Another meeting in the books! The committees have been doing a lot of work, and last night’s meeting just heaped a whole lot more onto their plate. If you are interested in the budgeting process, then you will want to go to the next Administration and Finance committee meeting. The budget, bond orders, capital improvement plans, revolving funds, and all other sundry financial tidbits will be the topic du jour. Matters that were moved to other committees and future meetings:
Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs will be taking up the water, sewer and solid waste rates, and they will be reviewing whether or not the mayor can file and receive grants from the Executive Office of of Energy and Environmental Affairs for improvements to Forest River park. The proposed restrictions on feeding wildlife will be take up in a future Public Health, Safety and Environment committee meeting. And, there will be two joint public hearings with the Planning Board: one to discuss the Halloween parking overlay and the other to review the Salem housing roadmap.
The council did get a few things through last night.
Financial matters: The council increased the cost of living adjustment for retirees and beneficiaries of the Salem contributory retirement system from $12K to $15K [NOTE: this adjustment was to the base, which is the foundation on which the retirement board applies routine cost of living adjustments.] They also approved the Community Preservation Act budget and recommended allocation of funds. The priorities that were identified for funding included community housing, recreation, and historic preservation projects. They moved $27K from capital outlay to contracted services to enlist a contractor to help revise the flood overlay zone. The recently adopted wetland ordinance includes a mandate for additional flood zone protection, but the current overlay only meets minimum standards and does not account for potential flood risk in light of rising sea levels and climate change. There are a lot of projects on the horizon, and it would be good to ensure that they comply with stricter standards; hence the urgency. And, finally, the council allocated $623,146 for museum garage infrastructure repairs.
Councilor Varela asked the legal department to review the practicality of changing the language in city ordinances from “marijuana” to “cannabis.” Unbeknownst to me, the term “marijuana” was used to demonize the drug and the Mexican community simultaneously. The word is tied to anti-immigrant sentiment. If you want to go down etymological rabbit holes, as I did, here is an interesting article on the Mysterious History of ‘Marijuana.’
The polling place for Ward 2 was permanently changed to the Community Life Center. There was some concern about accessibility, but Councilor Merkl reminded the council that there are numerous options for voting: ballot boxes throughout the city and expanded early voting.
The council also approved additional video surveillance equipment around the city. There are already ~100 cameras monitoring us. The new cameras will be watching traffic and have license-reading capabilities. The cameras placed near fire departments are intended to keep an eye on the aforementioned ballot boxes.
The zoning matter pertaining to visibility at intersections (changing from 25 to 35 feet) expired with no recommendation from OLLA. The petition to put a moratorium on events on the Common was kept in committee, so they can bring it up if need be in future.
The council voted in favor of the second and final passage of the Green Infrastructure ordinance and Bridge St. Neck overlay. They approved the first passage on the foodware and packaging ordinance, which is focused on sytrofoam for now.
And, happily, the Council voted to affirm that June is PRIDE month. With nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed in 2022 alone, I am thrilled to live in a city that celebrates diversity and supports the LGBTQ+ community.
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Lynch