Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council

Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council - Meeting Minutes Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 7:00 P.M. Called to Order: 7:03 p.m. Members Present: Richard Lindeman, Cynthia Jerzylo, Dennis Colbert, Denise Regan, Christy Evans, Anne Sterling, Dennis Maroney, Flora Tonthat, Barbara Mann, Nina Cohen Staff Present: Dominick Pangallo (Office of Mayor Driscoll) Approval of March 10, 2021 minutes: Approved Neighborhood Updates: Federal Street – Plantings going in at the space at Federal Street and North Street, which the City will water. Submitting a Traffic Calming program application. Greater Endicott Street – Ongoing problem with rats due to Salem House of Pizza dumpster. Abandoned car removed from Pratt Street parking lot. Mack Park – Construction moving along at Halstead and along Bridge Street. Mack Park Food Farm is doing very well. Usual clean up with corrections inmates paused this year due to COVID. Park and Rec is making use of the park. Association will be doing some door-to-door to meet neighbors. Monitoring the North Street traffic project. Willows – Would like to see street sweeping redone in the neighborhood. The seawall committee continues to meet. Broad Street – Speeding still an issue on Broad Street. Barnes/Clark/Wyman – Mennino project is wrapping up. Anticipating drainage work at the Clark Avenue/Clark Street intersection. No start on the Life Storage project yet. Common - Mayor’s keynote at SCNA Annual Meeting on 3/30 was well received. Common Traffic Calming webinar on April 13th was well attended. It was conducted by Gabe Ciociola of SCNA and David Kucharsky & Nick Downing of Traffic Dept. Items discussed such as improved crosswalks, new lighting, ADA compliant curbs & traffic stanchions will be followed up on. Improving Common lawn overall condition remains a priority. New bubble window on playground received. Ray of DPS to install. Swing surface patch needed. Ray of DPS aware. New signage is hard to read especially non-smoking rules. SPD following up with bench decorator who leaves litter behind. Signature Parks: SCNA has strongly supported this Citywide initiative and was glad to see that the Council passed it. A City led development with the widest possible community involvement is the way to go. Focus in the Common will be on improved accessibility tying in with Traffic study as mentioned above. Washington Arch Restoration: A collaborative overall plan will be presented by Ray of DPS with SCNA support to the Historical Commission in a public meeting on 4/21/21 at 6 PM. This submission will include installation of a brick pad underneath the Arch, creation of and installing explanatory sign & landscaping supported by extended irrigation. The SCNA & the City will share in the funding. Bandstand Landscaping: Ray of DPS with SCNA input working on a plan to submit to Historical Commission if needed. Dominick working with Jenna of Planning to confirm final details. Common Fence Restoration: Dominick consulting with Planning Dept on best way to approach this multi-year ongoing project. Current plan targets Washington Square North sections for removal for repair this spring. Bridge Street – Clean-up taking place on Saturday from noon 1:30pm. Next association meeting is April 28th with Councillor Madore to discuss traffic issues. Interest in a neighborhood-wide yard sale event. Noticed damaged headstones in the Howard Street cemetery. Chestnut Street – Watching the proposal at 38 Norman Street. Traffic calming will reprise this spring, and waiting on final installation of the rotary with Norman Street. Guest Speakers: Benjamin Shallop, who is coordinating the City’s new COVID Neighborhood Ambassadors program, introduced himself and explained the program. The initiative is hiring part-time ambassadors in targeted neighborhoods to interact directly with residents in need of assistance accessing essential services, resources, and, most immediately, COVID vaccination appointments. City Updates:  The 12th annual residents survey is now online. Use the link at www.salem.com/mayor to take the survey. It will be online through 10AM on Friday April 30 th.  Starting Monday, April 19th, all residents over the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine. The City has posted links to clinics in the area and more details about getting the vaccine at www.salem.com/vaccine.  Salem is one of 18 Massachusetts communities participating in the Greening the Gateway Cities program. DCR will be planting 400 new public street trees and 2,000 new trees on private property. If you are a property owner in an eligible you can request one of those 2,000 trees by applying at www.maurbancanopy.org or calling 617-626-1502.  May 1st is the next textile recycling event. It takes place from 8am to 1pm in Riley Plaza. In addition to textiles, you’ll be able to bring by other recyclable materials, as well. The complete list and more details can be found at www.greensalem.com. Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 7:00 p.m. Adjourned: 7:53 p.m.