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Salem State University Neighborhood Advisory Committee Minutes 10/16/2013
Salem State University Neighborhood Advisory Committee
October 16, 2013 – Minutes
6:00pm - SSU Central Campus - Enterprise Center Training Room B

Attendees:      Maureen Call, Jack Hoar, Marcia Lambert, Adria Leach, Dana Lothrop, Shawn Newton, Joseph O’Keefe, Dominick Pangallo, Richard Riggs, and Josh Turiel

Absent:         Robert McCarthy and Jim Rose

Guests:         Joe Berry (Lee Kennedy Inc.), Edward Adelman, Dan Ocasio, (MSCBA), Leif Lamoray, Jim Rogers (Leftfield Inc.), Kevin Bergeron (RAWN Associates), & Karen Cady, Gene Labonte (Salem State University)

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
  • Library/Learning Commons Update – Joe Berry
  • Geothermal work is near completion. Weather depending, concrete and landscaping will follow completion, although planting may have to wait until spring.
  • Phase II Deconstruction – Joe Berry
  • The structure of the building is expected to be down to the foundation by mid-November. The continuous hammering will cease and focus will shift to debris removal.
  • Concrete work and landscaping the site to grade will take place in the spring.
  • Fitness & Recreation Center Addition – Leif Lamoray
  • Interior finishes continue and equipment is being delivered and set up. The contractor may work on the finishes of the gym floor over the weekend. Exterior work on landscaping and parking lot striping is expected for the end of October. Trailers are demobilizing and will be off site by the end of the week.
  • Residence Hall Enabling Projects – Leif Lamoray
  • Campus Police Relocation
  • Interior Work – Selective demolition has begun on the interior of Building One on Central Campus in preparation for the Campus Police Department build out on the first floor of the former interim library. Anticipated completion and police move in is scheduled for mid February.
  • Exterior Work – The contractor will be installing an exterior chiller on the roof of Building One. This chiller is for emergency situations and will only be used when the building loses power. It was asked how tall the chiller will be. Mr. Lamoray explained that it will be no bigger than an apartment-sized refrigerator; roughly 4 -5 feet high.
  • Utility Relocation
  • Work to relocate utilities that run across the Central Campus parking lot, where the new residence hall will be located, will begin on November 6, the day after this year’s election. It will be completed in two Phases. Phase I will last from November 6 through December 30, and Phase II will last from December 31 through mid February of 2014. The university is working closely with the city and National Grid in this process. The mobilization for the construction of the new residence hall will follow Phase II of the utility relocation.
  • Councillor O’Keefe requested that the university touch base with the city clerk to confirm that she is aware that the work will start after the election. Ms. Leach will contact the city clerk tomorrow.
ISSUES IN PROGRESS
  • Neighborhood Disturbances
  • Sgt. Harry Rochville reviewed the outcome of a meeting that Salem Police had with neighbors. He explained that the volume of disturbances caused by off-campus parties is less this year than in years past. He added that the Salem Police will continue to work with the university police to address off-campus issues, particularly around underage drinking.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Balentine of 133 Loring Avenue shared concerns regarding students walking down Loring Avenue between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., mostly Thursdays through Sundays. They added that they found students in their backyard on the night of a dance. – Sgt. Rochville stated that they will increase patrols and work with Salem State police to address these types of concerns. He also recommended that neighbors continue to call Salem Police to report disturbances so they can keep track and respond.
  • The Balentines also reported that students are parking cars along Loring Avenue and leaving them there for days at a time. They inquired if the university would start their flyer campaign as has been done in the past. – Adria Leach stated that she will discuss this with Chief Labonte who was not on staff at the time of the program. Sgt. Rochville added that neighbors should call the traffic division because by ordinance the cars cannot be parked in one location for over 72 continuous hours. Councillor O’Keefe added that Sumner Road will become resident parking only.
  • Polly Wilbert of 7 Cedar Street requested that there be more aggressive enforcement around off-campus parties. – Sgt. Rochville stated that the Community Impact Unit forwards reports on incidents that are believed to involve Salem State students to the office of Student Life and the university takes appropriate action. Ms. Wilbert requested that the university share the outcomes of this follow up with the committee. Ms. Leach reported that the university is prohibited by Federal law to share this type of student information. Ms. Wilbert requested information on numbers of reports vs. number of students called in and sanctions given. Ms. Leach said she would investigate what, if any, information could be reported back.
  • Phil Moran of 415 Lafayette Street reported that the jackhammering from the library building demolition is a great inconvenience to the neighborhood. He added that he believes that the work has caused damage to his home because his house sits on a ledge that is shared by the university. – Ms. Leach encouraged Mr. Moran to file a claim regarding the damage. Mr. Berry added that the structure will be down by November 15 and the foundation will be out of the ground by December 9. It was asked what would happen to the site once the building was gone. Mr. Berry stated that it would be a steeply graded site from Meier Hall to the parking lot. Following the work, the contractor will perform slope stabilization, but final landscaping would take place in the spring of 2014.The construction fence will remain in place until the final grading is complete in the spring. The schedule of reopening the parking area and portion of College Drive that has been taken offline for this project is in discussion. Mr. Berry will report back once a plan is determined.
  • Ms. Wilbert reported two complaints on behalf of the Harrisons at 5 Riverway Road and Sandi Power at 18 Loring Avenue regarding trash. One complaint concerns smoking on the bike path, despite the no smoking signs at each end, and the cigarette refuse left behind. The second complaint was about an increase in trash along Lorning Avenue since school has started. – Mr. Pangallo stated that he would look into the no smoking sign locations and see if there can be some added in areas on the path where there is heavy activity.
  • Jack Hoar requested a status update on the bump outs at the intersection of Loring Avenue and Raymond Road. – Mr. Pangallo noted that the installation of the bump outs are planned for November as part of the Ward 5 paving plan. Mr. Hoar responded that he had requested the city to test temporary bump outs prior to the full installation and it was never done. He expressed concern about traffic back ups because cars turning right onto Loring Avenue have been using the painted bump out area as a right turn lane. Mr. Pangallo explained that the FST study reported that Loring Avenue should only be one lane at that point and the bump outs are intended to be a traffic calming measure that will funnel pedestrians into the bump out area providing a shorter distance to cross. Mr. Pangallo will look into this further and will request that the bump outs be restriped prior to the installation of the bump outs.
  • Ms. Wilbert stated that students crossing from Central Campus to CVS is a safety concern. – Councillor O’Keefe reported that he and Captain Riggs reviewed the crosswalks and are speaking with the state regarding signage. He added that Chief Labonte and the city worked to remove snow along the crosswalks to allow for easier crossing in the winter and that the university is working on this issue.
  • Upcoming Projects
  • 2015 Residence Hall – Edward Adelman
  • Mr. Adelman reviewed that the project is for a roughly 400-bed residence hall scheduled to be built on Central Campus in the parking area between the Enterprise Center and the Campus Police Station. The residence hall will provide a gateway into the campus and will have some form of community space on the first floor that has yet to be determined. He stated that this is the third presentation to the committee regarding the residence hall so they will provide updates but if there are any questions from attendees who were not able to make the first two meetings, he would be happy to answer them. He introduced Kevin Bergeron from Rawn Associates to provide the update.
  • Mr. Bergeron presented a model of Central Campus with the footprint of the new residence hall. He explained that massing varied on the wings to break up any blockiness in the project. Because of topography, the building would have five stories on the west and four on the east with dormer units on the east to vary the roofline. The intent of the design is to maintain an open feeling into campus and provide more green space and fit it into the existing campus footprint. The final design and materials are in process and will be shared once they are determined.
  • Questions/Comments
  • Several attendees expressed great concern about the height of the building on the Loring Avenue side of the building. Many felt that five stories was too high behind existing residences.
  • Can the wings be switched to have the fours story wing on the Loring Avenue side? – The footprint on the west side is longer than the east. Switching the number of stories would reduce the number of rooms making the project not viable.
  • What is the height of the building? – Approximately 55 feet including the parapet.
  • How high is the HVAC equipment? – The majority of the HVAC equipment is recessed. The cooling tower is enclosed in a well within the building. The rooftop equipment is the equivalent of an exhaust fan and is inteded for air handling. It is roughly 6-8 feet tall.
  • Members of the committee and the public requested that the massing of the project be revisited. – Mr. Adelman stated that he would run the numbers, but the project is far along and the massing had been presented in previous meetings without complaint.
  • Ms. Wilbert stated that neighbors were not notified about the meeting and that the agendas and minutes are not posted in a timely manner and do not meet the sunshine ordinance. – Ms. Leach explained that roughly 500 letters went out to neighbors who live closest to the project in August.
  • How many parking spaces are lost from this project? – Roughly 157 spaces will be lost. The university will be demolishing the blue buildings on the former Weir property to create a temporary parking lot. Spaces that have been offline in the O’Keefe Center lot and the North Campus lot due to other construction projects will also be back on line by the time the residence hall construction mobilizes.
  • Concern was re-expressed for the five homes that will abut the planned project. MSCBA and the university are happy to speak with these neighbors. None were present at the meeting.
  • Can space set aside for community space be used for rooms? – No. It would be a security issue.
  • Parking Garage – Edward Adelman
  • MSCBA and the university are close to identifying the team for the parking garage. The first task for the contractor and designer hired will be to perform a traffic study and determine what site provides the best option for the garage. They will work closely with the city engineer and will review other studies as well as planned city and state improvements.
MEETING SCHEDULE
  • The next meeting of the SSUNAC will be held in conjunction with the South Salem Neighborhood Association meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 in the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons on North Campus. Tours will be available from 6 – 7 p.m. and the meeting will follow at 7 p.m. Parking for attendees will be available in the Peabody Hall parking lot on North Campus.
DEFERRED ITEMS
  • Alumni Field Lights
  • Crossing at Former Weir Property and Central Campus
  • Mainstage Theatre Renovation