The city council met for the last time of 2020 on 10 December in a special meeting to discuss and vote on a $16.1M signature parks bond. However, two of the committee chairs either forgot about moving matters forward to 2021, or they didn’t know that they had to do so. Ergo, two last-minute committee meetings were planned this week (Public Health, Safety & the Environment and Government Services) and the council also had to vote on the matters they put forward last night, too. First, the bond…
Councilor Turiel introduced the bond, which was put forward by the Committee on Administration & Finance (A&F) with a unanimous vote of recommendation. The matter had been introduced in a previous council meeting and debated and discussed at length at a previous A&F meeting. Turiel noted that the public will still have ample time to provide input on how these funds are spent, and that the historically low interest rates will save the city money in the long term.
Councilor Dominguez came out swinging against the bond, citing the pandemic as taking priority over the parks and encouraging the city to wait one year. Councilor Dibble moved for public testimony, seconded by Dominguez. Turiel objected, and the motion was dropped; matters moved forward. Councilor McCarthy did explain that the rules only require testimony at regular (not special) meetings, and reiterated that the public had opportunity to talk at the meetings prior, and they will have opportunity to provide input in future (on the projects supported by the bond). Dibble then asked if the amount was too large and agreed with Dominguez about the timing of the loan. He moved to reduce the bond authorization to $3M; seconded by Dominguez. The matter failed, with only Dibble and Dominguez voting in favor of the reduced authorization.
Councilor Hapworth acknowledged the number of emails he received in both support (45) and against (5). He mentioned that the parks were in need of updates (ADA compliance, resiliency). He also said that the work needed to be done, so the city can either address the matters piecemeal at unknown interest rates, or take advantage of the low interest rate, which spread over many years will ultimately save taxpayers money.
Dominguez reconsidered his argument, and voiced his support of the bond.
Councilor Morsillo read the Board of Health’s letter of support into the record. The letter underscores the public health values of public parks. She went on to share her conversation with Jenna Ide, Director of Capital Projects & Municipal Operations, who said every park project comes with a maintenance plan. It is important for councilors to review those plans and ensure the budget covers their implementation. All park plans address ADA compliance. Councilor Riccardi agreed with the importance of using the funds to bring Salem parks up to date with ADA regulations. She concurred with Hapworth’s assessment and voiced her support of this authorization, which she said just made sense fiscally.
The vote: All in favor except Dibble, who voted against.
Dibble chairs the Committee on Public Health, Safety & the Environment and introduced three matters, which all passed unanimously. First, the gas ban ordinance is with the city solicitor for review and will be returned to committee with her commentary in 2021. Second, the green building ordinance is with the city solicitor for review and will be returned to committee with her commentary in 2021. Finally, other matters, including the single-use plastic, nips, etc. ban were carried over to 2021. The Environmental Working Group will be following these ordinances carefully. Please reach out if you are interested in joining our efforts.
Councilor Flynn chairs the Committee on Government Services, which did not meet at all in 2020, and moved all matters in committee forward.
I will track down a comprehensive list of matters carried forward by all committees (they used numbers in the meetings, which are not particularly helpful for communication) and share them with you presently.
And with that, council 2020 is over. Happy holidays, all.
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Lynch