Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday. July 19, 2017 7:00 P.M. City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Members Present: Jim Kearney, Anne Sterling, Rosemary O’Connor, Pat Liberti, Barbara Mann, Christian Haselgrove, Flora Tonthat, Jerry Smith, Lucy Corchado Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Mayor’s Chief of Staff) Guests Present: City Councillor-at-Large Elaine Milo Approval of May 10, 2017 Meeting Minutes: Approved Public Comment: A resident of Butler Street attended to express concerns about the deteriorating condition of 49 Butler Street, which is on the City’s Problem Properties list. A resident of Gallows Hill Road reported an abandoned mattress on Valley Street and asked to have 24 Gallows Hill Road added to the sidewalk repair list. Council Updates: GESNA – The one-way pilot on Endicott and Prescott is going well and feedback is good. MPNA – At-large forum on 9/5 with Anne Manning moderating and Ward 6 forum on 10/10 with Rep. Paul Tucker moderating, both at the Moose Lodge. Mack Park bathroom reconstruction is underway. Asked that the City consider adding yard waste collection weeks to the summer. National Night Out is 8/1 at 5pm on Salem Common. HDSNA – Iberdrola mitigation has been worked out for later shift work and the association recently received an update on the Envision 2020 project. Traffic is still an issue from Footprint, more enforcement would be great. At large forum on 10/9. PNA – No August meeting. Mary Jane Lee Park re- opening is next week on Wednesday at 4:30pm. The NSCDC Urban Art Museum murals have garnered attention from press and the public, come check it out. SCNA – happy that the benches are being repaired and the newspaper boxes are gone. There seems to be less vagrancy/homelessness, though cigarette butts and nips are still an annoyance. Encouraged all to come to the Concerts on the Common. Gallows Hill – Ward 4 forum 8/15 or 10/15. Some concern from abutters and those near Town Fair Tire location about receiving notifications concerning meetings. Northfields – Great deal of concern in the neighborhood regarding the proposed housing project on the Ferris junkyard site, impacts on traffic and skyline/compatibility with the neighborhood, and the potential encroachment on City land at Furlong park. Also a concern it could lead to similar multi-unit housing on other parcels along North Street in that vicinity. BSNA – Hosted a successful neighborhood dinner at Gonyea Park. Winter Street/Bridge Street intersection is still problematic. Ward 2 forum 8/15 at the Hawthorne Hotel. SalemRecycles looking into ways to expand the cigarette waste recycling program. Selection of NIAC Representative to City Shuttle Working Group: NIAC voted to approve Jim Kearney (Historic Essex Street Neighborhood Association) as the Council’s representative to the City Shuttle Stakeholders Group. City Updates: Public dialogue on homelessness in Salem, Thursday July 27, 7pm, St. Joseph’s Hall, 160 Derby Street. Forest River Conservation Area main trunk trail closed through late September for upgrades. Fixing drainage and surface improvements to make it more accessible. Mary Jane Lee Park re-opening celebration will take place on Wednesday next week at 4:30pm. Hoping to have music, food, activities, etc. SalemRecycles will be holding a “Repair Café” on August 5 from 9am to noon at the Bridge at 211. Check their website for details. Next week the City will be opening up applications for the 30 reserved parking spaces at Museum Place garage and 20 at South Harbor. Details will be on salem.com. The full schedule for Heritage Days will also be coming out shortly and will be available at salem.com. NIAC Meeting Schedule: NIAC voted to return to a monthly meeting schedule, on the second Wednesday of each month at 7pm, with the exception of August. Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 7:00 p.m. Adjournment: 8:35 p.m.