Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 11, 2016 7:00 P.M. City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Members Present: Lucy Corchado, Christian Haselgrove, Jim Kearney, Norman LaPointe, Barbara Mann, Anne Sterling, and Flora Tonthat Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Mayor’s Chief of Staff) Guests Present: Patricia O’Brien (Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services) Approval of March 9, 2016 Meeting Minutes: Unanimously approved. Council Updates: Barbara Mann shared an update on an ongoing traffic study regarding traffic calming efforts on Endicott Street. Dominick Pangallo read an update submitted from the Mack Park Neighborhood Association relative to an upcoming golf tournament to benefit the Salem Police Department K9 unit. Jim Kearney reminded members about the City’s sidewalk brick replacement program. The Council shared their general feedback on the City’s new automated trash and recycling collection system and discussed street sweeping beyond the regularly scheduled city-wide seasonal sweeping. Public Comments: None Guest Speakers: Patricia O’Brien, the City’s new Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services, introduced herself and spoke a bit about her background and experience. She shared an update about summer recreation programs and the expansion of the summer parks program with structured recreational activities planned for Splaine Park and Furlong Park this summer. She also talked about the new online recreation brochure and took some questions from the Council members. City Updates: The FY2017 City budget is being finalized for submission to the City Council at the end of the month. It will be online at www.salem.com once it has been filed. Street sweeping continues and neighborhood associations are encouraged to help spread the word to residents about removing cars from roads on their scheduled sweeping day. The City has 50 additional cigarette waste recycling bins and have asked associations to weigh in on potential locations for them. Council members offered some suggested locations. The pre-construction meeting for the Canal Street resurfacing project will take place May 19, after which time a more precise construction schedule will be available for publication. The Salem Arts Festival returns June 3-5. Visit www.salemartsfestival.com for details. The last day of Styrofoam recycling drop-off will be on May 21st. The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization is commencing a traffic study of Loring Avenue from Vinnin Square through Canal Street. It is expected to be done by in the fall. Conservators will be working in the Charter Street Cemetery on a number of tombs and headstones. Please do not disrupt their work areas and report to the Police if you see any suspicious activity taking place after work hours. Salem Summer Meals is holding a kick-off event on Saturday, June 4, 10am-2pm, at Palmer Cove Park with games, face-painting, music, and more. Keep an eye on www.salem.com and www.salem.org for complete details about the annual July 4th Celebration on Derby Wharf. The Council selected Flora Tonthat to serve as its representative to the LORAX task force. Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Adjournment: 8:08 p.m.