City Council

1 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING A Regular Meeting of the City Council was held in-person on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM for the purpose of transacting any and all business. Notice of this meeting was posted on April 21, 2026, at 3:23 PM. This meeting is being recorded and is live on S.A.T.V. and Zoom unless technological issues interrupt the transmission. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. Council President Merkl presided. Councilor Smith moved to dispense with the reading of the record of the previous meeting. It was so voted President Merkl requested that everyone who is able to please rise to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Salem City Council Land Acknowledgement The Salem City Council honors that this land is Naumkeag, or fishing place, where generations of Naumkeag people from the Pawtucket band of the Massachusett Tribe lived and passed through for centuries. We acknowledge that this is unceded Indigenous land and also acknowledge the Massachusett Tribe, who continue to honor and hold this land into the present. Salem’s City Council is committed to having ongoing meaningful dialogue with the indigenous peoples who have presence in Salem in order to dismantle the legacies of oppression and inequities that persist today. PUBLIC TESTIMONY 1. Josiah Guthrie, 69 Essex St., Salem - Traffic Ordinance relative to buses and tour buses noted concerns 2. Biff Michaud, owner of Salem Witch Museum, 19 1/2 Washington Sq. N. - Traffic Ordinance relative to buses and tour buses – opposes (#179) - APPOINTMENT OF SEAN LUNDE TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND LEIGH CHANDLER TO SERC Held from the last meeting the Mayor's Appointments of Sean Lunde 22 Forrester St. to the Board of Health with a term to expire April 9, 2029, and Leigh Chandler 15 Hardy St. to the Sustainability, Energy and Resiliency Committee with a term to expire February 22, 2027 were confirmed by a roll call vote of 10 yeas, 0 nays and 1 absent. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. Councillor Turowski requested and received suspension of the rules to allow the appointees to speak.  2 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING (#180) - RE-APPOINTMENT OF GINA FLYNN TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND BOARD Held from the last meeting, the Mayor's Re-Appointment of Gina Flynn to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board with a Term to Expire April 2, 2028 was confirmed by a roll call vote of 10 yeas, 0 nays and 1 absent. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. #216 - RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE PARK & RECREATION COMMISSION AND THE YOUTH COMMISSION The Mayor's Re-Appointments of the following with terms to expire were held under the rules. James Shea Parks and Rec Comm. 45 Dearborn St Term to Expire 4/23/2031 Oksana Platonova Youth Commission Term to Expire 4/23/2027 Kayla Fry Youth Commission Term to Expire 4/23/2027 #217 - APPOINTMENT TO THE SALEM HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION The Mayor's Appointment of Jamie Kelley 214 Jefferson Ave., to the Salem Human Rights Coalition was received and filed. (Informational Purposes only.) #218 - RE-APPOINTMENT OF JAMES BARINA AS CONSTABLE The Mayor's Re-Appointment of James Barina of 5 Hancock St. to serve as a Constable in the City of Salem with a Term to Expire April 23, 2029 was received and filed. #219 - APPROPRIATION OF $80,000.00 TO THE RETIREMENT BUYBACK ACCOUNT AND $65,212.33 APPROPRIATION FOR RETIREMENT BUYBACKS OF EMPLOYEES FROM THE SALEM POLICE, VETERANS AND SCHOOL DEPARTMENT The following Order submitted by the Mayor was adopted under suspension of the rules. ORDERED: That the sum of Eighty Thousand Dollars ($80,000.00) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund Balance Reserved for Free Cash to the “Retirement Stabilization Fund-Vacation/Sick Leave Buyback” Fund (8311) for the contractual buyback(s) listed below and anticipated remaining contractual buyback(s) for FY2026.  3 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING Be it furthered Ordered: That the sum of Sixty-Five Thousand Two Hundred Twelve Dollars and Thirty-Three Cents ($65,212.33) be approved within the “Retirement Stabilization Fund- Vacation/Sick Leave Buyback” account (83113-5146) to be expended for the contractual buyback(s) listed below in accordance with the recommendation of His Honor the Mayor. Name Department Amount Matthew Desmond Salem Police $53,570.81 Elizabeth Covino Veterans $2,339.98 Beth Kwapis Salem School $9,301.54 Total $65,212.33 #220 - APPROPRIATION OF $48,420.40 TO THE PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT - POLICE DETAIL & PER MGL CH. 44, SEC. 64 TO PAY PRIOR YEARS FY24 & FY25 TO BE PAID WITH CURRENT FY26 BUDGETS The following Order submitted by the Mayor was adopted under suspension of the rules by a roll call vote of 10 yeas, 0 nays and 1 absent. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. ORDERED: That the sum of Forty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred Twenty Dollars and Forty Cents ($48,420.40) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund Balance Reserved for Free Cash to Public Services Department – Police Detail (14112-5301) to pay prior years Police Detail invoices. Per MGL Chapter 44 Section 64 which allows for a municipality to pay for prior fiscal year invoices using current fiscal year appropriations by two-thirds vote of the City Council we request the sum of Forty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred Twenty Dollars and Forty Cents ($48,420.40) of an outstanding Fiscal Year 2024 & 2025 invoices is hereby allowed to be paid from the Fiscal Year 2026 Public Services Department budget (account 14112-5301) as listed below in accordance with the recommendation of His Honor the Mayor. Department Vendor Amount DPS Hart Halsey LLC $48,420.40 Police Detail(14112-5301) Total $48,420.40  4 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #221 - APPROPRIATION OF $12,000.00 FROM RECEIPTS RESERVED FUNDS TO DPS BURIAL ACCOUNTS The following order submitted by the Mayor was adopted under suspension of the rules. ORDERED: That the sum of Twelve Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($12,000.00) is hereby transferred and appropriated from the Receipts Reserved funds listed below to the Department of Public Services Burial Account (14112-5383) in accordance with the recommendation of His Honor the Mayor. From To Amount 2430 R/Res Sale of Lots 14112-5383 DPS Burial $7,000.00 2431 R/Res Sale of Vaults 14112-5381 DPS Burial $5,0000.00 TOTAL $12,000.00 #222 - ORDINANCE AMENDING TRAFFIC RELATIVE TO BUSES AND TOUR BUSES The following ordinance submitted by the Mayor was adopted as amended for first passage and referred to the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs co- posted with the Committee of the Whole. The amendments were formatting issues (see original and amended version below) ORIGINAL In the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six An ordinance relative to Traffic Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem, as follows: Section 1. Section 1 Definitions of Article I be amended by repealing the following: Bus. A motor vehicle for carriage of passengers for hire operating under a permit from the city council, approved by the mayor. Bus stop. An area in a roadway set aside for the boarding of or alighting from and the parking of buses engaged in carriage of passengers for hire under a permit from the city council. And inserting the following:  5 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING Bus. A vehicle designed for carrying 15 passengers or more that is not identified as a “Tour Bus” Tour Bus. A vehicle designed for carrying 15 passengers or more hired for the purpose of group travel and/or sightseeing. May also be referred to as a motor coach, commercial bus or charter bus. Bus Stop. A location identified in Article I Section 11 of the city’s Traffic Ordinance. This does not include stops designated by the Regional Transit Authority. Section 2. Section 11 Bus stops of Article I be amended by repealing the following: Whenever authorized signs are erected, no Tour Bus shall park upon any street in this section with their engines on. Said signs should read "Tour Buses Must Turn Off Engines While Standing". (Penalty $25.00) (7/17/95) And inserting the following: Whenever authorized signs are erected designating Tour Bus parking, no vehicles shall park upon any street in this section with their engines on (No Idling). Penalty identified in Section 17A Schedule of fines re: Penalties Section 3. Section 17A Schedule of fines re: Penalties of Article I be amended by repealing the following: $100.00 Fine Parking a Bus or Motor Coach in a Restricted Area (4-10-2000) 51 And inserting the following: $100.00 Fine Standing Bus or Tour Bus, engine running 11 $300.00 Fine Parking a Bus or Tour Bus in a restricted area........ 51 Parking a Tour Bus in a designated area without a parking permit…52 Section 4. Amend Article V Section 52 Bus stops by deleting this section in its entirety and replacing it with the following: Section 52 – Tour Bus Parking Permits A. Tour Buses are required to purchase a parking permit from the city to utilize designated Bus Stops. A permit shall be required for each tour bus visit. B. School buses, “trolleys” and shuttle buses, so called, used for the conveyance of persons within city limits are not required to purchase a parking permit.  6 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING C. All vehicles identified in this section may utilize designated Bus Stops to discharge and pick up passengers as well as park. The hours and length of parking sessions will be identified by signage installed by the city D. Vehicle engines are required to be turned off while in the designated spaces. E. Vehicles are prohibited from stopping, standing, parking, loading or unloading in any location not otherwise expressly authorized by Article 1 Section 11. F. The Police Chief or their designee as well as the Transportation Department’s parking enforcement personnel will be responsible for enforcing this section. Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect as provided by City Charter. Amended Version In the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six An ordinance relative to Traffic Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem, as follows: Section 1. Section 1 Definitions of Article I of the Salem Traffic Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the following: “Bus. A motor vehicle for carriage of passengers for hire operating under a permit from the city council, approved by the mayor. Bus stop. An area in a roadway set aside for the boarding of or alighting from and the parking of buses engaged in carriage of passengers for hire under a permit from the city council.” And replacing it with the following: “Bus. A vehicle designed for carrying 15 passengers or more that is not identified as a “Tour Bus” Tour Bus. A vehicle designed for carrying 15 passengers or more hired for the purpose of group travel and/or sightseeing. May also be referred to as a motor coach, commercial bus or charter bus. Bus Stop. A location identified in Article I Section 11 of the city’s Traffic Ordinance. This does not include stops designated by the Regional Transit Authority.” Section 2. Section 11 Bus stops of Article I of the Salem Traffic Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the following first paragraph of this section:  7 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING “Whenever authorized signs are erected, no Tour Bus shall park upon any street in this section with their engines on. Said signs should read "Tour Buses Must Turn Off Engines While Standing". (Penalty $25.00) (7/17/95) And replacing it with the following: “Whenever authorized signs are erected designating Tour Bus parking, no vehicles shall park upon any street in this section with their engines on (No Idling). Penalty identified in Section 17A Schedule of fines re: Penalties.” Section 3. Section 17A Schedule of fines re: Penalties of Article I of the Salem Traffic Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the following: “$100.00 Fine Parking a Bus or Motor Coach in a Restricted Area (4-10-2000) ...... 51” And replacing it with the following: “$100.00 Fine Standing Bus or Tour Bus, engine running ...... 11 $300.00 Fine Parking a Bus or Tour Bus in a restricted area........ 51 Parking a Tour Bus in a designated area without a parking permit…52” Section 4. Amend Article V Section 52 Bus stops of the Salem Traffic Ordinance by deleting this section in its entirety and replacing it with the following: “Section 52 – Tour Bus Parking Permits A. Tour Buses are required to purchase a parking permit from the city to utilize designated Bus Stops. A permit shall be required for each tour bus visit. B. School buses, “trolleys” and shuttle buses, so called, used for the conveyance of persons within city limits are not required to purchase a parking permit. C. All vehicles identified in this section may utilize designated Bus Stops to discharge and pick up passengers as well as park. The hours and length of parking sessions will be identified by signage installed by the city. D. Vehicle engines are required to be turned off while in the designated spaces. E. Vehicles are prohibited from stopping, standing, parking, loading or unloading in any location not otherwise expressly authorized by Article 1 Section 11.  8 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING F. The Police Chief or their designee as well as the Transportation Department’s parking enforcement personnel will be responsible for enforcing this section.” Section 5. This Ordinance shall take effect as provided by City Charter. Councillor Varela stated that the amendments were made by the Solicitor’s office but did not make it onto the agenda so we should move to accept these amendments and adopt for first passage as amended. Councillor Prosniewski stated we heard from Biff Michaud earlier (owner of Witch Museum) and he is the most affected in the city by some of the changes in this ordinance. We also heard from a couple of people from the public about the fines. I don’t mind passing it for first passage but I’d like to see this go to committee before it comes out for second passage. Mr. Michaud’s business probably brings more buses into this city than any other business. He's been at this for years. He helped develop the original bus plan, which worked, and I think we owe him the ability to speak on this matter and anybody else that would like to speak on it. Councillor Smith agrees that it should go into committee. He has a couple of concerns with the language and definitions. It's a small fee of $50 for these bus companies that are bringing in hundreds of people, and sure, there's some risk that they might go into the neighborhoods and idle there to escape the fee. But realistically I can’t see that happening to try to save $50.00. What about school buses and school tours using a coach bus. So I think we need to clean up the language a bit. Councillor Turowski is ok with this ordinance. We spoke about this a bit when we spoke about Congress St. parking meters. Tour bus parking is another unrealized way that we can capitalize on tourist revenue without passing costs on to residents for the most part, and I did advocate for this many times during my tenure with the Transportation Commission, and we had people from the city say that tour bus companies would be willing to pay for this. This is implemented via the Passport app, so if a bus driver is sitting there, and they're approached by an enforcement officer, they could just update the permit as they're sitting there. But the impact of this is approximately on a 55-passenger tour bus, .91 cents per passenger per ticket, so I think that's really nominal. And it also provides for an increase in fines with idling. Before, our idling fee was only $25. I'd also recommended it to the Transportation Commission that we look at increasing that, and making it $100. It will put us in line with what the state charges for idling as a violation of the Massachusetts anti- idling Law, which is up to $500 for subsequent offenses. So, I think this reaffirms our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. The only problem I had with it is I didn't know how confusing the term bus stop was, since we do have MBTA bus stops in the city, so maybe bus parking spot would be a better language choice, but overall, I think this is a great idea, and I'm happy to see it, hopefully move for adoption.  9 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING Councillor King stated her main question is about the school buses and how it would be enforced and to make sure it does not apply to our own schools and city’s buses Councillor Davis stated he would like to see this pass tonight. We have 3 weeks before our next meeting so there is plenty of time for residents and people affected by this to email or call us. Councillor Holappa said there is no such thing as free parking. We still have to fix the pavement, street sweeping costs, so when there is no charge for tourist buses, we are actually costing residents taxpayer dollars. I'm very excited to see this go forward. I would be open to sending this to committee, and adopting for first passage. I think that there's an opportunity to charge a lot more than $50 per visit in October. Councillor Smith goes back to the school buses carrying school children. Are we talking about school buses coming in from out of town or the buses that bring kids to and from school. And so that's the confusion here in my mind. I'd be happy to pass it first passage and make some kind of an amendment next time when I can figure that out. For example, when I took my 3-year old on a field trip we were on a school bus would we have paid for parking if the field trip were in Salem? I don't know, because it's a school bus with school children, but is the intention to charge all bus companies carrying tourists, and those children are tourists at that time, and then we want to make sure that we either carve them out or don't carve them out. It just depends on what we're trying to do, and I'm not sure. Councillor Varela stated it seems like we do have some more thoughtful questions here. So, my motion will be to adopt for first passage as amended and refer to the Committee on Ordinance, License, and Legal Affairs co-posted with the Committee of the Whole and have a meeting before second passage. Councillor Prosniewski seconded the motion. Motion to accept the amendments was so voted. Motion to adopt for first passage as amended and referred to Ord., Lic. And Legal Affairs co-posted with the Committee of the Whole was so voted. #223 - PARKING PERMIT FEES FOR DESIGNATED BUS STOPS The following Order submitted by the Mayor was referred to the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs co-posted with the Committee of the Whole. ORDERED: That the parking permit fee for tour buses utilizing designated bus stops shall be $50 per visit.  10 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #224 - MAYOR TO EXECUTE A 20-YEAR CONTRACT WITH BLUEWAVE AND A REVOLVING FUND BE ESTABLISHED The following Order submitted by the Mayor was adopted by a roll call vote of 10 yeas, 0 nays and 1 absent. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. Ordered: The Salem City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor to execute 20-year contracts with Boston-based BlueWave, a solar developer, to bring energy savings from its solar projects to income-eligible residential customers in Salem. Be it further Ordered that a revolving fund may be established for the purpose of collecting incentive payments from BlueWave to reimburse the municipal aggregation supplier, currently First Point Power, for discounts they provide to income eligible residents. Councillor Varela stated this is a 20 year contract with Boston Blue Wave, a solar developer. I only see positives for our city when it comes to this. Any contracts over 3 years need to go to Council. Councillor Varela requested and received suspension of the rules to allow Neal Duffy to speak. Neal Duffy, Director of Sustainability and Resiliency for the City. Stated this a new and exciting program. I’m hoping you will authorize the contract and the revolving fund. I think you're all familiar with Salem Power Choice, which is the Municipal Aggregation program, so if we are able to, contract with Blue Wave, anyone who's enrolled in Salem Power of Choice who's also enrolled in National Grid's income-eligible, rate will receive, an added discount to their supply rate through Salem Power Choice. It would all automatically happen. It's a way to provide an added discount to people who need it most. Salem could be one of, if not the first, municipality to roll this out. There are other ones working on this right now, but that remains to be seen. Councillor Turowski stated that she supports this. I think when people say, how do we pull some of our public resources back from large utility companies, that this is how we do it. This keeps money in the state, and it also benefits people that need it most, and it reduces our carbon footprint, so I think it's a good idea. #225 - AUTHORIZE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO 5 YEAR CONTRACT WITH HEALEY BUS AND NRT BUS FOR STUDENT TRANSPORTATION The following Order submitted by the Mayor was adopted. Ordered: The City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor to enter into five-year contracts with Healey Bus, Inc. of Swampscott, Massachusetts for the regular student transportation, athletic and extracurricular event transportation, and field trip transportation and with NRT Bus, Inc. of Chelmsford, Massachusetts for special education student transportation.  11 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #226 - OUTSIDE DINING LICENSE AGREEMENTS FOR EL PABLANO TAQUERIA AND TRADE HOUSE The following order submitted by the Mayor was adopted. Councillor Varela recused himself from this matter. ORDERED: In accordance with City Ordinance Chapter 38 and the City of Salem Outdoor Dining Policy, the City Council hereby authorizes the City Solicitor to prepare a license agreement to allow the businesses set forth below to occupy city property for outdoor dining. Such approval is subject to any limitations or conditions required of the Disability Commission, Redevelopment Authority, Design Review Board and Licensing Board. Councillor Turowski stated overall she supports this. The faster we can pass this the faster the businesses can get started on the season. She stated the amount businesses pay for outdoor dining outweighs the revenue from vehicle parking. BUSINESS ADDRESS LICENSED SPACE El Pablano Taqueria 105 Lafayette Street One parking space and 90 sq. ft. of sidewalk Trade House 156 Derby Street 490 sq. ft. of sidewalk #227 - ORDINANCE AMENDING TRAFFIC CH. 42 SEC. 51 - PARKING PROHIBITED CERTAIN STREETS - HOWARD STREET The following Ordinance introduced by Councillor Smith was adopted for first passage. In the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six An ordinance relative to Traffic Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Salem, as follows: Section 1. Section 51 of Article V be amended by inserting the following: Howard Street – Parking Prohibited on Certain Streets – easterly side beginning at a point approximately one hundred sixty-eight (168) feet from the intersection with Brown Street and extending in a southerly direction for twenty (20) feet. Howard Street – Parking Prohibited on Certain Streets – easterly side beginning at the intersection of Bridge Street in a southerly direction for a distance of three hundred thirty (330) feet, except where any accessible spaces may be designated. Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect as provided by City Charter.  12 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #228 - (#46 of 2025 & #103 of 2026) - MEET TO DISCUSS AN ORDINANCE RELATIVE TO HOME OCCUPATION Councillor Varela offered the following report for the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs. It was voted to accept the report and adopt the recommendation. The Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs to whom was referred the matter to meet and discuss an Ordinance to amend an Ordinance relative to Home Occupation, has considered said matter and would recommend that the matter Remain in Committee. #229 - BLOCK PARTY - FEDERAL STREET NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION A Request from the Federal Street Neighborhood Association to hold a Block Party Saturday, June 27, 2026, 4PM - 8PM in the Square at the intersection of Federal, Beckford, and Andover Streets with a Rain date of Sunday June 28, 2026 was granted. #230 - HAWC WALK A Request from HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) to hold HAWK Walk and 5K Run and use of city streets on Sunday June 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM was granted. #231 - WICKED RUNNING CLUB TO HOLD A ROAD RACE AND USE OF CITY STREETS ON JULY 10, 2026 A Request from Wicked Running Club to hold Miles Over the Moon Road Race and use of city streets on Friday, July 10, 2026, 7:00 PM was granted. #232 - THE FOLLOWING LICENSE APPLICATIONS The Following License Applications were granted. PUBLIC GUIDES: John Bittrich 158A Lafayette St. Salem Casey Bryant 14 George St. Malden Daniel Doherty 63 Warren St. Revere ViJay Joyce 18 Broad St. Salem  13 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #233 - #240 - CLAIMS The following Claims were referred to the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs. Heidi Realty & Patricia Allain 241 Lafayette St., Salem Terrence Sturm c/o Benjamin Sturm 4 Liberty Hill Ave., Salem Terrence Sturm 4 Liberty Hill Ave., Salem Kevin Wolf 21 Park St., Danvers Andrea Battaglia 14 Gilway St., Saugus Adriana Martin 20 Shore Hill Rd., Gloucester Daphnee Puryear PO Box 948 Lynn Jeffrey Dingle 11 Lindsey St., Marblehead #241 - DRAINLAYER / CONTRACT OPERATOR LICENSE APPLICATIONS The Following Drainlayer / Contractor Licenses were granted: B.P SULLIVAN 105 RANGEWAY RD BILLERICA GEOSEARCH, INC 11 CHOCKSETT ROAD STERLING JJ PHELAN & SON 120 LUMBER LANE TEWKSBURY SJ OLSON GENERAL CONTRACTORS LLC 177 ESSEX ST LYNNFIELD PUMEL ENTERPRISES 116 RABBIT RD. SALISBURY PV BARONE CORP 18 CENTRAL ST WINTHROP R. DILISIO CO. INC 113 FAYETTE ST LYNN RAFFAELE CONSTRUCTION CORP 233 BURRILL ST SWAMPSCOTT SEAN FARRELL EXCAVATION INC 53 GILBERT ST. QUINCY THOMAS MACKEY & SONS, INC 58 BROADWAY SALEM UNITED CIVIL 240 NEWBURY ST DANVERS VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION CO., INC 57 WHARF AT., SUITE 2G, SALEM #242 - BONDS The Following Bonds were referred to the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs and Returned Approved. Drainlayers: SJ Olson General Contractors LLC 177 Essex St Lynnfield Sean Farrell Excavation Inc 53 Gilbert St. Quincy Village Construction Co., Inc 57 Wharf St., Unit 5g, Salem  14 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING #243 - PETITION TO OPPOSE THE WARREN MUSEUM A Petition to Oppose the Annabelle Exhibit and Warren Occult Museum in Salem, Massachusetts was received and filed. (#189) - SECOND READING OF AN ORDER TO AMEND SECTION 35 (2) OF THE CITY COUNCIL RULES AND ORDERS The Second Reading of an Order to amend the Rules and Orders of the City Council by amending Section 35 (2). Rules of Committees by deleting 6:00 PM and inserting 5:00 PM was taken up. Councillor Varela moves for adoption by roll call vote. I know this seems like a highlight of contention with us which wasn't the intent here. I would be amenable to a change in those hours, if that was the will of the body. If not, I would love to see this go to committee to have more discussion. I'm right now in the midst of obtaining a little more information from other municipalities and towns on when they start their committees, and need a little more time. Councillor Flynn stated he thinks this is a bad idea. It puts a hardship on some of our Councillors and on some of the public that expect our meetings to start at that time. So I really think we should just vote this down and be done with this. Councillor King is concerned about the detrimental impact it would have on public comment in our meetings. 5:00 PM is hard for a majority of the people I know that there are other cities and towns that do start earlier. There are also cities and towns in Massachusetts that don't take public comment, and I don't think we should be following suit. I think that Salem is a place where people's voices need to be heard Councillor Turowski - I think that for most people who work a 9-to-5 job, the 5-6 hour is an hour of transition. Unless you're either sitting in this room or, sitting at your house, it's still really difficult to access public meetings on a streaming basis, even harder to participate in them. Sometimes they're just hard to hear, let alone to comment and say something over the airwaves. I think this runs the risk of alienating people in our working class. We haven't heard from city officials on this or SATV on how this would impact their involvement. This has been in effect for 40 years with a mechanism to vote on starting a committee meeting before 6pm. Councillor Sydoriak - I want to echo what other Councillors have said, especially in regards to impacting public comment. I think we need to look more at how we schedule meetings.  15 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING Councillor Davis - It feels to me like we're still talking about this as if what we're voting on is moving meetings from 6 o'clock to 5 o'clock. We are just removing an obstacle to be able to schedule a committee meeting at 5pm. I think we should have the flexibility to have it even if we never use it. Work Schedules have changed over the last decades especially in hospitals and hospitality where a lot of people don't work 9-5 anymore. I think the most equitable thing, if we're talking about making sure that most people can come to meetings, is to have a variety of meetings, and a variety of times for meetings. Councillor King stated we are not solving a problem for those who work 9-5. Secondly, the goal of the City Council is to improve the lives of the people in the city and include the people in the city in that conversation. We should not be planning meetings on short notice; they need to be better planned in advance so that we can have appropriate time to ask city staff to attend, ask questions ahead of time to staff, even if they can't be there and to make sure that the public knows that the meeting is happening Councillor Holappa had a couple of thoughts. This was brought up in the last meeting. I did not hear from a single resident about this who was not a previous Councillor. I understand the perspective that folks don't want this to impact residents. I agree. I also think the points about not everyone working 9-to-5 are fairly valid. I would like to make a motion to amend this to 5:30pm instead of 5:00 PM, Seconded by Councillor Varela, with a request for roll call vote. Councillor Smith just to clarify here, so if we were to amend this to 5:30 PM then the only options would become 5:30 or 6pm. So even if we're against that, it seems like it might be the right thing to do to at least preserve 5:30 as now a hard line. So, to me, this seems like a good amendment. Councillor Turowski stated we already have a mechanism for meetings to start at 5:30 or 5pm if we need them to. I just don't see the point in writing this into the law. Best case scenario, you work at or around North Station, you get on the train at 5:05pm, and you're still not in Salem until 5:38pm, assuming nothing goes wrong. I think that's still not enough time to respect the time that it takes commuters to get here from Boston. I believe most hospital workers shifts are usually 7 to 3pm or 3:30PM or 3 to 11-ish, so 5 or 6 really isn't going to matter too much for a lot of the employees that are on that kind of shift schedule. I still think this is trying to solve a problem we don't have. Councillor Smith stated we do have that mechanism, we just need to clean up the language on where or how that vote is taken i.e. do you just email the Councillors under this rule and get 3 votes and call it. Councillor King stated she runs a lot of meetings, and having meetings before 6 o'clock stops people from being able to come. I just need to make that point clear. I offered the compromise of a 5:30 pm time slot at the last meeting but after the discussion we’ve had I now oppose it.  16 CITY OF SALEM APRIL 23, 2026 REGULAR MEETING Councillor Prosniewski state it really doesn't affect me because I'm retired, so I can make a meeting at 6 in the morning if I want to. But there's an old saying, if it's not broken, don't fix it and I don't think that the old system is broken, so I don't know why we're going around, because there are ways to hold meetings earlier if we have to. On Councillor Holappa’s motion to replace 5:00 PM with 5:30PM by roll call vote (after seeing 3 hands). This motion failed by a roll call vote of 4 yeas, 6 nays and I absent. Those voting in the affirmative were Councillors Davis, Holappa, Smith and Varela. Those recorded in the negative were Councillors Flynn, King, Prosniewski, Sydoriak, Turowski and Merkl. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. The matter does not carry. Councillor Varela withdraw his original motion and made a new motion to send this to the Committee on Government Services Co-posted with the Committee of the Whole. Seconded by Councillor King. A roll call vote was requested and received. The roll call vote was 5 in the affirmative, 5 in the negative and 1 absent. Councillors Davis, Holappa, King, Varela and Merkl were recorded in the affirmative. Councillors Flynn, Prosniewski, Smith, Sydoriak and Turowski were recorded in the negative and Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. The matter does not carry. Councillor Smith motioned to reconsider the vote. Seconded by Councillor King. The motion to reconsider the vote to refer the matter to the Committee on Government Services co-posted with the Committee of the Whole failed by a roll call vote of 3 yeas, 7 nays and 1 absent. Councillor Holappa, King and Varela were recorded as voting in the affirmative. Councillors Davis, Flynn, Prosniewski, Smith, Sydoriak, Turowski and Merkl were recorded in the negative. Councillor Hapworth was recorded as absent. On the motion of Councillor Davis, the meeting adjourned at 8:37 P.M. ATTEST: ILENE SIMONS CITY CLERK