Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 14, 2016 7:00 P.M. City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Members Present: Rosemary O’Connor (Mack Park Neighborhood Association), Jim Kearney (Historic Essex Street Neighborhood Association), Jerry Smith (Salem Common Neighborhood Association), Christian Haselgrove (Historic Derby Street Neighborhood Association), Flora Tonthat (Bridge Street Neck Neighborhood Association), Pat Liberti (Ward 4/Gallows Hill Neighborhood Association), Bob Femino (Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association). Participating remotely: Anne Sterling (Northfields Neighborhood Association) Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Mayor’s Chief of Staff) Guests Present: Kate Fox (Destination Salem), Lt. Robert Preczewski (Salem Police), Tom Daniel (Director of Planning and Community Development), Kevin Cornacchio (Community Preservation Committee) Approval of July 13, 2016 Meeting Minutes: Approved by roll call vote, 7 in favor and 1 abstaining. Council Updates: BSNA: Book swap announced; LORAX kick-off coming up. MPNA: Chief Butler spoke at a recent meeting; hosting a sheriff candidates’ forum October 11. Northfields: held several block parties recently. GESNA: hoping for update on the Endicott Street traffic study. SCNA: recent meeting to address loitering and vagrancy on the Common; dealing with increase in parking on sidewalks and tickets for that violation, Salem Fire will be checking road clearance with cars parked on street; thanks to City for recent clearing of overgrowth around Collins Cove. Public Comments: None Guest Speakers: Kate Fox and Lt. Preczewski shared a summary of the new events on the Haunted Happenings schedule and anticipated road closures and traffic impacts, especially for the larger scale events, such as the parade, motorcycle ride, and major weekends, as well as Halloween itself. Essex Street will be closed again from Hawthorne Boulevard to New Liberty Street. Residents in October resident- only zones can begin picking up their parking hang tags, available at the Collector’s Office in City Hall this year. Tom Daniel introduced himself and spoke about his professional background, as well as the upcoming Visioning Project. He also took some questions about the length of some Planning Board agendas and the methods of surveying residents for plans. Kevin Cornacchio asked the associations to submit their comments for the FY17 Community Preservation Plan and fielded questions about the use of CPA dollars for private nonprofit projects, the CPA process in general, and the recent proposal by the City to use CPA dollars to fund a bond to acquire the open space at 289 Derby Street on the South River. City Updates: Fall street sweeping is underway and residents can help by moving their vehicle from the street on their sweep day. The City has expanded its paving list for 2016 and now will repave 56 streets, up from 15 last year, and about three times the street miles and square yardage; the complete list is posted at the City Engineering Department’s website and a schedule is forthcoming. Park & Rec will be host a Friday Night Fire Pit at Salem Willows two Fridays in September and one in October. City Hall to Go is available to neighborhood groups for block parties, association meetings, and other gatherings; contact the Finance Department for details. Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 9, 2016 Adjournment: 8:25 p.m.