Hello Salemites! Another meeting is behind us, and I have to say that President Madore’s changes to council business procedure have made for more efficient meetings, so far. We have yet to see a contentious issue on the floor, so it remains to be seen whether or not her declaration to enforce holding councilors to speaking twice on any matter will hold. On a personal note, I do like the consent agenda, which bundles the more routine matters together. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Public testimony centered positively around the urban agriculture ordinance, which was introduced last night.
While the Comcast conduit install was approved readily, the Verizon telecom install on Bridge St. was not and the public hearing will remain opened until 25 March. As always, I’d like to use the appointments and reappointments recap to thank everyone who serves on a Board or Committee for their service to the city and to encourage anyone reading this to consider volunteering time in this manner, if you are looking to get more involved.
Retirement buy backs for fire department employees were approved. Donations were accepted: the US conference of mayors donated $9600 worth of face masks for at-risk residents and Amazon donated $2K to cover the cost of personal protective equipment for city departments, agencies and individuals.
The request for $200K for sidewalk improvements on Essex Street was sent to the Administration and Finance (A&F) committee. While the project was authorized a couple of years ago, the cost has been more than anticipated. Councilor Dibble asked that the meeting at which this is discussed is co-posted with the committee of the whole (COW) and the city engineer is invited to explain why the costs are so high.
$84K in salary costs to fill empty Dept. of Public Works positions left unfilled because of pandemic-influenced cost saving measures were approved; those jobs will be reinstated.
The mayor re-submitted an Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance along with two related bills. Councilor Morsillo introduced the matter by explaining the “affordable” component of the bill, which would require that ADUs be offered 30% below market rate. She noted that ADUs were endorsed by the AARP and could be a great benefit to senior citizens in the community. Morsillo ended the introduction by explaining that ADUs would neither solve the housing crises nor destroy neighborhoods. Councilor Dominguez used his time to express his dissatisfaction with the Housing Choice bill and to welcome comments on this matter from the public. Councilors Sargent and Dibble also noted their dissatisfaction with the Housing Choice bill. A quick note: Housing Choice does NOT strip the 3/4 majority vote on all zoning matters. The bill allows a simple majority on some smart growth zoning changes, including ADU changes. The LWV–Salem Affordable Housing working group did a deep dive into the HC bill at the last meeting and can certainly share the highlights, if there is interest. Ultimately, the motion for a joint public hearing with the planning board was approved unanimously.
The other two related matters: tax exemptions for ADUs, which are based on the number of bedrooms and will have eligibility requirements reviewed annually, and a modification to the short-term rental ordinance were sent to the Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs (OLLA) committee, co-posted with COW.
Dominican Republic Independence Day will be celebrated via Facebook Live on 27 Feb.
OLLA will also consider the procedure for street naming in Salem (also co-posted with COW).
The urban agriculture zoning ordinance was referred to the Public Health, Safety, and Environment (PHSE) committee. If you are interested in this, it will behoove you to attend the PHSE meetings; that is where the real work on the bill will take place. (Not to diminish the tremendous work that has already gone into the ordinance, but the language, etc., will be reviewed and modified so that ideally, when it is brought forward for a public hearing, a lot of the heavy lifting is done and the ordinance is strong and likely to receive endorsement and passage.)
As mentioned on a FB post, the Government Services committee purged 5 items they have had sitting in committee for over a year and the council approved these purges.
Last night, a couple of important matters were introduced, and now the fun begins!
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Lynch