign of the proposal – the sub-station will be expanded a little bit, without expansion into the park and no impact to the soccer field.

Citizens who attended the Open House seemed generally positive about the revisions. However, there were some attendees who still had some concerns. Ceceilia Morgan, a resident of Kinsman Lane and an RTM member from District 2 voiced her concerns.

“We’ve been on top of this from the first Open House in March,” she said, “We live right in Bruce Park and in the path of one of the original proposed routes. It’s a residential street, it’s not a commercial street. We’re concerned about the impact to the park, to the Bruce museum, the teen center, and the businesses nearby.”

A group calling themselves GASP (Greenwich for Alternative Substation Proposal) is protesting the new sub-station all together, citing reasons that the new sub-station aesthetically does not belong in the proposed location and it changes the character of the area. They also feel that it reduces residential value and is a hazard due to its proximity to Air Gas.

According to Fire Marshall Shawn McDonnell, the proposed sub-station won’t be any more hazardous than the current Cos Cob station. “If the state citing council allows it and it’s within the code, it’s not much more hazardous than the one that is there.”

Eversource is committed to public participation at each step of the project, and felt that holding an Open House was the best way to hold a project presentation.

“People are interested and asking questions,” Poirot said, “They’re able to get answers from specialized people for detailed questions. I consider it a very positive buzz.”

Eversource plans to continue discussions with the town up until the new sub-station is in service in 2018.

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