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 SUSAN DAMEGREENE TEL. (978)745-0195 PATRICIA DONAHUE, FAX (978) 741-7041 ANTHONY O’DONNELL CEMETERY COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm Roll Call of Board Members: Ron Harrison, Mary Anne Silva, Susan DameGreene, Pat Donahue Absent: Anthony O’Donnell Cemetery Staff Attendees: Ray Jodoin, Dave Cronin Announcement: There will be no Cemetery Commission meeting in June. Next meeting will be in July April 9, 2019 Minutes: Motion made by Pat Donahue to dispense with the reading of the April 9, 2019 minutes, seconded by Susan DameGreene. AIF. Motion made by Susan DameGreene to approve the April 9, 2019 meeting minutes, seconded by Pat Donahue. AIF. Ray Jodoin’s Report: All cemeteries have had a complete cut as we move toward Memorial Day. Flower delivery received and they will be put in place over the next few weeks. The Greenlawn Cemetery fence has been fixed and installed today. Ray Jodoin: New Hire: Robert LeBlanc, new General Foreman, will be starting about mid-June. He has 35 years experience at Walpole including Assistant Director, Certified Arboretist, head of Park and Open Space which includes the Cemetery Department. Patti Kelleher: Patti and Ray met to discuss the Chapel Doors. This will be the 3rd time the restoration company that worked on them in 2015 has looked at them. It appears that the fault lies with the design (doors too heavy, lacking correct support, too wide, etc) which would require the doors to be part of a larger scope project. Looking at them wholistically to determine how they should be treated is an option. We may need to do repairs to get them operational and follow up with fund raising to replace and restore them at a later date to be included in a larger project. Ron Harrison: Friends Cemetery Event An event is scheduled for August 22, 2019 at the Friends Cemetery. Dominic Pangallo is handling invitations and format for the event. Representatives from the Quaker Community will be present at the event. Patti Kelleher: Friends Cemetery Sign 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 SUSAN DAMEGREENE TEL. (978)745-0195 PATRICIA DONAHUE, FAX (978) 741-7041 ANTHONY O’DONNELL Patti has been working on a sign design for the Friends Cemetery. An 18” x 24” size sign is being proposed because of the verbiage as well we want to have the ability to be read it from the sidewalk. Cost will be about $500 and money will be taken from the perpetual care account. The wooden sign there now was paid for by the Dentist about 6 years ago as the Quakers used what became his office as their meeting house. After discussion Commission members think that one sign is the best way to proceed. Patti will review verbiage with others to see if condensation can happen without altering the meaning as currently written. The sign will be ready for the August 22, 2019 event. Ray Jodoin: Howard Street Cemetery Rachel Meyer, a seasonal employee has found a section in Howard Street of 3-4 (maybe more) with African-American stones embedded in the ground. They are working on resurrecting the stones. They will be categorized by dates, lot numbers, etc as we move towards creating a gps system for the cemeteries in the future. Ray will keep us updated on the status of this. Ray Jodoin: Security Cameras at Greenlawn Cemetery— Ray met with Salem PD who have 80-80 camera sites throughout the city. They are looking to add more locations to the monitoring program. Ray would like to have a presence in Greenlawn to deter any undesirable activities. He will work with the PD to bring Greenlawn into the monitoring program. Charter Street has a 360 degree camera already in place. Ray Jodoin: Cemetery Master Plan Ray is recommending that Patti picks up working on a Cemetery Master Plan for Greenlawn. There should be enough trust funds to help. It will tell us what existing conditions are, what is going on, what we need to do, it will recommend sources of income, give the Commission direction on how to choose the direction we want to take, applying for grants within the city and state, available grants, etc. With a timeline in place the Commission will be better able to manage the needs and how to address them. Ray Jodoin: Dogs Off Leash in Cemetery Ray reached out to Don Famico. Please call him at the station and he will try to step up enforcement. Remember, he is part-time. 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 SUSAN DAMEGREENE TEL. (978)745-0195 PATRICIA DONAHUE, FAX (978) 741-7041 ANTHONY O’DONNELL New Business Mary Anne will attend an upcoming meeting at the Salem PD with the City Guides. We can’t do anything this year but we need to prepare for the future. Last year we had 50,000 plus on weekends at Charter Street. Adjournment: Pat Donahue made a motion to adjourn, second Susan Dame reene. AIF. Adjourned at 7:26 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.