Beautification Committee

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS DOMINICK PANGALLO MAYOR DRAFT MINUTES June 11, 2024 Salem Beautification Committee: Chair: Henry Gulergun Vice Chair: Ariana Lema-Driscoll Secretary: Kim Parkinson City Liaison: Janelle Rolke 6/11/24 – Hybrid Meeting Present: Kim Parkinson, Janelle Rolke (City Liaison), Brooke Nagle, Ariana Lema-Driscoll, Zachary Schaad, Laurie Biel, Henry Gulergun, Charlene Bailey Absent: Mary Ellen Halliwell, Jason Lang, Jeremy Baker, Sam Fiore Guests: Maria Connell, Sandra Power The meeting was called to order at 7:04PM. Agenda: 1. Call to Order 7PM 2. Mission Statement 3. Approval of May 2024 Minutes 4. Old Business: - Committee Logo (Zach) - Window Box Competition (Zach, Ariana) - Traffic Island Sponsorship Update (Janelle) 5. Sub-Committee Reports: - Lady of Salem (Mary Ellen) - Traffic Island (Charlene & Sam) - Monthly Cleanups (Kim, Zach, Ariana) 6. New Business: - BCOMM Summer Schedule (July meetup, August off) - Veterans Memorial on Jackson Street 7. Open Discussion and Announcements (Up to 15 minutes) 8. Adjournment 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. Brooke made a motion to approve the May meeting’s minutes and Laurie seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously. Old business: Committee Logo Zach has been working with Kristen on the new committee logo. She created a number of options, he narrowed it down to the top 3, and shared them with the committee. Based on what Zach shared over email, he would like feedback from the committee. ● Option 1 - feedback was positive but some tweaks would be great - making the silhouette something closer to a Lady of Salem could be cool and if not, we may not want it to be so feminine. ● Option 2 - it is a little too much like the housing authority or like clipart and it doesn’t really represent us as a committee. ● Option 3 - is positive but we may want to consider different images in the boxes - remove the witch (replace with LoS?), incorporate the gardens more, maybe add recycling? It could be interesting to incorporate 3 panels next to each other - like a fence with a LoS on the post and something to do with a cleanup. We should also push pollinator plant silhouettes as much as we can. Next steps: ● Zach to re-send out logo design options ● All to provide feedback to Zach if you haven’t already ● Laurie to share what she was describing with the 3 pane option Window Box Competition Zach and Ariana met with the Garden Club again to discuss the upcoming competition. The flyer has been drafted; we incorporated sunflowers and bees to help promote the importance of pollinators. We will not be going door to door asking people if they want to participate this year as the feedback wasn’t great last year on that approach. We will post at businesses and the farmers market to try and get more eyes on it. We’re hoping to put some of the A-frames in a few of the parks - we could look into the Rotary bulletin board, at the Willows, and other neighborhood parks in the city to see how it goes. The Garden Stroll is on the 13th - it would be great to get flyers at the registration table if possible. In the past, the city sent letters in the mail to let people know it was coming - Zach and Ariana will be emailing people who participated last year rather than paper mail. They will also be sending something to the city councilors to include in their newsletters. The biggest change this year is that we’ve always entered the traffic islands automatically - this year they will need to register on their own if they want to be considered. Dates have been posted for registration, everything has been posted to our website, and the categories have been finalized. We’re trialing a new award for people’s choice that will be voted for by the people to see how it goes. 2 Last year, we asked businesses to donate prizes but in the event that we cannot get donations, Henry made a motion to allocate $100 towards prizes and it was seconded by Charlene and unanimously approved. Next Steps: ● Zach to reach out to Julie to try and get flyers at the registration table ● Zach and Ariana to partner with Janelle to send something out to TI sponsors to let them know they need to register if they want to participate ● Janelle to order certificates for the winners Traffic Island Sponsor Update As of today, we have received $6,500 from sponsors for the 2024 season. There are still 9 islands that are not currently sponsored that we would love to find a sponsor for. #13 was previously sponsored by the South Salem neighborhood association across from Forest River Park - we need to confirm what is happening with them but it should not be one we are actively recruiting for. New sponsors include O&P Landscapes, Salem Native Nursery, Salem Garden Club, and 360 Finance, LLC. Next Steps: ● Charlene to bring the RBG sign to Gorilla to be repaired ● We need to put the rest of the signs in the ground once sponsors have mulched - several are not ready yet ● Kim, Brooke, and Charlene to update the 2024 sign installed list for those they installed ● Brooke to check the Central Street Mulch Beds to make sure A&B are swapped on the map. Also, remove #44 and remove the A from #43 Sub-Committee Reports: Lady of Salem (Mary Ellen) The Ladies are up with a successful installation. A huge thank you to Steve & Henry of Salem's DPW. Ken Glover, Bev Moustakis, and Mary-Ellen for getting the ladies installed. Select QR codes were added to the lamposts to direct people to our websites to learn more about them. The photos and map are being updated on the website and the 2024 brochure is currently being worked on by the designer, Adele. We are getting ready for the NPSMaritime festival on August 3rd and waiting on the specific details from Ranger Kathleen Homan but the U-Paint Jenny Lind Lady has been purchased for the event. We also provided information on the program to Trails and Sails Essex for the Heritage publication and website. There are more Ladies than ever before which is exciting - we are considering letting some businesses have the Ladies included in their stores and we will start to expand down into Historic Derby. Feedback from the committee is that for next year, it would be great to see us more involved in the Arts Festival if possible, similar to how we’re getting involved in the Maritime Festival. ● Brooke to let Mary-Ellen know about Arts Festival Feedback ● Brooke to update the photos and map on the website Traffic Island (Charlene/Sam) (Full Report is in the Addendum) We are experiencing a few issues with gardens being ruined - people are driving over the curbing and gardens at end of Washington St. Strip (at New Derby end), delivery trucks can’t make the turn out of the delivery alley on the south side of the Washington strip causing them to run up on the garden, ruining plants and irrigation, and there are more people at Riley Plaza which means more trash to be picked up like nips in the bushes. During the last meeting, we approved purchasing mulch for Temperance Park 3 through Stonedust which Janelle will confirm with Katie. Some members of the committee think this should be covered by DPW but it is not factored into their budget. There are a few electrical boxes that could be cleaned up that Charlene pointed out in her full report; Janelle is working through who owns them to try and get them re-painted. Painting is underway from Brian for the electrical box the committee has sponsored at Essex and Sewall. A suggestion was made to send a thank you note to the sponsors who have updated their islands which is also an opportunity to also see if they have other friends who may want to sponsor. We still need a sponsor for garden #6. Volunteers - we still need more volunteers. Some suggestions were made to let them know further in advance, open up weekend slots, come up with more consistent dates/times for the rest of the season so we can advertise sooner, and to add something to the senior center newsletter. We need to confirm what is happening with un-sponsored islands. In the past, we have covered them but we don’t have enough volunteers to be able to do that since there are more than last year. The volunteers are chipping away at them and they can cover it short-term but they can’t cover it long-term and some of them will need mulch and other things so we need to confirm how to pay for that. We need to assess how much mulch and soil is needed at the un-sponsored islands and we can take some of the plants out of the Cervoni Walkway to move them to other islands. Next steps: ● Janelle to work with Katie to coordinate stone dust for Temperance Park ● Jason - has he talked to the Salem Rotary to try and get additional sponsors? ● Janelle to email Kathy McCarthy to try and get into the newsletter ● Laurie/Maria to send pictures of holes on Front Street to Janelle ● Need to confirm what we need for the unsponsored islands Monthly cleanups (Kim, Ariana, Zach) Our June 8th cleanup was at the Point. Only ~10 people were in attendance but they were able to clean up 72lbs and 20 nips. When they were at the playground, they got a lot of attention so next time, it may be good to start at the playground to try and get people interested in joining us for the next 2 hours. Our next cleanup is July 13th at the Wharf and Derby Street Neighborhoods. We will meet at the Ferry Lot and are hoping to put up a sign with future cleanups. Kim has finalized the form already and Zach will send the image to be posted after this weekend. Zach created a flyer that we can share with businesses and on A-frames to draw more attention to future events. It would be great to add a few lines about when we plan to be out there doing gardening with rotating locations. Next Steps: ● Zach to create images for the July cleanup and add gardening opportunity text to the larger flyer. Then share with Janelle to print them out. All to share flyers with businesses. New Business: BCOMM Summer Schedule (July meetup, August off) Historically, the committee would meet up in December and July in the absence of a formal meeting. Zach made a motion to do a meetup instead of a formal meeting on July 9th at the Willows and cancel the meeting for August 13th and Kim seconded it. It was unanimously approved by those in attendance. 4 Next Steps: ● Janelle to connect with Ariana when she is back about expectations/sending an email letting people know Veterans Memorial on Jackson Street A few members were pulled into the Jackson Street space - nothing was going on with the Memorial stone in place at Jackson and Highland Street. One of the teachers wanted to give their class gardening experience so they went across the street to the Memorial to clean it up and plant some flowers. After making these initial changes, there was interest in cleaning up the area more. It would be good to add some of the plants from Cervoni Walkway if we can get volunteers to help. Salem Native Nursery is willing to help in this area as well thanks to Chris Burke living close by. There are people interested in volunteering in this area and potential sponsors but they need to confirm what else is needed in order to make this happen - mulch, volunteers, water. It should be mostly self-supporting but we need to get some mulch. Open Discussion and Announcements A treeline that goes from Mill Hill to the end of Sam’s Island needs to be cleaned up. The committee can’t fix it but we can mention it as a suggestion. Janelle thinks a project may be starting there and will send the details to the committee. Charlene will look at the plans sent via email. Kim made a motion to adjourn at 9:03PM that was seconded by Laurie and unanimously approved. 5 TRAFFIC ISLAND REPORT Charlene Bailey Tuesday, June 11, 2024 1. Issues at Gardens: Driving over the curbing and gardens at end of Washington St. Strip (at New Derby end) . . . taking illegal U-turns. This also occurs on Bouchard’s Gardens on New Derby St. On Washington St. Strip – south side: delivery trucks not being able to make the turn out of the delivery alley, run up on the strip garden and damage plants and the irrigation. Riley Plaza: more people are there; hence, more trash, more food, bottles, cans, nip bottles. Some walking thru gardens; some plants have been stomped on. 2. Items to purchase: a. Stone Dust for Lower Hawthorne Blvd. (Temperance). This is a Park with a Garden in it; who is responsible for costs of repairs and maintenance to the Park? b. The straight metal edging strip for paths at Lower Hawthorne Blvd. (Temperance) to keep the grass out of the paths – there is a short length missing, 8 - 9 feet. There is a curved shorter piece missing on the Derby St. side. All the pathways have this metal edging. c. There is also a green metal ‘electrical?’ box near the gardens that need to be painted (Lower Hawthorne Blvd. (Temperance). d. ½ yd of mulch for side gardens at Lafayette Park. e. Plants need to be purchased for a section of Riley Plaza by B-Comm. 3. Reaching out with a thanks to 2024 Sponsors – like . . . “sending them a thank you email for choosing a garden to sponsor for 2024; their support is greatly appreciated by the Salem Community as a whole and by the Salem Beautification Committee. Their gardens are looking excellent, and we look forward to seeing them mature and bloom this summer and fall.” Etc., etc. 4. Reaching out for Additional Sponsors for the Unsponsored Gardens: a. Put a sign on each unsponsored island “You can have your name on this garden; it is available for 2024 sponsorship, call Janelle’s number.” 6 b. Has B-Comm sent anyone to speak to the large organizations in Salem – if not, approach them asking to do a short presentation at a meeting – include TI Gardeners to attend so they can speak of how they care for the sponsor’s island throughout the season. c. What companies/businesses have we missed the first-time around? d. Perhaps include a paragraph in the thank you to 2024 sponsors that we would appreciate their sharing our invitation to friends and business associates to sponsor one of Salem’s 2024 Traffic Island Gardens……include contact info. 5. Garden Volunteers: How many garden volunteers are on the signup lists? Has anyone made a presentation at the Senior Center, put an ad in the Senior Center Newsletter, display for garden volunteers at Salem Public Library? 6. Unsponsored Traffic Islands: What is the plan now – moving forward from June 1 – to keep the unsponsored islands holding their own and looking well with sponsored islands. Concerned that most of them have very mature, healthy plants, and it would be a shame to lose the beauty of them in Salem. Do we need a motion to keep unsponsored traffic islands operating/presentable when they are unsponsored? 7. Jackson Street Open Space and B-Comm’s Mission Statement Concerns: Need for more Garden Volunteers Caring for the unsponsored gardens 7