City Council

City of Salem, Massachusetts “Know Your Rights Under the Open Meeting Law, M.G.L. c. 30A ss. 18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033.” The City Council Committee on Administration and Finance co-posted with the Committee of the Whole met in the Council Chamber on _June 9, 2025______________ at ______6:00_______P.M. for the purpose of discussing the matters(s) listed below. Notice of this meeting was posted on ___ May 8, 2025__ at ___ 2:39 P.M.__________________ (This meeting is being recorded) ATTENDANCE A&F – Merkl (chair), Stott, Watson-Felt, Davis & Harvey. COW – Prosniewski, Cohen, Morsillo & Hapworth. From the city – Terry Arnold, Director of the Council on Aging, Trish O-Brien Director of Parks & Rec. and Community Services, Mayor Pangallo, Lisa Peterson, Chief of Staff, Anna Freedman, Director of Finance, Paul Lever, Superintendent of the Golf Course, Elizabeth Peterson, Manager of the Witch House, Charter Street & Pioneer Village, David Gilbert, Manager of Winter Island. ABSENT WERE: COW - Jerzylo & Varela. SUBJECT(S) • Council on Aging • Recreation and Community Services Park, Rec. & Community Services (Admin., Golf Course, Witch House, Pioneer Village, Winter Island, Charter St.) • Capital Improvement Plans Merkl - Administration and Finance Committee budget hearing for our fiscal year 2026 proposed budget. The agendas are posted on the city calendar, which include a link to the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget and other financial information, including the budget in brief which includes budget priorities, timelines, breakdown of revenue sources and where your money goes. We are going to start today with the Witch House, which is section 22, page 536-539. E. Peterson – The only thing that has change for the Witch House budget is the salary increase for our part-time seasonal staff and the administrative staff had an increase too. Stott - Motion to recommend approval of the Witch House budget personnel line item $247,247, expenditure line item of $113,853 for department total of $361,100. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – Next, we are moving on to Pioneer Village in the same section, page 542. E. Peterson – We aren’t asking for any budget changes for Pioneer Village. Hapworth – Can you talk briefly about the AR (Augmented Reality) experiences that are mentioned in the budget? E. Peterson – It is something that we have been working on for a little while. This is an exhibit that will be outside the buildings, starting with the Witch House. I have done interviews with several people that have experience with this. We are going to start in small steps. It will give people a little history, even if they didn’t buy a ticket and are just outside taking their selfies. Pioneer Village will be the last to get it, since there are so many changes upcoming. We can eventually open it up to classrooms and open it up remotely to educators who can’t visit or bring a school group. It will be a way to enrich the experience. Hapworth – It is commendable work that you and your staff have put into these sites and the thoughtful way that you have treated these historic sites. Is there a potential for the program to be expanded to Broad St. Cemetery since that is also a 17th century site? E. Peterson – We have discussed that but not at this time. Maybe in the next year or so we could consider expanding it. Cohen – I agree with C. Hapworth. I would like to talk about the Pioneer Village move. I am part of the working group that are planning the upcoming move, and it is the intent to mirror the current location so that people visiting will get a similar experience. I know that we have allocated a lot of money for the move, and I know that every day makes the buildings less structurally sound, so I am encouraging to make sure we keep to the schedule to have the move happen next year. Morsillo – I would second the need to have more protections and support for the Broad St. Cemetery. I know that a lot of damage is being done. I don’t know if I mentioned this last year, but maybe doing something in conjunction with the Pickering House, since it’s across the street. There is a new caretaker there that is interested in being more involved. I know you have a lot on your plate, but I think we need to do something to speed up the preservation of that cemetery, because it is in rough shape. E. Peterson – That is on our radar. There have been some repairs made and my admin. as put together a database of the sites and burials that are there so we can look at what else needs to be done. Morsillo – Can you go back to the Witch House and explain why the attendance was steady for years and then shot up in 2024 but is now going back down. E. Peterson – We are having to go to time ticketing earlier on in the season because we have had a few local residents who were complaining that the lines were too long, and they couldn’t cross the street or wait at the bus stop. The time ticketing takes 15 people at a time which slows down the numbers, but it is a lot less stress and less chance for damage. Merkl – The budget summary for Pioneer Village is on page 544 and we are voting on the expenditures only. Stott - Motion to recommend approval of the Pioneer Village budget expenditure line item and department total of $26,980. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – Next, we will look at the Charter St. Cemetery in the same section, page 553. E. Peterson – We are only asking for the salary increase for seasonal part-time staff. Morsillo – Is the database of the headstones that Carl put together on the website? E. Peterson – Yes, because we get many visitors that are descendants of folks that are there, we keep that information active. If anyone is at the cemetery to do special research about a family connection, we give them a special lanyard and let them go off path and work with them to get the information that they are looking for. Cohen – I have a couple comments about Fright Night at Pioneer Village. They should have some porta potties because some people have asked residents if they can use their bathroom and they need a police detail. E. Peterson – We have discussed porta potties, and I will bring that back up to the organizers. There is a police detail, but they are inside the gate/fairgrounds. Stott - Motion to recommend approval of the Charter Street budget with a personnel line item of $154,028, and an expenditure line item of $64,690 for a department total of $218,718. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – Next, we will discuss the golf course. This is also in section 22, page 528. Lever – We have 2 changes to the budget. First, we have a new POS system for the register, which will give online tee times and gift cards. The other one is for liming the golf course, which should be done yearly, but it hasn’t been done since I have been there because it wasn’t in the budget. Prosniewski – There have been a lot of great changes to the golf course, since you took over. I see it and I have been told the same by out of towners too. It is no longer the gravel pit. Stott - Motion to recommend approval of the golf course budget personnel line item of $421,094, expenditure line item of $305,942 for a department total of $727,036. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – Moving on to the Council on Aging in section 23, page 563. Arnold - As you know, the gist of the goal of our mission is to provide programming that affirms life and independence, and a big one is to help prevent social isolation. And I think we do a good job of that. We're a great center. We've been in the Community Life Center since September of 2018. We've seen significant growth in our programming. I think the great thing the city did was provide better access with that parking lot and enhance our transportation. We're seeing new faces all the time, but given the population we serve, we also experience attrition. I think most of you know what we do. Transportation services again provide access mainly to medical appointments, grocery shopping, and all kinds of other things. We do about 1,150 one-way rides a month in about a half a dozen vans. This past year, we applied to MassDOT, and we were awarded 2 electric vehicles that are on the road now. In terms of personnel, we hired a new transportation coordinator back in September, who is great. She used to work for MassDOT and she's excellent with the seniors, as all the staff is. The Social Service team is now complete. Sharon Felton heads up that department and has been with the city for 30 years. We hired Ingrid Patterson, who is bilingual. A big challenge has been getting more Spanish speaking older adults into the center. So, this position was created to be more external in forming relationships in the community. Ingrid is doing a really good job of that. She's going into housing and talking to community groups that she's been introduced to. We're starting to make better ties with Spanish speaking locals. Our new social worker started a week ago. She is a clinical social worker which is handy, given the population we serve and she bilingual, as well. The social service team sees all kinds of things, like eviction, homelessness, and we are working with police, fire, and behavioral health specialists to serve our population. They're really seeing the more serious issues in the lives of aging folks and programming is bolstering. We have all kinds of wellness programs to engage people to know they've got a place to come, make friends, stay active and age well. Then we have dining services, and we provide a little continental breakfast every morning for everybody, because we do have some folks who are food insecure. We have congregate meals that come in and we're doing upwards up to 650 congregate meals a month. That has just grown exponentially since we've been in the center. More people are coming and using the services. Merkl - I can attest, as a volunteer, to the increase in attendance and the excitement at all the activities that helps with isolation. The supportive services, the memory cafe and food insecurity, the pantry truck being there weekly. How are the electric vehicles working out. Arnold - They're working. We're having a little bit of mixed reviews in all honesty. If you have a mobility issue that may not be the best vehicle for you. It's great that they're electric vehicles, but they are much smaller. They are 5 seaters with space for a wheelchair. So, we took out one of the wheelchair spaces, put more seats from the other vehicle so we just have one electric vehicle that can accommodate the wheelchair, because we have the other regular vans that are wheelchair accessible. Harvey - Can you touch base a little bit on the wellness check program so if the public is watching they know about it? Arnold –In essence this is a wellness check in the morning. You would register and sign up for this with the social service team and you get 3 wellness checks or automated calls. If you don't pick up by the 3rd call, then the police department is alerted, and then they will send a police officer out to do a wellness check. I think this is a fabulous program, and we all scratch our heads as to why more people aren't signing up. We only have about a half a dozen people on this program, and I know the mayor's office has promoted it for us. I would really like to get some more local press on this, because I think it's a no brainer. It is just a wonderful free program. The program has saved lives. They can use a landline or a cell phone and once the person is registered, we have their emergency info on file. Morsillo – I think this is the most important program that you have. How fast do the police respond if they get no response? This program should be pushed out to social media quarterly. I would suggest that you include your data from now on and include the number that are signed up. Keeping an eye on it will help boost those numbers. What is the difference between this and the lockbox program? That program should be pushed out quarterly on social media as well. Arnold – The police respond within minutes because they know that those calls go out between 8-9am. The lockbox program is so people can get into your apartment or building and there are only about 40 people taking advantage of that program. We push these programs out to social media, but we really need to keep sending it. We have tried to reach out to the adult children of our aging residents so they can convince their parents to get on these programs too. Merkl – There are a lot of home delivered meals that you do in partnership with the Friends of the Council on Aging, and it would be good to push it out to those folks. Harvey – Maybe you can reach out to the visiting nurses that are working for some of these folks, and they can add it to the conversation when they are doing their regular visits. Cohen – I appreciate what you do, and I think that having someone that’s bilingual on staff will be helpful. I really appreciate the community outreach and how your staff is forming relationships with these people. Watson-Felt – Have you done any multi-generational events. Some people are more comfortable coming with their own family members, especially those that aren’t English speakers. Maybe you could utilize the culinary arts program at Salem High for some events. Arnold – We do have events, but we could do more. I want to mention the partnership that we have with the university’s nursing program. Even though we aren’t a medical model, they have us in their rotation to come in on Wednesdays. Morsillo – Can you explain the 2 decreases in the budget for full-time salaries and contracted services? Arnold – Council on Aging is coming out from under the umbrella of Park & Rec. so there were some payroll and expenses that are either split or will be under Park & Rec. Mayor Pangallo – Back in 2006 – 2007, there was a budget deficit, and the COA was brought under the Parks & Rec. For several years, the COA, including some of the board members, have been making a case to make COA a separate department and a couple of years ago the ordinance was changed and now we are trying to separate the two. There haven’t been any changes in staffing or programs. We are still working as a team but for budget purposes, it is being separated. Stott - Motion to recommend approval on the Council on Aging budget personnel line item of $462,680, expenditure line item of $77,100 for department total of $539,780. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – We are moving onto the Capital Improvement Plan. This is for the kitchen project, but it is under the Park & Recs in tab 7, page 229. Arnold - I can speak to this as chief advocate, but I'm not an architect or engineer, so that piece is not in my wheelhouse, but I'm learning. A few years back, pre-pandemic, we began to study how we would enhance the kitchen, because the Lieutenant Governor, former Mayor Driscoll, wanted to get more people in the CLC. She was sending me articles about gathering places with food. Food draws people in, and that would have been another tool to get more people of all ages to the center. The person that was working on this left so now we are starting to work on it again. We went out to bid again, and we're working with firm in a neighboring community. There have been a lot of stops and starts and well-intended people trying to put this project together Joe Candelaria, who's the facilities manager for the CLC is trying to take the lead, working with Erica, our dining service coordinator, who has worked in high-end professional establishments for over 40 years, and she's a great advisor. Unfortunately, because of stops and starts, the ARPA funds were not used by the end of December so, they had to be repurposed, but that the administration is behind the completion of the project. The big thing with this project is to have a vent in this building. There's a limited amount of self-cook you can do if you don't have proper ventilation. We would like to do special lunches and not just have the seniors, but employees, family members, etc. Merkl – We are going to finish up with Winter Island in section 22, page 546. Gilbert - We've been open now for 3 weeks. We opened on May 19th to a little rain. We haven't seen as many Canadian campers sign up as we usually do. I've noticed that there've been some cancellations from these folks that had reservations and suddenly they're not coming as we would have expected. I have a lot of my returning staff back, fortunately, but I did lose a couple, but that's just the nature of the business. We'll train the new staff and get up to speed in no time. Stott - Motion to recommend approval for the Winter Island budget personnel line item of $239,994, expenditure line item of $93,590 for a department total of $333,584, seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. O’Brien – Can we discuss the plans for the replacement of the bathhouse roof and the Winter Island truck? Merkl – Yes, that is in tab 7. O’Brien - I'm currently in discussions with 3 different roofing companies on the bathhouse roof. If you notice it has a lot of lichen on it so it needs to be replaced. The truck is a 2011 Ford F350 pickup, and it has a lot of miles. It's a plow truck, too. It passes inspection, but I don’t know if it could make another year, especially if we have it plow this winter. Merkl – Next, we are going to discuss Parks & Rec’s general administration in section 22, page 519. O’Brien - I think, did a really good job when Anna and the mayor asked us to be level funded as best this year. We really don't ask for anything unless we really need it, so you'll see that the increase requests are very minimal. The changes that Terry had already addressed with the split of COA being its own department, are just cleaning up the budget in terms of the facility needs, the landscaping contracts, snow plowing, the HVAC system. It looks like our budget increased a lot more, but it is because we renegotiated some contracts. I didn't ask for anything more other than general increases. This summer, we're continuing to do our free summer playground program. We've added extra Friday field trips during the summer. We'll plug in as part of our mission being that affordability is one of the goals. We continue to not allow money to be any kind of an obstacle for anyone to participate in any of our programs even the pool. I'm proud of my staff, and I'm proud of us for offering our programs to everyone in Salem. We use fundraising to be able to fund and support anyone who can't afford a program, and that includes giving pool passes. I think we have raised about $75,000. Merkl - I do appreciate not wanting finances to be a barrier. I haven’t seen the release of the pool schedule, but I remember last year you did have a contact in there for people to reach out if they need financial assistance. Cohen - When regarding electricity, it's cool, that Forest River Park pool is 100% sustainable. Heat pumps and solar were added when the pool was being built. I just happened upon a study that said that outdoor pools tend to serve underserved communities significantly more than other kinds of pools, and I feel like part of my job as the Ward Council is to inspect the pool quite often. So, I'm down there, and it's amazing how diverse it is the at the pool. We also have many new trees that were planted. Palmer Cove Park is officially opening on Saturday and it is a wonderful park. O’Brien - It is beautiful. North shore CDC is having a big event to celebrate that opening on Saturday, so come on down and check it out. Watson-Felt - I have a couple of questions. Can you speak to the number of pool passes sold, and then, if there's a percentage of those that fell into some category of hardship? O’Brien – I don’t have that in front of me, but I can get it to you. Watson-Felt - A couple of questions under contracted services and C. Cohen may have referred to this already, but what is your save a tree program. That looks like it's been a steady expense of $2,800 year over year. O’Brien - When Chris Burke was a member of our Park and Rec Commission, we had some very mature trees that were being affected by emerald ash. We had them evaluated, and we were able to identify some that might be able to be saved with some effort. We were able to put some of that money into treating those trees, and we have had success to the point of not having to treat them every year. It’s 3 or 4 trees at Palmer Cove. Watson-Felt - Do you have plans to do a wider assessment and begin to treat other trees that are affected or at least have a sense of how many are currently being affected. Maybe local organizations or local neighborhoods could fundraise if they wanted to. O’Brien - We do the evaluations of the trees in the parks. That's all that I have control over, but I think the Tree Commission would have the city street trees under their jurisdiction. Watson-Felt – Do you communicate or collaborate at all on a master tree database. Mayor Pangallo - The citywide tree inventory is comprehensive of both street trees and park trees, as well as trees in public spaces that are not parks. The jurisdiction in terms of who has authority over it depends on whether it's a street tree, then it's within the authority of the Tree Commission. If it's on park land, then it is under Article 97, but there is dialogue and coordination between the departments. We do have a new hire with the tree warden who's helping to facilitate it and there is one data set that inventories all the trees. Watson-Felt - I see that there's a decrease in beach staffing this year. Can you speak to the reason for that. Is that a decrease in lifeguard hours at our public beaches? O’Brien - The Y.M.C.A. rebid on their contract this year for a 3-year contract, and the combination of the $31,000 for beach staffing, the $4,200 for the out of contract seasons, and the $218,080 for pool program services for the totals within their bid. That's just accurately reflecting their response to the RFP. The beach lifeguards are the same. Morsillo - I would like to see more data and your performance measures focused on the pool. We've made a huge investment in the pool, and I think that the performance measures and the data that you provide are a good snapshot of how the city is using these different services. I think the pool could stand some data, not only the pool passes, which is a great idea, but include the number that are either at a reduced cost or for free. I would also include with that the number of swim lessons given to kids. I think that's an important number that the city should be tracking and I know that the Y does the lessons. We should also be tracking how the event space is being used and how often. O’Brien – I can email that to you. I know that those numbers have gone up. We have hired a new events manager, and she has been very successful in marketing that space. We have birthday parties, celebration of life events, staff luncheons. She has been reaching out to local businesses to get the word out. I wish the building was bigger, but we listened to the community, and they didn’t want it to be too big. The capacity is only 49. Stott - Motion to recommend approval for the Park and Rec Budget general Admin Personnel line item of $671,384, expenditure line item of $589,410 for Department total of $1,260,794. Seconded by Harvey. Motion carries 5-0. Merkl – Moving on to the CIP for Park & Rec in tab 7, page 229-230. O’Brien - I only ask if I really need something. Sometimes we do need a cushion in Park and Rec for things that go wrong or when projects run over budget. I think most of them are self-explanatory. On the playground replacement and renovations, we are continually upgrading all the parks and playgrounds, making them ADA compliant. We've done a ton of playgrounds over and we go by the age of them when they're obviously failing and tracking the see click fixes for pieces that are broken. Morsillo – Is there a specific playground that the money will be targeted for this year? O’Brien – Yes, we are currently finishing up Lower Gallows Hill Playground. That one should be done by the end of July. Then we will move on to Collins Cove Playground. I have been talking to the mayor about High St. as well. I have applied for CPA money, so if we get that in, depending on what it is, then we could fit in High St. in the next fiscal year. Morsillo – There’s $275,000 for FY26, then nothing in FY27, and $400,000 in FY28. Is the $400k for the High St. playground? O’Brien – Yes, but that could move up if we get enough CPA funding. Then we would design it, and we could install it in FY27 instead of FY28.