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 SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 A meeting of the Salem Parks and Recreation Commission was held on September 19, 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 Amy Everitt, Chair; members: Bob Callahan, Johnel Roberts and James Shea; Trish O’Brien, Superintendent and Commission Clerk Joanne Roomey. Absent was Deborah Amaral. Ms. Everitt called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. 1. Approval of Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes of July 18, 2023 Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the Park and Recreation Commission Minutes meeting of July 18, 2023. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Visitors and Requests: a. Crystal Boschard appeared and wants to hold a Celebration of Life event at the Willows Shell on September 23, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There will be approximately 30 friends and family honoring people who passed away from overdose. They will share stories about their loved ones and listen to music. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Willows Shell to have a Celebration of Life event on September 23, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. b. Ashley Ganem from North Shore CDC appeared and wants the use of the Peabody Street Park during their Annual Block Party at Peabody Street on September 30, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. They will set up at 1:00 p.m. and breakdown by 7:00 p.m. They have a permit for the street and were hoping to use the park as well. They will also have three 10 x 10 tents and two vendors. There will be food trucks, small businesses, artists, kids’ activities and the Fly Kids will be playing music. They are asking for amplification sound and know they must be within the decibel limits. They will not be playing music in the park. Mayor Pangallo will be there to give out an award. One of the tents will be for the beer garden. They have already gone through the Licensing Board and will get a Police detail. They will be checking IDs for folks coming in and out, have a partition in the tent and will block off the back entrance 1  to make sure no one leaves the area with any alcohol. They have someone who is ServSafe Certified. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of Peabody Street Park during their Block Party at Peabody Street on September 30, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. c. Jason Bobowski, an Associate Landscape Architect and Senior Project Manager at HATCH appeared and gave a general background regarding Salem Willows Park Phase II Improvements. The first phase created new parking, multi-purpose courts, and walking paths toward the entrance of the park, all of which were completed in 2022. The second phase will extend past the boardwalk to its metered parking area, past the Salem Willows gate, and to the asphalt sea beyond. The plans, presented as a "preliminary concept," would not touch any buildings throughout the property, instead focusing on the paved and landscaped areas between the structures. Mr. Bobowski said everything will be functional, safe and ADA accessible while they are renovating. The Phase II Project completion goal is estimated to be by Spring of 2025. For more information, please click on link below: https://www.salemma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif7986/f/uploads/2023-06- 02_salem_willows_park_phase_ii_improvements_75_permitting_dwgs.pdf There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the Salem Willows Park Phase II Improvements to move forward and incorporate any changes to update alternates. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. d. Matt and Ryan Murray, from Black Veil Studio are hosting the 6th Annual “Olde Salem Village” dark arts night fair. The events are scheduled for the last two weekends of October (20, 21, 27, 28), times are from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. They will have food trucks and vendors selling crafts, clothing and jewelry. Also there will be live performances, fireside ghost stories and photo ops. They will have a 10 x 10 beer tent with a secured perimeter and a two-drink maximum. They will also have a detail police officer. They estimate 200 people coming and going. There are no changes from the past fairs they have had. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Roberts made a motion to approve using Pioneer Village for the 6th Annual Salem Night Market for the last two weekends of October (20, 21, 27, 28). Mr. Shea seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Old Business: Doreen Wade from Salem United would like to follow up with the Commission on where they are at with the Policy for renaming a street at the Salem Willows. 2  Ms. Everitt explained that she sent a draft policy out to the commission for folks to review and was waiting for any feedback in writing. She also said the commission had discussed this back in July and decided to wait until they had a FULL commission to take a vote. The commission will review any updated language on the draft policy and will add this item on the next Agenda, providing they have all commission members present, and vote on it. 4. New Business: N/A 5. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Salem Park and Recreation Commission this evening, Mr. Shea moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Roberts. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 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 3