Hello, Salem! Sorry for the hiatus…life was not matching up with council meetings, so if you are watching, and would ever like to submit your notes, we’d love to have you on our “observer corps!” Let’s tuck in.
Money Matters: The council approved $38K to install solar street lights in Orne Square. They accepted a $7500 donation from Alternative Therapy Group (ATG) to be applied to the scholarship fund. And, they voted to send the resolution to accept the state grants for the second phase of Palmer Cove and the Willows to the Administration & Finance (A&F) committee. While the projects are both wonderful and the money is welcome, there were some questions about the language around including council appropriation of funds being in the resolution. The council has until the end of the year to accept the grants.
The council voted to establish a Food Policy Council, which is formalizing the group behind Salem Food for All. The group has done fantastic work in this area: they were responsible for the last Salem food assessment; helped establish the Mack Park food farm; and were integral to providing emergency food response during COVID. The coalition, which has been around since 2016, will have additional access to funding, if they are a brought into city governance. The councilor liaison is yet to be determined.
The zoning amendment proposed for the Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance will be sent to the planning board for a joint public meeting. They are looking to hold it the last week of November, since the year is closing in, and zoning matters have a clock.
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
Early voting has opened; if you had requested a vote by mail ballot, you should have it; and, election day is NEXT TUESDAY, 1 NOVEMBER. Please be sure to read the questions and understand what a yes or a no vote mean, the League has resources, simply select the icon at top to “find out what’s on your ballot,” to have access to debate videos, candidate information, and polling information. For ease, here are the polling places, as confirmed by the council last night.
Ward 1, Precinct 1: Bentley Academy, gym; 25 Memorial Drive
Ward 1, Precinct 2: 135 Lafayette St., community room
Ward 2, Precincts 1 & 2: Community Life Center, 401 Bridge St.
Ward 3, Precincts 1 & 2: Salem High School, auditorium; 77 Willson St.
Ward 4, Precincts 1 & 2: Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, gym; 1 Frederick St.
Ward 5, Precincts 1 & 2: Saltonstall Elementary School, auditorium; 211 Lafayette St.
Ward 6: Precincts 1 & 2: Bates Elementary School, gym; 53 Liberty Hill
Ward 7: Precincts 1 & 2: Salem State University Enterprise Center; 121 Loring Ave.
The council voted to remove the portrait of Andrew Jackson from City Hall chambers. The matter will now go to the Government Affairs committee for discussion about where to move it. Each councilor spoke eloquently about the years-long discussions around history, art, monuments, and communities. One sentiment that struck me was from Councilor McClain, who co-sponsored this matter with Councilor Merkl. He acknowledged some of the general concerns raised by the public anytime matters such as this arise - erasing history, speaking on behalf of a community without having their direct input - being the two loudest arguments against moving or eliminating artworks intended to laud or praise people of history with questionable legacies (putting it kindly). However, he pointed out that in many instances we do, in fact, learn from many things from the past that don’t have monuments at all. And, he noted, that the council was elected to represent Salem, and the values and ideals of the city and its residents; “if Andrew Jackson stepped out of that portrait tonight, he would be very upset to see me sitting here.” Councilor Hapworth noted that, “if a portrait of Jackson was submitted to the city, would the council agree to accept it?” And, concluded that “it would not be likely.”
There was a little debate around the resolution against the Peabody gas plant put forward by Councilor Cohen. The council passed it unanimously once it was clear that this was not “telling Peabody what to do,” but rather, asking the state to ensure that Massachusetts environmental standards are met when such projects are proposed. Feasibility studies need to be robust and the state needs to provide strong oversight. The time to act on climate is now (was really several years ago, but I digress).
The winter council meetings will be held on 17 November and 8 December. It will include setting the tax rate code. Sometime between now and then, the committee of the whole is going to try to meet to clean up some of the council rules and orders. (Believe me they need it!) Expect a LWV contingency at that show! We have ample notes and suggestions.
The Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs (OLLA) committee returned a favorable recommendation to prioritize affordable housing when dispensing public lands, and the council endorsed it unanimously. Amanda Chiancola, Deputy Director of city planning, gave a wonderful presentation at the OLLA meeting–the materials are still available. The TL:DR is that if the city planner and directory of public properties determine that developable land is underutilized, the city council can vote to declare it surplus, and an RFP will be issued to developers. The land must meet several standards: it must be appraised with economic value, it has to be evaluated for zoning, and city staff must make recommendations about its “public purpose.” The public purpose can include: affordable housing (now, thanks to this ordinance); park or open space; historic preservation; or that lovely catch-all, other. Affordable housing has been defined as 60% (area median income, which is lower than the Boston metro area standard of 80% AMI), but preference will go to the highest rate of affordability (either by units or discount). Council can modify criteria per project.
Say cheese!: Several new surveillance cameras are going to be installed: Forest River Park, the Willows, and in the parking garages. There will be no audio and the cameras do not have facial recognition capabilities.
The tenants’ rights ordinance is still waiting for the home rule petition to be passed allowing Salem to move forward with the fine-tuning.
Second passages: Guns are no longer allowed in municipal buildings, the matter was amended to list the buildings explicitly, and to add “during elections,” to polling places. The council passed the ordinance that ensures safe access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. And, they also passed the animal feeding ordinance. Feeding birds in a proper bird feeder is still okay, but that is pretty much it.
Good luck with the rest of this week into next! See you all in November!
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Lynch