Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 9, 2015 7:00 P.M. City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Members Present: Nina Cohen, Lucy Corchado, Cindy Johnson, Norman LaPointe, Pat Liberti, Barbara Mann, Rosemary O’Connor, Mira Riggin, Jerry Smith, Anne Sterling Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Mayor’s Chief of Staff) Guests Present: Kate Fox (Destination Salem), Ellen Talkowsky (City of Salem), Jessica Rentsch (Citizen Schools), Kevin Cornacchio (Community Preservation Committee), Mayor Kimberley Driscoll Approval of July 8th Meeting Minutes: Amended by Barbara Mann to add Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association to the list of associations participating in the McIntire District Neighborhood Coalition (City Updates). Subsequently unanimously approved Guest Speakers: Kate Fox, director of Destination Salem, and Ellen Talkowsky, special projects coordinator for the City of Salem, presented a summary of the programs planned for Haunted Happenings and Halloween this year, including a list of all the new programs and events taking place in October. They reviewed planned street closures, logistics, and parking restrictions with the Council. They also discussed the planned visit of the Balmoral cruise ship (September 24) and the Seabourn Quest (October 20) and Dominick notified the Council about parking restrictions at the Blaney Street lot during those dates. Council members asked if the public would be able to tour the ships (not the Balmoral; still waiting to find out about the Seabourn Quest). Regarding Haunted Happenings the Council asked about Ferry service (will be on, though no extra trips on Halloween), any amplification ban (no restrictions currently planned outside of the existing ordinance), and the MBTA garage hours (no final word from the MBTA, but last year they closed it from about 9pm-1am on Halloween night). Wayfinding signs in walk times, not distances, were suggested. The Council asked for a copy of the proposed Ordinance adding additional streets onto the October resident-only parking list; the Ordinance will be sent to the Council by email. Residents in these zones will receive a CodeRED reminder to get their October hang tag. Though on the agenda, no one from Salem Recycles came to speak on the new cigarette waste recycling campaign. The Council spoke amongst themselves briefly about the receptacles and asked if the City would consider adding them to Furlong Park, the Salem Public Library, and bus stops in general. Jessica Rentsch, of Citizen Schools, spoke about the program underway at the Collins Middle School. The Council asked about how the program is funded and the details of how to sign up to teach a class, and encouraged the organization to add a healthcare curriculum as it is a highly in-demand field. Kevin Cornacchio, of the Community Preservation Committee, spoke briefly about the work the committee has been undertaking and shared information about the projects recommended for funding in the first two rounds of the Community Preservation Act grants. He asked the Council members to submit feedback on the Community Preservation Plan and the for project ideas. The Council asked about the timing for applications and sending in comment on the plan, as well as why the grants are provided to both public projects and private non-profits. City Updates: Street sweeping is underway. Entrance corridors from September 2nd to the 11th. Neighborhood streets start September 14th through October 9th. Full schedule is on salem.com. Please remind people to move their vehicles on their sweep day. New this year, the City has purchased its own sweeper, so if a street is missed we can get back to it more quickly afterward. There will be an update on a mobile pay app for parking meters coming shortly. City is working to launch the service on meters by October if possible, and then expand out to lots and possibly in residential zones from there. City lot at MBTA reopening soon by October 1. Changes coming in curbside trash and recycling collection. The City will distribute information as it is published. It is also being posted on telephone poles, mailed to all households, CodeRED called and sent via City News & Announcements email, featured in FYI Salem, and sent to the newspapers, and will be the topic of a special on SATV. Julie Rose is available to visit neighborhood association meetings and speak in greater depth on the changes. Key points are: carts are being delivered in October; automated pick-up begins November 2nd. Recycling becomes every other week and is single-stream. And some routes and pick-up days may be changing; if your day changes you will receive a targeted CodeRED call with that information. Mayor Kim Driscoll provided an update on the status of the Gateway Center and Community Life Center. After outlining why she is supportive of the project, why the project is in keeping with the vision in the North River Canal Corridor master plan, and where the project currently stands, she took questions from the Council. Questions included inquiries regarding the nature of the housing units in the private development component, the exterior design of the buildings, and the interior space of the CLC. There was also a discussion about the variances needed for the project to advance, differences and similarities between the previous Gateway Center proposal and this one, as well as how the project might enhance conditions and the level of economic activity along the Boston Street corridor in general. There was a discussion about traffic impacts from the project, the possibility of roadway and other complete streets infrastructure upgrades possible through the project, and the condition of the current senior center. The Council asked that the City complete striping crosswalks as soon as possible, and restore striping around the Conant Statue near Salem Common, which has recently been repaved. There was also an inquiry about the corner of Mason Street and Goodhue Street, currently under construction, and about the appropriateness of trash trucks backing up down a one-way street during collection. Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 Adjournment: 9:06 p.m.