Park & Recreation Commission

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS JEAN A. LEVESQUE COMMUNITY LIFE CENTER 401 Bridge Street, Salem MA 01970 Tel. (978) 744-0180/(978) 744-0924 Dominick Pangallo Fax (978) 219-1665 MAYOR Trish O’Brien Superintendent MINUTES OF THE SALEM PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION June 20, 2023 A meeting of the Salem Parks and Recreation Commission was held on June 20, 2023, at 6:45 p.m., in person at 401 Bridge Street and via remote participation in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023. Present were Chair Amy Everitt; members: Deborah Amaral, Johnel Roberts and James Shea; Trish O’Brien, Superintendent and Commission Clerk Joanne Roomey. Other participants were two Spanish Interpreters: Tracy Pichardo and Carlos Javier Montañez. Absent was Bob Callahan. Ms. Everitt called the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m. 1. Approval of Park and Recreation Commission Minutes May 16, 2023 Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the Park and Recreation Commission Minutes meeting of May 16, 2023. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Visitors and Requests: a. Milo Martinez, from the Salem Common Neighborhood Association, appeared and wants to hold their annual reading of the Declaration of Independence at the gazebo in the Common on July 4, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. There will be approximately 100 participants. Everything is the same as last year. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the gazebo in the Common on July 4, 2023. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Ms. Martinez also wants to have their SCNA summer movies series at the Common starting on July 26th through August 30th from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The movies start at 8:00 p.m. for about two hours or less and the rain dates are August 23rd and the 30th. There will be approximately 50 participants. Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the summer movies series at the Common starting on July 26th through August 30th. Mr. Shea seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. b. Jose Espinal appeared from P2P Basketball and wants to hold a summer league at Palmer Cove Courts from June 30th to August 18th, Tuesday through Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Mr. Shea asked if there have been any issues with basketball in the past. 1  There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the summer league at Palmer Cove Courts. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. c. Terri Lee Butler appeared, she is a SSU graduate student and wants to do a video shoot scene at the Common Bandstand on August 1,2023 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. In case of inclement weather, she will reschedule with Ms. O’Brien. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Common Bandstand for a video shoot scene. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. d. Kim Ruma appeared from Gregg Neighborhood House and wants to have a field trip and talent show at Salem Willows Shell on August 11, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This is a non-profit childcare center field trip with a talent show. The talent show will be from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. They will need power for amplification, but know they have to be within the decibel limits. There have been no issues in the past and she will make sure that they pick up after themselves. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the use of the Willows Shell for a field trip and talent show. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. e. Angie Cornwell appeared from the Danvers Church of the Nazarene and wants to use the Willows Shell on August 26, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for Christian music and worship and praise concert. This is the same event as they did last year. Mr. Shea asked why they wanted to have this in Salem and not in Danvers. Ms. Cornwell said better viability to reach out to folks. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the use of the Willows Shell for Christian music, worship and praise concert. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. f. Antonio Tavares, Calvary Christian Church, Willows Shell, July 29, 2023, 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Antonio Tavares did not appear. g. Luiso Aquino appeared from FEPAU and wants to have a Community Church Event at the Salem Common on August 19, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Councilor Dominguez was also there on behalf of Luiso Aquino. They said it is the same as in the past. They will have an insurance binder before the day of the event. There will be breaks in the music and they expect approximately 1,000 participants. The amplified sound starts at 10:00 a.m. They will have five 10x10 tents and three or four porta potties, one that is ADA compliant. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Common to have a Community Church Event. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2  h. Dick Roderick appeared on behalf of the Salem Willows Neighborhood and presented information for proposed guidelines for park use. They want guidelines that are uniformed for everyone: • Start and end times for events and end times and decibel levels for sound systems. • Trash collected by host group. • Resident parking during events being enforced. • Deposit collected if folks do not follow the guidelines, the deposit is forfeited. Mr. Shea explained that there is an ordinance about music times and decibel levels. He also said folks only have to go through the Park and Recreation Department to fill out permit applications for the Park and Recreation Commission’s approval. The commission cannot enforce other rules, they should go through the Police Department or contact your ward councilor. i. Open Space Recreation Master Plan Presentation, Carlos Montanez Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Tom Devine, City of Salem Planning Department Carlos Montanez of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council gave instructions for using live Spanish interpretation provided both in person and through Zoom. Tom Devine, Senior Planner for the Salem Department of Planning & Community Development introduced the plan and thanked the commission for the opportunity to discuss it. He thanked various people who have engaged in the development of the plan over the past year: MAPC, the community advisory group, participants in the January public forum, respondents to the online survey, residents who took part in a November trail walk, and members of the Point Neighborhood Association, Public Art Commission, and Conservation Commission. Carlos Montanez described the planning process, the plan’s contents, and the resulting seven-year action plan. The state requires that the plan be updated periodically for the City to maintain eligibility for certain park improvement grants. It is a planning document but doesn’t have a budget attached to it or any mandates. It includes an updated inventory of parks, recreation facilities, and action plan. The action plan is based on an analysis of needs and input from stakeholders and staff. Comments from the audience included: • To improve waterfront access, residents should not have to pay $25 for a sticker for waterfront parks. • Fort Lee should be restored. The City should seek historic preservation grants for this. • City should do more to inform the public about the OSRP process’s opportunities for input, including through schools and neighborhood associations. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea moved to endorse the Open Space & Recreation Plan on the condition that all additional public input be incorporated. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Old Business: None 3 4. New Business: Ms. Everitt, Ms. O’Brien and Mr. Roberts are doing research regarding feedback for materials on developing a process for Naming and Memorial Plaque requests on Park Property. They are also working with the City Solicitor on creating this policy. The Policy may include naming of ways, paths, structures, or features within a park or playground as well as installation of memorial or commemorative plaques, statues or displays. It is based on Boston’s policy as a guide. Ms. Wade said that she spoke with Solicitor Rennard and Acting Mayor McCarthy regarding this and they said we had a policy in place. Ms. Everitt said that there is no policy in place yet. 5. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Salem Park and Recreation Commission this evening, Ms. Amaral moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Roberts. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Joanne M. Roomey Commission Clerk Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033 4