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 MARCH 19, 2024 A meeting of the Salem Parks and Recreation Commission was held on March 19, 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 Johnel Roberts, Chair; members: Deborah Amaral, Bob Callahan, Amy Everitt, and James Shea; Trish O’Brien, Superintendent and Commission Clerk Joanne Roomey. Mr. Roberts called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. 1. Approval of Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes of February 20, 2024 Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the Park and Recreation Commission Minutes meeting of February 20, 2024. Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Visitors and Requests: a. Brandon Mustofaraj, Mental Makeover – Common - July 28, 2024 (9:00am-12:30pm Amplification (9:00am-12:00pm) Will appear next month. b. Kim Barile appeared, the mother of the bride, Kellie Barile, for approval to have a Wedding Ceremony at the Common Bandstand on August 24, 2024, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with amplified sound from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There will be approximately 80 attendees. They are aware of wheeling the chairs in and out and will not drive in the commons. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Callahan 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. c. Michelle Bettencourt, Nina Soto Realty - Willows Shell - Sunday, June 9, 2024. Thank you Party for Wicked Big Yard Sale Participants (Amplification 2:00pm-4:00pm) Did not appear. 1 d. Carol Meyer from the YMCA appeared for approval to use the Willows Field for their Witch City 5K run on October 12, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They will have amplification from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Everything is going to be the same as it was last year. Councilor Jerzylo was concerned about the amplification and wants them to start at 9:00 a.m. They assured her that they would be within the decibel limits and that the amplification would be facing the beach. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Callahan made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Willows Field for a Witch City 5K run. Ms. Everitt seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. e. Socrates Trinidad appeared for approval to have the Salem Summer Jam at the Willows Shell on July 28, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It is a family fun day with youths and teens. They will have a light show and amplification, same as last year. They might be partnering with the YMCA. They estimate 200+ attendees. Mr. Trinidad said they may want to have a bouncy house. Ms. O’Brien explained to them that they would need proof of insurance and she would work with them to get the proper paperwork together if they want a bouncy house. Also, Ms. Everitt asked if there were any complaints last year and Ms. O’Brien said they were not to her knowledge. The commission explained that they need more information on exactly what they want to do and decided to table this until next month when they have more information. Mr. Callahan made a motion to table this request until they had more information on exactly what they were looking to do. Mr. Shea seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. f. Kevin Farrar from AOA Studios appeared with two other people for approval to use the Willows Shell on August 3, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Concert wi They want to have a concert with multiple musicians, approximately 30 vendors and a beer and wine tent/garden. They are not sure how many attendees will be there since this is their first time having a concert in Salem. Mr. Shea said the Park and Recreation cannot approve a beer tent; they must go through the Licensing Board. He also said they do not want loud rap/vulgar music as this is a public park. Mr. Farrar explained they would not have that type of music because this is a family friendly event. The commission wanted to make sure they were aware of the decibel limits for music. Ms. O’Brien will confirm with the Licensing Department if the vendor fees are $200 per vendor. As far as having music past 7:00 p.m., Ms. O’Brien said there is a timer set for 7:00 p.m. and everything shuts down automatically. Some of the neighbors were concerned about parking and trash pickup. They also wanted to know where the guidelines or policies for the use of the Willows Shell are. Ms. O’Brien explained that the Parks Department only controls where the meters are, as far as outside the area, it is the Police Department’s responsibility. The Parks Department has two people who do cleaning of the park. Mr. Farrar said he would hire someone to clean up. Mr. Shea thinks we should try it and if there are any problems, the neighbors should contact the Police Department. 2  There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the use of the Salem Willows Shell for a concert. Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. g. Paul Lever, Superintendent, of Olde Salem Greens Golf Course appeared and discussed the golf rate increases for 2024. Mr. Shea said the rates look good except for the rate increase for the seniors as they have a fixed income. The commission also discussed the electric golf carts since there has been a long wait. Mr. Lever said the golf cart charging stations will all be underground, and they are just waiting for National Grid to finish the work. They are putting in new telephone poles and a new transformer for the cart charging stations and feed to two maintenance buildings. Mr. Shea suggested that Ms. O’Brien should speak with the mayor asking him to contact National Grid to move this along due to the loss of income that Olde Salem Greens have incurred with no carts. They are going to get the Sustainability and Resiliency Department involved as well. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, the board made two separate motions. Mr. Callahan removed himself from the vote because he is an active participant at Old Salem Greens. He wants to have two separate votes separating the seniors because he is a senior that uses the golf course. 1. Mr. Shea made a motion to approve all the golf course rate increases except for all the Salem Senior residence categories/rates. Seconded by Ms. Everitt. A roll call vote was taken, Mr. Callahan abstained, and the motion was carried unanimously. 2. Mr. Shea made a motion that all the Salem Senior residence categories/rates stay the same. Seconded by Ms. Everitt. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously. h. Kerry Murphy from City of Salem Health Department and Anita Deeley from Beverly Bees appeared for approval of their proposal to use Mack Park to host two beehives that will be professionally managed by Beverly Bees. Ms. Murphy said it is their fifth season at Mack Park and it is not only great for the farm to have bees, but it would also be a great education tool for children and assured the board they can do this safely. Ms. Deeley said pollination is vital to the success of community farms. They do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides to help crops grow. She said plants around the farm attract bees, butterflies and other insects that help pollinate the crops. Mr. Callahan said this is a playground and what can happen when a group of children are together, and they start swatting the bees and have an allergic reaction if they get stung. We as a board are giving permission to an area where children are. Ms. Deeley explained that honeybees are not aggressive and will only sting if they feel like their hive is in danger. She also said less than 1% of people have anaphylaxis shock. Mr. Callahan and Mr. Shea suggested putting up a 6’fence with a 2’ lattice and they agreed to do it. 3  There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Ms. Everitt made a motion to approve the use of Mack Park for the Beverly Bees Beehive Proposal if Ms. Deeley does trainings to teach folks about Honeybees and Mason Bees facts. Ms. Amaral seconded the motion. Mr. Callahan and Mr. Shea opposed, and the motion carried. i. Patti Kelleher, from the City of Salem Planning Department appeared for approval to install seven (7) new historic interpretive signs throughout the city. Three of these signs are proposed to be installed in City parks, two on bike paths, and one at Greenlawn Cemetery. The seventh sign is proposed for a privately owned park in Castle Hill pending approval. The new signs will be in the same tabletop design as previously installed signs. As part of this year’s project, previously installed signs that do not meet accessibility requirements will be repositioned to ensure they are accessible to all. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mr. Shea made a motion to approve the sign locations for the Salem Planning Department. Mr. Callahan seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. j. Neal Duffy, Director of the City of Salem Sustainability and Resiliency Department, appeared and discussed the updated design plans for Palmer Cove’s Flood Mitigation. He said Palmer Cove, Shetland Park and the South River will be most impacted by coastal flooding. They are doing a feasible study for the buildings that will be here for at least ten more years to protect them from flooding. This study is to better prepare folks for the events that happen. He showed a PowerPoint presentation of all the existing areas that are affected by coastal flooding and a proposed view plan on how they can avoid coastal flooding moving forward. Mr. Duffy said they are applying for Federal and State Grants to focus on these neighborhoods that are at a disadvantage. There will be another community meeting regarding this on April 10, 2024, and a link will be posted to the city’s website. There is no action that needs to be taken by the Park and Recreation Commission. 3. Old Business: The board needs a letter of support from Johnel Roberts to sign as chairperson for funding for the park grant for the Willows Phase 2 which the board already voted on. 4. New Business: Ms. O’Brien received a letter from councilor Stott supporting the proposal to use Mack Park to host two beehives. 4 5. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Salem Park and Recreation Commission this evening, Mr. Callahan moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Shea. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 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 5