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 FEBRUARY 20, 2024 A meeting of the Salem Parks and Recreation Commission was held on February 20, 2024, 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: Deborah Amaral, Johnel Roberts, and James Shea; Trish O’Brien, Superintendent and Commission Clerk Joanne Roomey. Absent was Bob Callahan. Ms. Everitt called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. 1. Approval of Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes of January 16, 2024 Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the Park and Recreation Commission Minutes meeting of January 16, 2024. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Visitors and Requests: a. Kim Emerling appeared from the City of Salem to get approval for the 387th Anniversary of the Massachusetts National Guard Rendering of “First Muster” at the Salem Common on April 13, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They will have amplified sound from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Nothing is different from last year. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Common for the First Muster Mass National Guard Parade. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. b. Judith Reilly appeared from Salem United to get approval for the Negro Election Day Event at the Willows Court, Willows Open Space, Willows Shell and Willows Gazebo on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There will be a parade from noon until approximately 1:30 p.m. which starts at Shetland Park and finishes at Salem Willows – Fort Ave at Winter Island. James Shea asked about the court request and what was happening there. He wanted to make sure that the court wasn’t tied up all day so people could play. Judith didn’t know the answer. Doreen Wade via Zoom answered and said they are partnering with Superintendent Dr. Zrike. There, there will be a coach from Salem High School with students from the middle school for a basketball tournament and used from 11:00am-3:00pm otherwise it will be open for use. 1  There will be approximately 30 vendors and they are aware of the $25 per vendor fee. They will also have a 10 x 10 tent. Everything is the same as in previous years. Councilor Jerzylo had concerns on disposing charcoals properly. She said some trees have been burnt. They will make sure that whatever they bring in, they bring out. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Ms. Everitt made a motion to approve the use of the Common for the Negro Election Day Event. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. c. Julie Gerraughty from HAWC appeared to get approval for their 32nd annual Walk/Run to raise awareness and funds for survivors of domestic violence at the Salem Common on June 9, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. They estimate 300 to 500 participants and there will be two vendors. Everything is the same as in previous years. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Common for the HAWC Walk. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. d. Bernie Courtney, Director of Southern New England Witch Dancers, appeared to get approval for the use the Salem Common on April 28, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event is a free performance for the City of Salem. There will be approximately 18 participants. The first dance will start at 3:00 p.m. and the second one at 6:30 p.m. They performed last year and only need blue tooth speakers. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the use of the Common for the Southern New England Witch Dancers. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. e. Paul McLaughlin, President of Sail Salem Community Boating appeared to get permission to operate the camp program at Winter Island for the summer season of 2024. The program will begin on June 24th and proceed to August 23rd and they will be conducting an adult program which will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. from June 17th to August 23rd. This will be their fourth season there. They are hoping to include about 20 children as they did last year. Mr. Shea wanted to make sure that Salem children are aware of the Seafarers Scholarships. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to give permission to operate the camp program at Winter Island for the summer season of 2024. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. f. Beth Levitskaia, mother of the bride, appeared to get approval for the use of the Salem Common Bandstand for a Wedding Ceremony on June 29, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and amplified sound from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. they will have an 8” power speaker on a stand, a microphone and will wheel chairs in and out (will not drag them). There will be approximately 160 participants. 2  There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Common Bandstand for a Wedding Ceremony. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Brooke Martin appeared to get approval for the use of the Salem Common Bandstand for a Wedding Ceremony on September 26, 2024, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with amplified sound from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. There will be approximately 100 participants. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Common Bandstand for a Wedding Ceremony. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. g. Rebecca Barber – Wedding Ceremony – Salem Common Bandstand – Nov 10, 2024 (2:00pm-4:00pm) Did not appear. h. Matthew Caruso appeared on behalf of the Salem Jazz and Soul Fest to get approved for the use of the Salem Willows Shell, surrounding area and the pavilions on August 17, 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a breakdown time ending by 9:30 p.m. This will be their 18th year of presenting free concerts. They will have a music festival, education tent and crafts/sponsor vendors. They anticipate approximately 3,000 participants. There will be 30 vendors from local small arts and craftsman and non-profit organizations. Also, they request a street closure for Fort Ave from 187 Fort Ave to the gate, and a beer pavilion. They will have the concert rain or shine. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Roberts made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Willows Shell for the Jazz and Soul Fest. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. j. Shauna Murray and brother Rhyan appeared to get approval for the use of Forest River Park (behind Pioneer Village) to have their 7th Annual Salem Night Market Event for four nights: October 18, 19, 25, 26, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. They will have approximately 50 vendors with products of arts and crafts, beer, cider and food. Nothing has changed since last year and there were no complaints. They are aware that they have to pay for a detail police officer and vendor fees of $25.00 per vendor. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Roberts made a motion to approve the use of Forest River Park for the 7th Annual Salem Night Market Event. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Elizabeth Peterson, the Director of the Witch House is seeking permission to raise the Witch House admission fees by three dollars. Several years ago, they increased the tickets from $8.25 to $9.00. Currently, they are the lowest priced historic house museum or attraction in Salem. Ms. Amaral made a motion to approve the Witch House ticket pricing increase from $9.00 to $12.00 effective March 1, 2024. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 3 4. The commission discussed continuing or discontinuing using ZOOM for their meetings and only having it in person. Ms. Amaral made a motion to table this discussion until they speak with the Legal Department. Mr. Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 5. The commission had a discussion regarding voting on a new Commission Chair. They said the tradition is that the newest member usually becomes the Chair. Mr. Shea nominated Johnel Roberts to be the Commission Chair. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 6. Old Business: Ms. O’Brien will get the updated financial reports for the next meeting. 7. New Business: The commission would like the applicants to give them their full package at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. 8. 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 7:55 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