City Council Notes
The City Council met on Thursday night for a regular meeting. It was preceded by an OLLA (Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs) meeting.
In OLLA, we approved some tag day licenses, and approved the update of the Greenlawn Cemetery deed to include information about miscellaneous items left on grave sites. We amended the proposed language to include a statement that the items would be kept for 21 days in the office, in case the family wanted to reclaim the items.
In City Council, there was a long list of appointments to boards and commissions, and money transfers, due to the certification of of Free Cash. Free Cash is money that is left over in the budget when the books are closed, due to projects costing less for instance. The city has had a policy of transferring 20% of the Free Cash to the Stabilization Fund (or Rainy Day Fund), and 20% to the Capital Improvement Fund. Funds are also used for Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB), for instance health insurance benefits for retirees. The rest is used for sick leave and vacation buyback for retiring city employees, and other expenses that come up during the year.
One such expense was the $120,000 to pay for the legal representation for the City Clerk and her team during the Ryan v Salem Board of Registrars trial. An additional $20,00 was also requested to replenish the Legal Services budget, which had been tapped for the post election legal services. Generally, Legal Services has a budget of approximately $50,000 per year.
Another money issue was the bond order and transfer of funds to cover the costs involved in fixing the water leaks in the Museum Place Parking Garage. Some of the money is also to be used to plan the next phase of fixes required on the floors above. There are lots of folks who wish that the garage and mall could be torn down and rebuilt, and I am certainly one of them. This is a prime piece of property in the city, and the owner of the mall simply doesn’t care about the impact this piece of property has on the city. Both the garage and mall are eyesores, and as so many say, we can do better! But first, we don’t have a lot of power over the landlord, and we don’t have the money to rebuild the garage. We also don’t have an alternative for parking while the garage is rebuilt. So these are simply dreams right now.
Closer to the ward, there was a request for $40,000 for a Corridor Planning Study and Action Plan of Highland Avenue. I would love to get business owners and residents of Highland Avenue, in addition to a few other voices from the larger city, together in a room to discuss what would be best for development on the corridor. Other Councilors felt that we can’t look at Highland Avenue alone, that we need to look at the city as a whole. For instance, with the second train station moving a little closer, the development of Jefferson Avenue is also extremely important to create a vision of. So I do understand the need to discuss the whole city, but it’s important that this not become stalled in committee. Development marches on, and the the better vision we have of Highland Avenue, the better we can market to outside developers. In the end, the request was sent to the Administration and Finance Committee, co-posted with the Committee of the Whole and the Planning Board and Planning Department.
The new Accessory Dwelling Ordinance was introduced and sent to OLLA. I will write specifically about the new ordinance very soon. It includes financial incentives to create affordable units, which is what several councilors questioned last year. It was also co-sponsored by 8 councilors, including myself.
There was a resolution to recognize Tanis Price, a 17-year old young man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, who has been advocating for park equipment accessible to children (and adults) in wheelchairs. It was a touching moment in the meeting, and was followed up by a recognition from Representative Paul Tucker.
There was also a resolution to celebrate Dominican Republic Independence Day, by raising the Dominican flag at Lafayette Park on Friday February 28 at 5:00PM, followed by a celebration at the Salem Academy Charter School Albright Center.
I brought an order to invite the Community Impact Unit to a Public Health, Safety and the Environment committee meeting, co-posted with the Committee of the Whole, to hear a presentation. Recently, I met with Councilor Prosniewski and Lt. Harry Rocheville of the Community Impact Unit, to discuss an issue in the ward which had been escalated. He gave me some background on the unit, and talked about how they work with other departments in the city, such as the Public Health Agent, fire department, etc. They are on the front lines of issues like homelessness, opioids, problem properties, just to name a few. As soon as this meeting is scheduled, I will let everyone know. This meeting, like all City Council committee meetings, is open to the public. This will be a great opportunity to learn how the CIU handles issues, why it seems to take a while, and how the public can assist in their efforts.
Because of early voting for the Presidential Primary, the next City Council meeting will begin at 7:30 PM on February 27. Admin and Finance and OLLA committee meetings will be held on Wednesday February 26, instead of before the City Council meeting on the 27th.
