Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council
City of Salem
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Meeting Minutes
Thursday, May 1, 2008
7:00 pm
Members in Attendance: Meg Twohey, Polly Wilbert, Michael Coleman, Jim Moskovis, Stan Franzeen, Leslie Limon
Members not in Attendance: Lucy Corchado, Mickey Northcutt, Patricia Zaido
City Staff: Jason Silva, Tom Watkins
Public: Alicia Hart, Brian Thomas
Introduction
The group introduced themselves and identified each neighborhood group and ward they belong to. Meeting minutes were reviewed and approved for the March 20th, 2008 meeting with some minor changes.
Public Comment
Alicia Hart reported to the group that on a recent hot day, there was much noise permeated from motorcycles that drove by her house. She, along with other neighbors, have been disturbed by the loud noise of the motorcycles, and has since created a flyer informing people about this. She has received a very positive response for her efforts from neighbors. The motorcycles are in violation of the City’s noise ordinance and are particularly a problem in the areas of the Salem Common and Willows neighborhoods. Many of the members of the Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council (NIAC) agreed with Alicia. It was mentioned that the City of Denver recently enacted a law which made it illegal for motorcycle exhaust manufacturers to install new exhaust systems which would exceed the decibel
level allowed in the City. Jason believes that in order to do that here, a law would have to be implemented at the state level. Jason did mention that the Police will begin to do selective enforcement of motorcycles in violation of the noise ordinance very soon – much like they did with speeding last summer. The Police will first target the Common and Willows areas. Jim asked that boom boxes and loud radios be a part of the selective enforcement as well. Polly recommended Alicia contact Pat Gozemba of the Willows neighborhood along with Lisa Guerriero of the Salem Gazette to do a story about this.
Meg worried that selective enforcement could push the motorcycles to other parts of the City. Jason said he would research what the City of Denver and State of Colorado had done. Polly stated that the Halloween motorcycle ride in October, while a positive event, has now made Salem a destination for motorcyclists throughout the year. Stan said he would like to see emissions and air quality impact studies from motorcycles. He added that Newburyport cracked down on motorcycle noise a few years ago and ran into organized opposition from motorcyclists who had been ticketed. With the support of the Mass. Motorcycle Assn, motorcyclists convened a large meeting at the Masonic Hall and threatened a boycott of all Newburyport businesses. He recommended that someone follow up with Newburyport folks.
Polly stated that she would like a report back by the Police from their selective enforcement efforts by next meeting if available. Alicia will draft a letter to local motorcycle shops informing them of the upcoming selective enforcement and City noise ordinance and will email it to Jason for his review. Jim said the same letter should be sent to local radio shops so that motorcyclists do not feel as though they are being targeted. Polly would like to revisit this issue at the next meeting.
Mission Statement
Meg drafted the following mission statement for the group and it was voted on and approved:
The mission of the Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council is to identify and review issues that affect Salem neighborhoods and to work with the City to address them and improve the quality of life.
Community Preservation Act (CPA)
Stan asked if the Community Preservation Act (CPA) was an appropriate issue for this group to discuss and take a formal stance on. Jason stated that he believed the group should not pursue political matters. Leslie and Jim both agreed with Jason. It was agreed that discussing and formally voting on such an issue was outside the mission of NIAC and it was formally voted on not to pursue the matter any more. Meg also mentioned that the group should receive a primer on the Open Meeting Law.
Major Concerns
It was agreed to invite Department Heads to following meetings of NIAC once an issue is raised and needs to be discussed. The group agreed that they will focus on Halloween related issues at their meeting in July and use the upcoming meeting in June to discuss motorcycles and police matters such as speeding and cut through traffic. Members of the Police Department will be invited to the June meeting.
Webpage
It was decided to list the names of the NIAC members on the webpage as well as their mission statement.
Election of Officers
Jim Moskovis was unanimously elected as Chair of NIAC and Polly Wilbert was unanimously elected as Vice Chair.
Other Business
Polly stated that this group should invite members of the Landlord Association to a future meeting of NIAC. She would like to discuss ways to pass along City information to them as a means for informing new tenants of the key information that they should know as a new resident in Salem.
It was decided that the group should add to the agenda each week a period for public comment at the beginning of the meeting for a length of 10 minutes.
Meg stated they should set aside time at meetings to address quick concerns in each neighborhood. Polly stated that this group should also begin discussing wind turbines and the impacts that they could have on neighborhoods. Tom said he could invite members of the City’s Renewable Energy Task Force to come to a meeting of NIAC to talk about wind turbines in further detail.
Future Meetings
The group voted to change the meeting date of their July meeting from July 3rd to July 10th. Tom will publicly post this change.
Meeting Minutes recorded by Tom Watkins
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm
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