Salem Bike Path Committee
Minutes of Meeting
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A regular meeting of the Salem Bike Path Committee was held on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 314 at Salem City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street.
Members Present: Chairman Stan Franzeen, Vice Chair Jeff Bellin, Dan Shuman, Jerry Judge, David Pelletier, Christine Michelini, and Nancy Sachetti. Also present was Frank Taormina, Planner/Harbor Coordinator
Members Absent: Rachel Hunt
Public in Attendance: Ben Bouchard, Salem Chamber of Commerce
At 7:00 pm Chairman Franzeen called the meeting to order.
1. Approval of Minutes
D. Shuman made a motion to approve the June 13, 2007 meeting minutes as revised, seconded by J. Bellin. The motion was approved unanimously.
N. Sachetti made a motion to approve the September 19, 2007 meeting minutes as revised, seconded by J. Judge and approved unanimously.
J. Bellin made a motion to approve the October 10, 2007 meeting minutes, seconded by J. Judge and approved unanimously.
2. Public Comment
Ben Bouchard introduced himself and stated that he works for the Chamber of Commerce and is a Salem Resident. He had no specific questions for the Committee at that time.
3. Bike Safety Seminar
Vice Chair Bellin opened this item by briefly recapping what transpired at the last committee meeting. He added that he spoke with the principal of the Charlton School and they would be willing to host the seminar. J. Bellin also proposed Saturday, May 10, 2008 as a potential date for the seminar.
D. Pelletier stated that the Bentley School would be a better location for the seminar because it is located on the proposed Green Line Bikeway and because of its proximity to the Salem Willows. D. Pelletier asked who we would need to ask for approval to use the parking lot for the event.
N. Sachetti agreed that it is a better location but added that the committee should touch base with the Salem Youth Soccer program to check their schedule because she believes that their may be games during that time, and if there is, the parking lot that we hope to use for the seminar will be full of cars for the soccer games.
N. Sachetti asked if Sunday would work better than Saturday. She believes that they may play games on Saturday and not on Sunday.
D. Pelletier stated that if so it should be after 12pm (noon) because a lot of families go to church and whatnot on Sunday mornings.
J. Judge suggested that we hold the seminar on Saturday and hold Sunday as a rain out date.
D. Pelletier suggested that the committee touch base with Salem Youth Soccer and make sure that there will not be a conflict with the date before they confirm the location and date of the seminar.
Chairman Franzeen asked how much space we would need for the seminar.
Vice Chair Bellin explained how much space would be sufficient.
D. Shuman suggested talking to Mass Bike and seeing if they can help because they host events like this all the time. J. Bellin stated that he would touch base with them.
D. Pelletier suggested that we try to have workshops for all ages.
Vice Chair Bellin stated that he really wants to tailor the event for adult riders.
D. Pelletier stated that we should include kids, kids will bring the adults. If we gear it solely for adults we may not get as large a turn out. Plus you want to educate all riders not just adults.
S. Franzeen said that the soccer game isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Folks watching the game provide a built in audience.
F. Taormina suggested that the committee delegate duties and continue the discussion when we have some answers.
Chairman Franzeen agreed and said that items should be spelled out in the form of a proposal. N. Sachetti agreed.
Vice Chair Bellin agreed to put together a proposal and have it available for the next meeting.
Ben Bouchard stated that if the committee needed any assistance in advertising or “getting the word out” the Chambers would be happy to send out an email blast to all its members and/or forward a press release to the Salem News. Ben extended the Chambers assistance and resources to the Committee for any future seminars or projects as well.
F. Taormina stated that he would talk to the Bentley School principal to discuss the potential of utilizing the grounds for the seminar.
Vice Chair Bellin agreed to talk to Mass Bike regarding their assistance.
N. Sachetti agreed to talk to the Salem Youth Soccer Program regarding their spring 2008 soccer schedule.
The Committee agreed to continue the discussion of the Bike Safety Seminar to the next meeting on December 12, 2007.
4. Old/New Business
Recap of Bike Path Maintenance Site Walk
F. Taormina updated the committee on all the items that need to be addressed during the offseason,
including but not limited to, fix broken footing on bike gate at Loring Avenue, restripe all crosswalks where bike path crosses the street, remove graffiti off bike path and trail signage, replace all damaged and missing trail signs, pave pads around the bike gates, etc.
Green Line Bike Trail
D. Pelletier asked that the Committee recommend approve of the Green Line Bikeway to the Mayor.
Vice Chair Bellin suggested that the City Councilors also be notified of the proposal. The committee members agreed.
A motion was made by N. Sachetti to recommend approval of the Green Line Bikeway to the Mayor and the City Councilors and ask the City to implement the first phase (as outlined in D. Pelletier proposal) by spring of 2008. Seconded by J. Judge and approved unanimously.
F. Taormina stated that he will review the proposal with the City Planner and then he would draft a cover letter and attach it to the proposal and sent it to the Mayor and to the City Councilors.
Annual Report
N. Sachetti pointed out one error in the report and asked if it was possible to add a section which outlined the items the committee is working on for FY08, such as the Green Line Bikeway, Bike Safety seminar, off season bike path maintenance, and the Safe Routes to School Program.
D. Shuman suggested titling the new section “Pedaling Forward”. The committee thought it was clever and F. Taormina agreed to add the new section to the report as the committee suggested and forward the revised Annual Report to the committee as soon as it is available.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Committee this evening Chairman Franzeen asked for a motion to adjourn. A motion was made by D. Shuman, seconded by Vice Chair Bellin and approved unanimously. The meeting was officially adjourned at 8:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Frank Taormina,
Planner/Harbor Coordinator
BPC 11-14-07
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