Beautification Committee

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS Dominick Pangallo MAYOR Salem Beautification Committee: Chair: Henry Gulergun Vice Chair: Ariana Lema-Driscoll Secretary: Kim Parkinson City Liaison: Janelle Rolke 6/13/23 – Hybrid Meeting Present: Zachary Schaad, Ariana Lema-Driscoll, Henry Gulergun, Brooke Nagle, Jeremy Baker, Jason Lang, Sam Fiore, Charlene Bailey, Janelle Rolke (City Liaison) Absent: Kim Parkinson Guests: Laurie Biel Agenda: ● Mission Statement ● Approval of May 2023 Minutes ● Old Business: o Window Box Competition (Ariana and Zach) ● Sub-Committee Reports o Lady of Salem (Mary Ellen) o Grants (Jason) o Traffic Island (Charlene) o Trash Cleanups (Kim and Zach) ● New Business o Traffic Island Signs o Volunteers o Social Media Update (Ariana) Mission Statement: The mission of the Salem Beautification Committee is to assist the City in developing and pursuing initiatives that promote the beautification of the City. The goal of the Committee is to create civic pride and to motivate the City's diverse population to participate in the beautification process. The Committee will identify areas in need of improvement, will create programs, recruit volunteers and will secure the funding resources to achieve its goals. ● Minutes Approved from May Meeting unanimously 1 Old business: ● Window Box Competition o Update from Zach and Ariana o The meeting happened with the Garden Club on 6/12/23 ▪ We can send a representative to their group - September is their next meeting. o Flyers are being canvased around town ▪ North St should be canvassed ▪ Willows neighborhood promising for participants ▪ Brooke will reach out to SCNA o Total of 9 registrations ▪ Adriatic is the first business to register ▪ looking to expand business relationships ▪ Janelle can help coordinate tabling at the Salem Farmers Market for more registrants o Judging ▪ One box will be judged ▪ Nothing in the ground will be included, but all planters will be considered a part ▪ Must be visible from the street ▪ Locations should be tagged ahead of judging, either they can grab tags or we can drop off ▪ Garden Club will be judging (four-day window to help with weather) o Working with Salem Chamber of Commerce for awards, potentially gift cards o Looking to incentivize the traffic island sponsor to register ▪ Maybe flowers for the next season ▪ potentially decrease dues down for next year o Brainstorming placards or stakes to identify winners o Dates to note: ▪ Registration ends 20 July ▪ Judging June 29th - 1st July ▪ Reception Women's Friends Society, Thursday 10 August @ 6 potentially ● Mayor Pangallo will be presenting awards Sub-Committee Reports: 2 ● Lady of Salem o Ladies are up (hurray!!) o Lots of positive feedback o Website production has begun! The first version has been published including a map of the lady locations o QR codes are still being brainstormed ▪ Mary Ellen to discuss placements of codes with Katie Neiman o Tagging occurred downtown ▪ Police have been contacted, and suspects caught. The report filed last Sunday ▪ The front of the ladies were not harmed, but four backs were tagged ▪ Mary Ellen hopes that the perpetrators will repaint as reparations o Waiting on an invoice from Ken at Concept Signs o Mary Ellen is working on revamping the brochure o We need to brainstorm alternative places to store the ladies in case the PEM no longer is available ▪ Janelle thinks the City Hall Annex may have basement storage space o Zach is interested in canvassing for sponsors, working with Mary Ellen to secure sponsorship materials ● Grants o July 31st Deadline o Choosing between the bike path or along Canal St for a pollinator garden. ▪ Bike path preferred o Jason is spearheading the project and will give updates he finishes up the proposal ● Traffic Island Program o Charlene has sent over the full report o New volunteers are needed NOW, especially next two weeks ▪ If we wait, we may lose those we have ▪ We should vary the time of day ▪ When possible, a week's notice can help ▪ Request for getting “anytime” tasks where we can have folks cleanup or weed o Street performer laid his speakers in the flowers of the Washington St Median. ▪ Sam reached out to the community outreach part of Salem Police to address the damage and prevent further flower degradation. o When flowers need replacing, we need to decide as a committee who takes that on (sponsor or BCOMM). ▪ For the larger sponsors, it may make sense to use our funds for covering those replacements o Facebook Group North Shore MA Garden Club (8,800 members) often has plants for sharing free of charge o Janelle proposed we make A-Frame signs or yard signs for active volunteering times so people can walk by and learn more. 3-5 should suffice. ▪ Volunteer with us! Salem Beautification Committee (QR Code) 3  o Irrigation happening this week by water wagon o Temperance Park needs improvement ▪ Needs refuse bins New Business: ● Domain name o Jason will head the initiative to purchase and link the URL for the site o Ariana can help vet the service and get the connection working securely) ● Traffic Island Signs o In the process of being delivered o Pamplemousse, Satanic Temple & Moody’s are being made o Signs are at DPW, please grab them to install if you have free time ● Volunteers (see above for Traffic Island notes on need) ● Social Media Update o Facebook and Instagram have been highlighting volunteer activities o Posts are being scheduled regularly o Send photos to Ariana for features o Henry has volunteered to help with video editing needs o Shared email was created to be the “owner” of the pages created ▪ Can be used as the main contact account for volunteer notices and updates ● Logo o Zach has proposed a new logo for the Committee o Does not pop against other beautification initiatives o Subcommittee to be formed ● Salem Cleanup with Keep Salem Beautiful & Salem Sound Coasatwatch o Next Cleanup 25th of June Congress Street o Proposal to have Colin's Cove as the July location (23 July) o Proposal to have the Willows as the August location ● July Meeting o Hoping to charter the Salem Trolley for the event o Mayor Pangallo will be attending 7 PM o Henry will reach out to Salem Trolley to see if we can reserve a trolley 4