Click image for Haverhill City Council agenda.
Thirteen residents who live near Broco Energy on Hale Street are asking the Haverhill City Council to deny a permit to allow the company to increase its propane storage capacity.
The company is requesting permits for an additional 30,000-gallon above-ground tank; three propane transport trucks, each with a capacity of 12,600 gallons; and 8,000 gallons of miscellaneous empty customer tanks.
In a petition to councilors, neighbors argue several fires at the property in recent years raise, in their words, “serious concerns about safety, risk management and the suitability of expanding fuel storage” on the property. They point out the property is also near a school.
Petitioners allege the company has already begun clearing land for the new tanks. They go on to say, “This raises serious questions about oversight, compliance and respect for properties boundaries.”
Councilors granted Broco the permit in December, but reversed course in January after neighbors complained they were not formally notified in time to attend the meeting.
Councilors will also consider borrowing $9.5 million for the Little River Dam removal and channel restoration project that, as WHAV first reported, has been in the works for at least five years. Little River runs through Haverhill on its way to the Merrimack River.
The dam, which once provided power to produce flannel at the old Stevens Pentucket Mill, is just north of Lafayette Square near the intersection of Stevens and Winter Streets. It is being removed to reduce the risk of flooding during severe weather and rising sea levels. In 2024, the city received $1 million from the state’s Dam and Seawall program towards the project.
Elaine Barker plans to attend the meeting to talk a Sunday, May 10 Mother’s Day unveiling of a new sculpture at All Saints Parish, 120 Bellevue Ave., Haverhill.
Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett is planning to present a proclamation recognizing Tuesday, May 5, as Moyamoya Awareness Day. Moyamoya is a rare cerebrovascular disease which can infect adults and children.
The Haverhill City Council meets Tuesday night at 7 p.m., remotely and in-person at the Theodore A. Pelosi Jr. Council Chambers, room 202, Haverhill City Hall, 4 Summer St. As a public service, 97.9 WHAV plans to carry the meeting live.