CITY OF SALEM MASSACHUSETTS
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OR COMMISSION: Design Review Board, Special Meeting
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
LOCATION: 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Paul Durand, Ernest DeMaio, David Jaquith, Glenn Kennedy
MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Blier, Helen Sides
OTHERS PRESENT: Lynn Duncan, Executive Director and City Planner; Kirsten Kinzer, CDBG Planner; Tom Daniel, Economic Development Manager
RECORDER: Andrea Bray
Chairperson Durand calls the meeting to order.
CDBG Manager Kirstin Kinzer explains to the public that the purpose of tonight’s special meeting is to discuss the revisions to the plans for the Harborwalk and 15 Peabody Street Park. She states that all of the bids for the development of these projects were too high, and the City need to cut the costs of both of these projects or face the possibility of not seeing them built.
Kinzer explains that the completion deadline for the park is the end of June 2009, and at that point all unspent grant money must be returned to the Urban Self Help program.
Urban Renewal Area Projects Under Review
1. South River Harborwalk – Discussion of the Railing
Kinzer shows a sample of the approved rail and describes it as a hollow steel painted railing. Because this railing was one of the most expensive items in the construction bids received, Kinzer explains that she is proposing they substitute a PVC coated steel rail. She provides photographs and a sample of the proposed rail for the board to review. She states that the rail will save about $90,000 in costs, and the ongoing maintenance costs will be significantly lower.
DeMaio asks how scratches or dents can be repaired or replaced on the PVC rail.
Kinzer states that it depends on the damage, whereas small scratches will remain and any areas with extensive damage will need to be replaced.
DeMaio states that prior to the meeting he used his key to scratch the plastic rail coating to see how easily it will scratch, and found that it will scratch pretty easily. He expresses concern that this rail will look bad over time if it sustains many scratches that cannot be repaired.
Much discussion ensues about the damageability, reparability and sturdiness of the PVC coated rail.
DeMaio states that the PVC coated rail is a nice but he is concerned that someone will carve their initials into it and that will stay like that for years and look bad.
Shirley Walker, a resident of Derby Lofts, expresses her concern about the strength of the PVC coated railing when installed at the seawall. She explains that someone could fall off the seawall into the water, which occurred at the site recently.
Kennedy states that the questions that the Board is asking now are questions that are based in those concerns.
Jaquith states that all rails must meet the Building Code and both rails do.
Walker expresses concern about aesthetics.
Durand states that the PVC probably weathers the salt air conditions better than the metal rail, and the one at Hampton Beach looks good. He explains that if the Board recommends that the City does not use the PVC then there will be no harborwalk, so they are looking for affordable changes. He says that aesthetically, it looks pretty good, and he doesn’t mind it.
Kinzer states that the City needs to come back next week with answers to these questions. She states that the Board is raising valid concerns and she will research the answers to their questions.
Durand states that he would like to know some history of other locations that have used the PVC coated rail. He suggests that Kinzer call some places that had this rail installed for a number of years to get their opinion on the durability and damageability of the rail.
DeMaio states that he needs to have some comfort level to know that there is a way to approach long term maintenance of the rail, to make this a worthwhile trade off for the dollars. He explains that people take ownership of the park and if the perception is that it is run down people become detached from the ownership and it is a bad policy on how we want people to feel about the Harborwalk.
Durand states that he would like to know how the PVC coated rail is attached to the ground or the base.
The Chair tables this issue until the next meeting.
2. 15 Peabody Street Park
Kinzer states that Michael Blier and Letitia Tormay of Landworks have completed an extensive reworking of the park design that came out of the meetings with the Point neighborhood residents. She explains that Landworks also spoke to the contractors that submitted the bids to determine what items drove the costs up. She says that the City wishes to have the revised design reviewed by the DRB and they wish to retain the elements of the design that the residents feel most strongly about. She states that with the timeline on the funding, they need to move forward with the park construction as quickly as possible. She adds that the City loses any money that they haven’t spent in construction at the end of June 2009.
Designer Letitia Tormay, of Landworks Studios, reviews the old design and then the new design.
On the old design, Tormay describes the following features.
- Two concrete plazas, one on the Peabody Street side, and the other on the water side, which cantilevered over the water creating a larger gathering area.
- Two pedestrian walks through the park, one that was slightly raised and constructed of glass pavers and the other that ran along the National Grid property line and was a mixture of the concrete and the poured rubber surface for the play area.
- Seating and game tables on the Peabody Street side.
- Play equipment and a custom rail in the play area.
- Large screening wall made out of a Green Screen fence system with artwork panels along the top.
- Canopy structure alone the end of the wall to provide shelter and performance space.
- Grass gathering mound.
- Various concrete seating structures.
- Low wall along part of the mound.
On the new design, Tormay describes the following features:
- There will still be a plaza on the Peabody Street side.
- Two primary pedestrian routes of travel, but they have shifted to the sides of the park
- The program has become more central to the park, and plaza, play area and gathering mound are more in the center of the park.
- Series of cross paths which provide more circulation.
- The cantilevered walkway has been removed.
- The colored concrete has been removed.
- The recycled glass pavers have been retained but the shape is now square rather than hexagonal.
- Stone dust is now a ground plane material, which is commonly used in urban parks, and is ADA compliant.
- A low concrete wall now snakes through the park and is at seating height.
- The Play area has the same amount of equipment and is the same color.
- The Remediation Garden will use the same drainage structure, which is crushed stone wrapped in filter fabric to collect the run off.
- The green mound area remains.
- The screen wall will now be a tight mesh chain link fence with plants trained up it. It will still provide a screen to the power plant but will be much less expensive than the original screen wall.
- There will be a low evergreen hedge in front of the wall.
- They are retaining the artwork component by using the bases of the walls to place art tiles onto one face or the other.
- Many of the plantings are the same.
- The have extended the grass from the mound to be planted at the Remediation Garden and at the wall.
- They have added a band of sea grasses between the Harborwalk and the parking lot.
- The canopy will be smaller with a steel support system.
- There will be fewer uplights, 3 pole lights along the wall and a line of aluminum grade finish or black bollards with lights.
- There will be backless wooden benches.
- The style of the play tables will be different to save costs.
- There will still be two big belly trash compactors on the site.
Jaquith states that he likes the design, perhaps more then the original one. He explains that he likes the concrete wall, because it brings the whole park together. Regarding the canopy, Jaquith says that maybe they are working too hard on that item and he would rather see them spend the money on the ground rather than items that are above the heads of the people in the park. He states that he is worried a little bit about the stone dust, but he doesn’t see what else they can do.
Durand agrees with Jaquith about keeping the canopy simple. He adds that this plan has a more urban approach and seems to fit better to the area, and the fact that it saves money and can actually be built makes it even better.
Kinzer states that one of the residents specifically requested a shelter that someone could use in the rain.
Durand says that perhaps corrugated metal would work just fine here and they don’t need the double layer system with the corrugated fiberglass and the lattice.
DeMaio agrees with Jaquith about the canopy, and keeping it simple. He states that if he had not seen the original design and was seeing the park design for the first time he would find that there is quite a lot to like about this plan. He adds that a little is being lost in the discovery, because the previous plan was so dynamic. Now you move though the site so differently and he wishes there was something more unanticipated in the new design, because it is very straight forward and it works well for what it is. You get the sense in the previous design that it was completely new and you didn’t quite know what you were going to experience.
Tormay says that she believes the artwork will achieve that because it is not always on the same face of the wall.
DeMaio asks if it is because of cost that the original scheme was so much more curvilinear.
Tormay states that curvilinear items cost a lot more, so they have straightened things out.
DeMaio suggests that they be looser with the way they treat the green. He states that he is concerned with the idea of having aluminum frames for the artwork, and wonders if they could use details that are more flush or recessed.
Kennedy states that he likes the statement of the previous design and he likes what feels like more usable space in the new design. He says that the new design is a dramatic shift in the use of space because of material. He says that he likes both of them but the new design seems like a strong reactionary response. He says that the new design seems like it would be a lot more usable and he can envision it better from looking across the water. He expresses concern about the stone dust being too messy, especially on the walkway, which will be the highest traffic areas. He expresses concern about the green screen and what it will look like in the winter.
Tormay says that they have proposed an evergreen vine.
Kennedy states that he really likes the sea grass because it brings a whole different feel to the experience on the water, but he knows what that looks like in the winter. Kennedy explains that you can cut it down to about 6-8 inches in the late fall, and it will come back up in the spring, but after 5-6 years you can get dead spots or holes in the middle of the clumps.
Jaquith says that at the end of the wall, it should turn the corner.
Durand states that it could die down and Jaquith says that it would be fine.
Durand opens to the public.
Tim Smith from Beverly Cooperative bank asks about the total extent of the rail.
Kinzer states that the railing will go on the waterside of the Harborwalk
Smith expresses concern about having an egress from the parking lot, and Kinzer states that it will remain open to the parking lot. He asks if his chain link fence will need to be pulled up.
Lynn Duncan states that they should wait to look at this when they are considering the Harborwalk. She adds that they will be changing the type of railing but not the location of the railing.
Smith states that he was never clear on the exact location of the railing.
Duncan states that she can provide him with the information that he needs after this meeting.
Smith asks about the lighting plan.
Tormay states that there are two pole lights along this stretch near the bank.
Lucy Corchado states that she is a little disappointed because some of the materials (the wooden bench and the tables) chosen look cheap to her.
Tormay explains that the reason for the new table is because the installation costs were too high for the concrete tables.
Corchado expresses concern about the screening material.
Tormay says that the new screen is tighter.
Corchado states that skateboards could be on the concrete wall and the artwork will be damaged or exposed to graffiti.
Kinzer states that the artwork will be placed on tile and it cannot be destroyed. She adds that part of the problem of putting the artwork up high is that a supporting structure would be needed.
Durand states that high graffiti would be far more visible, and it might be the idea of visibility that would encourage graffiti, and they might be less likely to place graffiti on a place that is lower.
Corchado asks the amount of the park grant, and Kinzer says that it is approximately $470,000 and the remediation grant is approximately $200,000, and they are about $200,000 over budget
Duncan states that they were all shocked by the bids.
Corchado clarifies that the covered area was meant for two reasons, to shelter people from the rain, and to hold performances.
Duncan states that it would still serve those purposes.
Barbara Warren states that the new concept doesn’t grab her because it feels too linear. She states that she likes the ground water recovery area, and asks about the grass.
Tormay states that there will be no standing water in this area.
Warren asks about the trees, and Tormay points out the plantings on the plan. Ward states that she doesn’t like the screening material.
Tormay states that is would be better to use bigger plants and spread them out more, because they will have a longer train. She adds that the play area is the same as in the original design.
Durand states that they can make a motion to approve the revised design pending a review of the detail of the top and end of concrete wall, the simplified canopy and the detail of the stone dust at the park edges.
Jaquith: Motion to approve the design with the above conditions, seconded by Kennedy. Passes 4-0.
Kennedy: Motion to adjourn, seconded by DeMaio. Passes 4-0.
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