Cemetery Commission

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS CEMETERY COMMISSION RON HARRISON, CHAIRMAN 98 WASHINGTON STREET - MAILING MARY ANNE SILVA, SECRETARY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL ADDRESS BOARD MEMBERS: MAYOR SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 PATRICIA DONAHUE, TEL. (978)745-0195 ANTHONY O’DONNELL FAX (978) 741-7041 CEMETERY COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm Role Call: Ron Harrison, Mary Anne Silva, (Late) Pat Donahue, Anthony O’Donnell Cemetery Staff Attendees: Ray Jodoin, Dave Cronin December 12, 2018 Minutes: Pat Donahue made a motion to dispense with the reading of the December 12, 2018 minutes, seconded by Mary Anne Silva. AIF. Ray Jodoin, General Foreman Department of Public Works Report:  Leaf Cleanup at the Friends Cemetery has been completed  Greenlawn Fence has been put into Cassidy Forge for repair and should be replaced shortly  The Conservation Commission has an RDA pending for installation of the fountain in Sargeant Pond.  Still awaiting quotes for the Broad Street Cemetery fence repair from contractors  Patti Kelleher reached out to the original Architect (he may recommend someone local) for the Chapel doors to determine why they are failing five years after being fixed. The Planning Dept has put in for funds to fix or replace the doors. Patti will keep the Commission informed and hopes to have more information for the next meeting. She is looking at a mid-summer timeline. Report on Meeting with Finance Director: Ron and Ray Jodoin met with Laurie Giardella, Finance Director, and found that the Cemetery Department has been relying on the Perpetual Care account solely for maintenance etc for the last 6 years due to ease of operations. This meeting was good as Laurie now realizes that clarity is needed for the Cemetery Department. She is working on something now to streamline the process for funds. She found it confusing as well because the City was unable to track the use of the funds as well as it should. Patti Kelleher: Charter Street and Broad Street Updates  Charter Street: The archeological report identifies that very little can be done in the cemetery that doesn’t impact the resources there. The Project Manager is redoing the design for Charter Street and it should be available for a presentation at the April Cemetery Commission meeting. She will meet with Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033.  CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS CEMETERY COMMISSION RON HARRISON, CHAIRMAN 98 WASHINGTON STREET - MAILING MARY ANNE SILVA, SECRETARY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL ADDRESS BOARD MEMBERS: MAYOR SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 PATRICIA DONAHUE, TEL. (978)745-0195 ANTHONY O’DONNELL FAX (978) 741-7041 Mayer tree to discuss how/if the diseased trees can be removed as well as others pruned. She will also include the Tree Warden and Ray Jodoin in discussions for this work.  Broad St Cemetery: Patti spoke at our last meeting about applying for funds to do a Master Plan for Broad Street Cemetery. CPA applications are due in a couple of weeks. The Historical Commission has met and offered their support for the Master Plan. Friends of Broad Street have some concerns with spending money for another plan with the work needed . Their concerns are valid but currently we don’t have enough information to secure the funding needed to restore Broad Street Cemetery. We don’t know what needs to be done. Creating the Master Plan will include a landscape architect, a stone conservator, a structural engineer, and an archeologist. They would look at the Cemetery, work with the community to identify the issues, prioritize the issues, provide cost assessments of the work as well as construction drawings. The city would then be in a position to determine the restoration needs, costs, design and procure funding. Without the Master Plan in place we will be unable to secure funding for this large project. The 2002 Plan was done for all cemeteries. At Broad Street it looked at the needs for the retaining wall, paths, some of the tombs but it did not design a plan for the paths, prioritize which stones needing restoring first, the impact on archeology, tree work needed, or the impact on historic resources. It did not look at how the cemetery was used and how to continue to have public access. The City feels strongly that to know what to do and get funding this plan needs to happen first. With a construction plan in place, we would be considered “Shovel Ready” for funding purposes. Charter St is a $600,000 project so it will have to be one cemetery at a time. Lisa DeLissio: Proposal for Greenlawn Cemetery Arboretum Lisa’s proposal was given to all Commission members prior to the meeting. Her proposal is a long-term collaboration for the improvement of Greenlawn Cemetery to include Dr. Lisa Delissio, her students, Friends of Greenlawn, with the City of Salem, and any other interested citizens. She presented a proposal to obtain Level 1 Accredidation for Arboretum status for Greenlawn Cemetery through ArbNet. She plans on having the proposal ready for submission in the spring. With arboretum status the Cemetery will have access to more resources. In the Fall she plans on having a tree oriented event. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033.  CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS CEMETERY COMMISSION RON HARRISON, CHAIRMAN 98 WASHINGTON STREET - MAILING MARY ANNE SILVA, SECRETARY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL ADDRESS BOARD MEMBERS: MAYOR SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 PATRICIA DONAHUE, TEL. (978)745-0195 ANTHONY O’DONNELL FAX (978) 741-7041 SSU supports the project and the community involvement of faculty and students. Ron suggested SSU do Public Relations for this project and the Fall event. Andrew Roach, an SSU student spoke with enthusiasm for the project and Greenlawn Cemetery’s beauty. Mary Anne spoke of the lack of follow through on projects/memorials in Salem. Polly Wilbert spoke on Lorax as well as CPA monies which is a competitive grant project. Ron and Pat want Lisa to report to the Cemetery Commission at least twice a year. Pat Donahue made a motion to accept the plan to create an accredited Arboretum for Greenlawn Cemetery. Seconded by Anthony O’Donnell. AIF. Pat Donahue: Essex Street Friends Cemetery: Pat was assisted by Polly Wilbert and learned a lot about our Quaker history while doing this. Mary Anne read the following: The Friend’s Burying Ground is Salem’s third oldest and smallest cemetery. Its’ earliest gravestone dated 1702, is that of Crestofor Foster. The second oldest stone, also a fieldstone is that of Rebekah Boycage, dated May, 1716. The second Quaker Meeting House built on site in 1716 was used for approximately 100 years, and then removed about 1832. Salem’s earliest Quakers arriving in the 1650’s suffered persecution and exile under the laws of the Mass Bay Colony’s General Court. Members of the well known Southwick family are buried here. Two of Salem’s Southwick family, Lawrence and Cassandra died in exile in the spring of 1660. The peaceful and simple landscape of the cemetery reflects its’ Quaker heritage. Patti will work with Pat on a design of the marker. Perley may have a sketch of one of the meeting houses. The current marker has the name and a date only. Discussion tabled for the present. Letter from Luke St. Germaine requesting to videotape in a cemetery: Dear Ronald, My name is Luke St. Germaine, I’m a Salem resident, and I’m looking for permission to shoot a short video scene in a Salem Cemetery. It’s a personal passion project of mine to make a short film I can submit to the Salem Horror Fest. The opening scene of my script has our actress mourning her friend’s grave and then walking out of a cemetery. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033.  CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS CEMETERY COMMISSION RON HARRISON, CHAIRMAN 98 WASHINGTON STREET - MAILING MARY ANNE SILVA, SECRETARY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL ADDRESS BOARD MEMBERS: MAYOR SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 PATRICIA DONAHUE, TEL. (978)745-0195 ANTHONY O’DONNELL FAX (978) 741-7041 Because the story is set in Salem, and we’ll be showing other local settings, I’d like to use a local cemetery if possible. It would be three people, one carrying a camera, nothing major to set up, should take less than a half hour total. We would be respectful and give credit. Open to which cemetery we should use for this. Would it be possible to use the St. Mary’s or Greenlawn Cemetery for this on the weekend of March 16th or 23rd: Thank you, Luke St. Germaine Telephone number Ray would like to see the script to ensure the City’s best interests are portrayed. They have to obtain a permit from City Hall as well as the Cemetery Commission’s approval. He would have to be responsible for payment of overtime as we would need someone there to represent our interests. Ron will table this. He will talk to the person tomorrow and let him know he needs a permit and then our permission prior to filming. Ron will give him Ray’s number if city follow up is wanted. Anthony O’Donnell: Trust Fund Analysis Anthony will email Mary Anne when he has the information needed to put this on the agenda at a later date. Adjournment Pat Donahue made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Anthony O’Donnell. 7:29 pm. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033.