City of Salem
Youth Commission
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
5:30 pm
In Attendance: Deb Amaral (Chair), Rachel hunt, James Labbe, Shannon O’Shea, Zachary Broughton, Bill Legault, Jerry Curley, James Lister, Susan Kelly, Peter Baglioni, Jason Silva, Tom Watkins
Introduction and Outreach Efforts
The group went around and introduced themselves and was welcomed by new attendees Bill Legault, Shannon O’Shea and Zachary Broughton. The quantity of members was discussed and Deb said that she believes there is a city ordinance, which may state this. However, she also did state that at this point, she is more concerned about the vast representation on this commission rather than the quantity of people. In regards to outreach, the group still would like to contact Mary Manning from the Collins Middle School, Jason said he would contact a representative from the Point neighborhood, Deb would like to see a representative from a downtown business present and the group would still like to contact a Boy/Girl Scout leader (Steve Dibble or Mary Woodcock).
Also, Jason said he would report back to the group about the Mayor’s upcoming meeting with David Crowley.
Discussion of City Playgrounds
Jason talked to Doug Bollen, Director of Recreation and Community Services, about the need and idea of Park Instructors. Doug said it would cost the City a lot of money and mentioned that not many other surrounding communities have Park Instructors. The parks in Salem that currently do have Instructors are Mary Jane, Cabot Farm (paid for by neighborhood group) and Camp Naumkeag (which charges a fee). Doug mentioned to Jason that of the Parks that could use Instructors, Forest River and Memorial or Collins Cove would best benefit from them. Deb believed lower Gallows Hill Park could use Instructors as well. Jason would like this idea to be explained more and would like Doug to attend a future meeting of the Youth Commission.
Bill thought the idea of a PILOT program for Park Instructors might be a good idea. He said there is a similar program in Lawrence that is sponsored by a local DoJo. This would also help to create good relationships with the City’s youth and downtown businesses.
Deb said that the YMCA might be able to fund 2 parks this year, in which each park would have 2 instructors, but was not 100% sure at this moment.
Shannon said that she would ask Doug for an estimated number on how many kids utilize the playgrounds.
Community Calendar
Deb passed around copies of a sample calendar she has been working on. The calendar listed the dates and times of league and program registration dates as well as some special events. Deb said that the schools have a calendar, which is very complete. So instead of listing all school events, it may make sense to provide a web link to the schools calendar. James said he will email Deb some dates he has and the rest of the group will work with Deb on the calendar going forward. In the coming month, Deb and Tom will work together in putting the calendar on the City website.
Child Safety Day
Deb said Ellen Talkowsky, Special Projects Coordinator, would be talking with Target to see if they could sponsor and fund Child Safety Day. It was mentioned that National Safety Day is September 15th and the group may want to hold their event in conjunction with the National day. The group also talked about having Child Safety Day on the same day as Touch a Truck Day at Shetland Park during the City’s annual Heritage Days Festival (August). The idea was to have Child Safety Day inside the Charter School. Deb was concerned about having the two events together due to time constraints.
The group decided that they would prefer to hold Child Safety Day on September 15th. However, they need to make sure that the City’s ½ Marathon Day will not be held on this date. The group will also need to further discuss the location of Child Safety Day (Winter Island, Salem Common, a School, Shetland Park, etc.).
Next Meeting
The Youth Commission’s next scheduled meeting is set for Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 5:30 pm in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of the City Hall Annex Building, located t 120 Washington Street.
The Meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm
Meeting minutes recorded by Tom Watkins
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