Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council
City of Salem
_________________________________________________________________________
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
7:00 pm
Members in Attendance: Jim Moskovis (Chair), Polly Wilbert (V. Chair), Lucy Corchado, Stan Franzeen, Ana Gordon, Leslie Limon, Patricia Zaido, Michael Coleman
Members not in Attendance: Meg Twohey
City Staff: Sgt. Harry Rocheville, Jason Silva, Tom Watkins
Introduction
The group introduced themselves and identified each neighborhood group they belong to. Meeting minutes for the July and August meetings were reviewed and approved as amended.
Public Comment
Chairman Jim Moskovis opened the meeting to the audience for public comment.
Pat Libertie stated she has seen an increase in gang activity loitering in the Rocketts Mall Plaza on Highland Avenue. She talked about this to a representative of East Coast Properties who also confirmed that they have seen the activity around 10:30 at night. Pat has also witnessed jeeps and trucks going up the dirt road (access road right before Wal-Mart Plaza) in the Camp Lyons area. She said the chain link fence is now down and there have been repeated forest fires in the area. Sgt. Harry Rocheville said he will investigate these matters.
Polly stated that there is a concerned parent upset about unruly kids hanging out in the Saltonstall School playground. Sgt. Rocheville said he will talk to Paul L’Hereux of the School department about posting a “No Trespass” sign at the Saltonstall School. She also said that there are kids with red pointer lasers hanging out in the Lafayette Street MarketPlace.
Polly would also like to talk to the Planning Board about how the handicap access at the new Tri-City sales building was overlooked. Jason said the City Engineer is working to address this problem.
Shirley Walker pointed out that the seawall on the South River is still very unsafe and dangerous. She made reference to the young woman who recently died there. She wants to know if the City has any plans to put up a temporary fence/barricade there while plans are still being worked out for a permanent fence as part of the South River Harborwalk project. Jason said he will look into this.
Chairman Moskovis closed the public comment period.
Motorcycles & the City Noise Ordinance
Sgt. Rocheville passed out a report that showed recent citations of motorcycles/noise violations. The report also included a number of recent news articles on the issue. There were 48 motorcycles cited from August 4th – September 4th. He said there will be a Motorcycle Awareness Program on September 13th. Polly asked that this issue be re-addressed at NIAC’s February 2009 meeting.
Salem Police Department Phone Calls
Lucy asked what the protocol is when calling the Salem Police Department. Specifically, she wanted to know whether or not it was appropriate to ask for a caller’s name when someone calls in a complaint/concern. Sgt. Rocheville explained it to the group. Jim mentioned that some people have felt
uncomfortable when calling the Salem PD. Sgt. Rocheville stated that the issue will be addressed by the command staff.
Leslie mentioned that cars taking a right are going through the red light coming from School Street onto North Street.
Ana mentioned that there has been some ongoing drug activity in the Carpenter/Federal Street area.
Haunted Happenings
Jason stated that there is a meeting scheduled next Monday with the Derby Street Neighborhood Association to discuss Haunted Happenings events in the area. He said the City is still debating about whether or not to have fireworks and whether or not to have them on Derby Wharf. Jason also stated that the Carnival proposal will be submitted to the City Council at their meeting next week. Shirley mentioned that this is not a good idea given the condition of the seawall and the carnival’s proximity to it. Stan stated that although he has not tried to trump up opposition to the fireworks on Derby Wharf, he said that everyone he has talked to is strongly opposed to it. Polly stressed concern that such decisions have not yet been finalized given that it is already September. Patricia
stated that the Chamber of Commerce Board will be meeting with the Mayor to discuss Haunted Happenings on Monday. Jim is confident things will get worked out and the Salem Police Department will handle the event properly. Shirley wanted to know if there would be an Officer that night that she could contact directly. Jason stressed that officers on the street can handle any situation, however, he will try to get a contact at the Command Center. Shirley said her condo association might hire a police detail just for the Derby Lofts building alone.
Polly mentioned that there are some cities across the county that have created “Event Zones” in which fines are tripled in a specific area during an event. She said she will get more information on this.
Courthouse Traffic
Leslie stated that there are many people using cut-throughs in the North Salem area to avoid North Street. Jason stated that today was particularly bad due to paving in the area. Jason stated that the North Street/Federal Street light is on a timer and that conduit needs to be installed in order for the City to take control of the light configurations. This will allow the City to coordinate the light with the Mason Street light. The City is also working with EarthTech and DCAM to make North Street two lanes all the way through to the Federal Street intersection. Jason also mentioned that the sign for “No Left Turn” at the gas station on Mason Street is not there but will be re-installed soon by MassHighway. He said the City is also contemplating making the Mason Street
light a blinking yellow light until the construction is complete. Leslie mentioned that some businesses on North Street have angry customers due to the amount of traffic.
Future Meeting Topics & Dates
October 2nd Meeting will be changed to Thursday October 9th due to the Annual Haunted Happenings Parade.
For the October meeting, topics will include HAZMAT Day and the group will invite Janet Dionne of the Health Department. We will also discuss Code Enforcement Issues and a representative from the Building Department will also be invited.
Meeting Minutes recorded by Tom Watkins
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm
| 
