Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council
City of Salem
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Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
7:00 pm
Members in Attendance: Jim Moskovis (Chair), Polly Wilbert (V. Chair), Patricia Zaido, Lucy Corchado, Stan Franzeen
Members not in Attendance: Meg Twohey, Michael Coleman, Leslie Limon
City Staff: Jason Silva, Tom Watkins
Public: Shirley Walker, Pat
Introduction
The group introduced themselves and identified each neighborhood group they belong to. Meeting minutes for the September meeting were reviewed and approved as amended.
Public Comment
Jim opened up the public comment period.
Pat stated that not all her recyclables have been getting picked up, especially her cardboard. She said there has not been a problem before but just recently it took Northside Carting four days to pick up her recyclables.
Shirley invited all present to the upcoming Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting on November 13th at 6:30 pm.
Polly stated she is concerned with Leggs Hill Road and the opening of the YMCA. The main concern there is children getting dropped off at the bus stop there and walking up the hill to the YMCA with no sidewalk. Jason stated there is $250,000 set aside as part of an agreement with the YMCA to construct sidewalks on Leggs Hill. He also said the Mayor met recently with the Town Administrator of Marblehead, Tony Sasso, and Marblehead’s Planning Director to talk about road improvement there.
Pat stated that the curb cuts, crosswalk and guardrails do not line up on Highland Avenue near WalMart. Jason said he would look into this.
Jim closed the public comment period.
Post Halloween Discussion
Jim stated that he has not received any negative feedback about Halloween or how the night was managed by the City.
Jason shared with the group a packet of information on the steps taken by the City to prepare for Haunted Happenings and Halloween this past year. He mentioned that he was downtown all night and noticed that there were less people crowding Washington and Essex Streets. He felt this was due to all the planned activities spread throughout the downtown area, especially the Common. Jason also thanked Polly for introducing the “safety Enhancement Zone” ordinance which the City implemented for this year’s festivities. He went on to discuss the protocol used in the licensing of vendors, the ban of nips at local package stores, the press releases sent out and the use of surveillance cameras during Halloween night. Lucy asked if the cameras could be moved. Jason answered that
they were in permanent locations. Jim wondered if businesses could pick up the cost of more cameras and wanted to discuss the use of cameras at a future meeting.
Lucy also asked if the students at the schools received the “Do’s & Don’ts” flyer. Jason said they did not but thought this would be a good idea for next year.
Jason also said the finale show drew a large crowd and was effective in escorting people out of the downtown area. He asked the group to look at the post-Halloween survey that is now out and help spread the work to their neighborhood group members.
Jason stated that this was his 3rd Halloween and by far was the smoothest and safest of all. Jim provided kudos to the Mayor and her staff for a job well done.
Stan thought things went well. He felt a little uneasy with some kids using shaving cream cans. Polly asked if the Police could confiscate these cans, citing them as weapons. Stan also recommended that the City work with the Salem Arts Association on ideas for a finale show.
Shirley felt that the carnival was a distraction and that the rides were expensive.
Lucy recommended the group write a letter of gratitude to the editors of the local newspapers. The group agreed this was a good idea. Jim will draft up a letter and email it to Jason and Tom.
Giant Pumpkin Carving Contest
Polly shared with the group her proposal to hold a giant pumpkin carving contest next year on Halloween. The concept of the idea is to hold an event that is creative and artistic in relation to Halloween. She stated the City could get the pumpkins from the Topsfield Fair and various local growers. A relationship would need to be established in the Spring. She believed her idea had a lot of potential. Many group members liked her idea and agreed this would be a good thing for next year. Polly also thought this may be a revenue generator for the City in charging an entry fee for the pumpkins and when casting votes.
Jason thought the idea was good too. Given the large scope of such an idea, he believed a separate group would need to be formed that would solely focus on implementing this event. Patricia also stated this is a good idea but needs the planning needs to start very soon.
Future Meeting Topics
Polly’s proposal – Giant Pumpkin Carving Contest
Surveillance cameras
Holiday Events for next year
Infrastructure improvements in neighborhoods with City Engineer David Knowlton and Public Services Director Rick Rennard
Other Business
Jason passed around his draft “New Resident Guide”
Meeting Minutes recorded by Tom Watkins
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm
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