Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 8, 2019 7:00 P.M. City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street Called to Order: 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Patricia Liberti (Ward 4/Gallows Hill), Rosemary O’Connor and Christy Evans (Mack Park), Dennis Maroney (Salem Common), Jim Kearney (Historic Essex Street), Patti Morsillo (Broad Street), Flora Tonthat (Bridge Street Neck), Barbara Mank (Downtown), Dennis Colbert (Barnes/Clark/Wyman), Wendy Meigs and Mira Riggin (Historic Derby Street), Barbara Mann (Greater Endicott Street) Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Office of Mayor Driscoll) Approval of April 10, 2019 Meeting minutes: Approved Public Comment: None Special Guests: Jennifer Lynch and Judith Riley of the League of Women Voters, Salem Chapter, introduced themselves and spoke about the mission of the organization. The League is offering to assist neighborhood associations who may be planning candidate forums for the 2019 municipal elections. The group can help provide an impartial/outside moderator, moderator training, volunteers, assistance with drafting objective questions, and promotions. Jenna Ide, Director of Capital Projects and Sustainability for the City, introduced herself and spoke about her work for the City. She talked about the Sustainability, Energy, and Resiliency Committee and reviewed current and past energy projects in the City, including their savings and carbon reduction amounts. She then reviewed the status, timetable, cost estimate, and next steps for several major City park projects including Bertram Field, Forest River Park, Salem Willows, Salem Common, Gallows Hill, and Palmer Cove. Neighborhood Association Updates: • Ward 4: Traffic is backing up on Swampscott Road as a result of the roundabout project. • Mack Park: Would like a plan to have the bathrooms at Mack Park open more often for the public. Softball game attendees are parking on the grass at the park, as well. There will be a Salem Police K9 fundraising event on May 24th, but it’s currently sold out. • Salem Common: Upcoming replacement of historic iron fence sections along Washington Square East and Hawthorne Boulevard. • Broad Street: Jenna Ide will be coming to the next meeting to talk more about the Bertram Field project. • Downtown: Punto art museum walking tour takes place July 10th 6-7:30pm. With warmer weather the group is hearing more noise-related complaints, including trucks idling, music/crowds, and an early morning trash pick-up at the new Casa Tequila restaurant.  • Bridge Street Neck: Crosswalks along Bridge Street need to be re-striped. • North Street Northfields: Will be holding a meeting in mid-June with David Kurchasky and Lt. David Tucker regarding traffic and parking issues in the neighborhood. • Barnes/Clark/Wyman: Life Storage has lowered their proposed building from four stories to three and the abutters seem relatively satisfied with the change. There are still concerns around hours of operation, lighting, and so forth. • Salem Common: Per Planning Dept, Fence sections at Hawthorne & Washington Square East will be removed this September for reinstallation in April 2020. Electric issue on Fence lights on all day appears to be resolved. Bandstand immediate open issues of securing electric outlets and windows remain open. Interim repairs to Bandstand such as lighting, new hatch, basic masonry & landscaping also remain open. Planning Dept still needs to provide update on final Non Smoking sign delivery and installation dates. Three signs have been requested for playground and heavy smoking areas at either end of Washington Square East. Communication remains an open issue as noted by bike rack installation. There seems to be a spreading ant infestation and we need a date for action to share with the neighborhood. Old trees seem to be decaying rapidly and we need a plan from City Arborist. City Updates: • Short term rentals must now register with the City. Visit www.salem.com/str to read the new regulations and register your property. • Neighborhood street sweeping is wrapping up. Monthly sweeps in the Point and downtown will continue. If your neighborhood has not been done yet, please remember to encourage folks to move their cars on their sweep day. • Salem for All Ages and the Salem Chamber are now offering an Age-Friendly Business certification for Salem businesses. Check www.salemforallages.org for details – it’s a simple process. • Nine units of income-restricted housing will be coming online this Fall, but the deadline to apply to enter the lottery for one of them is May 31st at noon. There’s an informational meeting at Espacio on Thursday May 9th at 6pm. Six units are in the former Flynn Tan building and three are in the former Hood Factory building off Mason Street. • Salem for All Ages and North Shore Medical Center will hold their next free public presentation in the “Living Well” speaker series on healthy aging. The topic is bone health and osteoporosis and it takes place on May 14th at 6:30pm at the CLC. • June meter reads will show a new supplier for the Salem PowerChoice program – Dynegy. Details about rate changes and program participation can be found at www.salem.com/powerchoice. Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 12, 2019, 7pm, 98 Washington Street Adjourned: 8:18 p.m.