Having experienced more power outages than usual in the past month and delays in restoring power, some residents are asking Hagerstown Town Council for help.
More than a dozen residents, most from the Graceland Heights area, met with council on Aug. 5. Town officials put the blame for outages mostly on trees and limbs falling across power lines during storms. They said delayed service restoration is largely because buildings and trees have been put into the electric easement areas, making it hard for town equipment to gain access.
Joe Favorite, the town electric utility lead, told the assemblage the problem has been growing for many years. The town has not enforced easement restrictions for years, he said.
The town utility has easements along its electric lines, where buildings and trees are prohibited so the town can maintain lines and lessen the possibility of damage or power reductions from limbs.
The town will be defining easement lines in the near future and work with residents to clear offending structures and trees, Chris LaMar, town manager, said. The easements extend several feet sideways from each power line.
For now, the town is leasing a small “backyard bucket” truck that will get into smaller places to fix damage.
The town has a tree removal grant program that pays up to $500 toward removal of any tree within 25 feet of a town utility. Property owners can apply for the money by contacting Town Hall, 765-489-6171, LaMar said.
In other business, Fire Chief Rick Cole said traffic control became a problem at the Fourth of July fireworks show at Hagerstown Airport. Hundreds of vehicles line both sides of the runway for the annual show, and Washington Street is clogged with traffic before and after.
“It was the first time I’ve ever had to turn cars away,” he said. The fire department would not have been able to get a vehicle in to respond to an emergency.
The crowd might have been larger because Hagerstown’s was the only show in the area on Independence Day and weather canceled some nearby shows, Cole said.
Volunteer organizations have handled parking in past years but no longer do so due to declining membership. With no one in charge, some vehicles took spaces where five vehicles could have parked, Cole said.
Police Chief Keith Folkner agreed. “This, out of all the years I’ve been here, was the closest to being unsafe,” he said, adding, “We are going to have to get that in order or consider the future of the event.”
Council member Fred Dill suggested meeting with the event sponsor to work toward a solution. American Legion Post 333 has sponsored the event since the late 1960s.
The council’s next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, a day later than usual because of the Labor Day holiday. Meetings are in Town Hall, 49 E. College St. The public may attend.
A version of this article appeared in the August 14 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.