AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF WINTHROP AND THE WINTHROP HOUSING AUTHORITY TO GRANT CERTAIN EASEMENTS FOR UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC AND INTELLIGENCE TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION CABLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the town of Winthrop may grant a permanent subsurface easement to the Massachusetts Electric Company for the purpose of installing, maintaining and operating underground transmission and distribution cables, through a certain parcel of land located in said town which was acquired by the town for park and recreation purposes and subsequently converted to use for school and educational purposes, pursuant to chapter 14 of the acts of 1999. The parcel is described in a deed dated August 10, 1967, recorded in the Suffolk county registry of deeds at book 8139, page 299, as affected by a certain deed of release dated March 30, 1999, recorded in the Suffolk registry at book 23931, page 169 and a certain Declaration of Covenant, dated May 21, 1999, recorded in said Suffolk county registry of deeds at book 23931, page 172. The permanent subsurface easement located on land of the town of Winthrop shall enter the land of the town of Winthrop from Kennedy road and shall run in an easterly direction to land now or formerly of the Winthrop Housing Authority. The easement contains an area of approximately 1,861 square feet and shall be approximately 20 feet in width as shown on a plan entitled “PLAN OF EASEMENT, WINTHROP HOUSING AUTHORITY, WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS”, prepared for National Grid, dated October, 2009 and prepared by Oak Engineers, Brown’s Wharf, Newburyport, MA 01950. The full, fair and reasonable consideration for the easement granted under this section shall be $25,000.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Winthrop Housing Authority may grant a permanent subsurface easement to the Massachusetts Electric Company for the purpose of installing, maintaining and operating underground transmission and distribution cables, through a certain parcel of land located in the town of Winthrop, as described in a deed dated July 11, 1967, recorded in the Suffolk registry of deeds at book 8131, page 598 and a deed dated February 22, 1974, recorded with said Suffolk registry of deeds at book 8728, page 735. The permanent subsurface easement located on land of the Winthrop Housing Authority shall enter the land of the Winthrop Housing Authority from land of the town of Winthrop and shall run in a generally easterly direction to land now or formerly of the Faretra Family Trust. The easement contains an area of approximately 17,577 square feet and shall be approximately 20 feet in width as shown on the plan described in section 1. The full, fair and reasonable consideration for the easement granted under this section shall be $250,000.
SECTION 3. The easement rights to be granted in both subsurface easements authorized in sections 1 and 2 are more specifically defined as follows:
(1) the exclusive, perpetual right and easement to construct, reconstruct, install, repair, replace, maintain, operate, use, inspect and patrol for the transmission and distribution of high and low voltage electric energy and for the transmission of intelligence, by any means, whether now existing or hereafter devised, lines of buried cables or conduits or both or any combination of the same, any of which may be installed or constructed at the same or different times, together with all ducts, raceways, conductors, terminals, sustaining and protective fixtures, underground expansion stabilizers, manholes, hand holes, junction boxes, foundations, fittings and all housings, connectors, switches and any other equipment or appurtenances reasonably required, collectively hereinafter referred to as the “facilities”, including, without limitation, such footbridges, causeways and ways of access, if any, as may be necessary for the convenient construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, replacement, maintenance, operation, use, inspection and patrolling of the facilities;
(2) the perpetual, exclusive right and easement to renew, replace, remove, add to, modify and otherwise change the facilities and any part thereof and all appurtenances thereto and the locations thereof within the easement areas, as described in said sections 1 and 2;
(3) the perpetual right and easement to pass and repass on foot and with vehicles and equipment along the easement areas to and from the adjoining lands and to pass and repass over other lands of the grantor to and from the easement areas as reasonably required;
(4) the perpetual right and easement from time to time, without further payment therefor, to clear and keep cleared by physical, chemical or other means, the easement areas of trees, underbrush and above and below ground buildings, structures or objects; provided, however, that the first clearing may be for less than the full width and may be widened from time to time to the full width; and
(5) the perpetual right and easement to pave, excavate, remove soils from, fill or change the grade of the easement areas as is reasonable, necessary and proper in the exercise of the foregoing rights and easements.
SECTION 4. The land described in section 1 is subject to a restriction under the “Declaration of Covenant” entered into between the town of Winthrop and the United States Department of Education dated May 21, 1999, and recorded in the Suffolk county registry of deeds in book 23931, page 172 and the grant of the easement by the town of Winthrop pursuant to said section 1 is not authorized under said Declaration of Covenant and shall be subject to advance written approval by the United States Department of Education.
SECTION 5. The town of Winthrop and the Winthrop Housing Authority shall execute, acknowledge and deliver to the United States Department of Education, or its successor, and the Massachusetts Electric Company, its successors and assigns, such further deeds or instruments or other documents as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved August 5, 2010