The Salem City Council spent much of its Thursday, September 24 meeting on a five-year contract for the Salem Skipper, the on-demand rideshare service, that arrived six days before the existing contract was due to expire and without the contract itself in the packet. The order authorizes the mayor to sign with Via Transportation Inc., doing business as River North Transit LLC of New York.
Councillor-at-Large Kyle Davis said a recent MassDOT grant lets the city keep the service running until at least June 30, 2027, and that the five-year term allows extensions beyond that if funding is found. Ward 5 Councillor Lydia King said she would vote yes because the service had to continue, but that the council should receive the contract when the contract is the thing it is voting on. Ward 6 Councillor Katelyn Holappa said she had “a mind to vote against this tonight” because of how little information the council had, and that riders have spent six months not knowing how long the service would last. “I’m not interested in playing with people’s lives like that, so I would like this to be granted, but I’m not happy about the circumstances of this,” she said. Ward 4 Councillor Timothy Flynn said he had a hard time voting on something without all the information.
Council President Alice Merkl reminded colleagues that agendas post the Tuesday before a meeting and that they can call departments with questions. The minutes record the order and the debate but not a roll call. Ward 7 Councillor Andrew Varela filed a late order, which the council accepted, for the Committee on Administration and Finance to meet on the Skipper program and the Via contract; that committee reported back on October 8.
October rideshare zones
With downtown streets closing for Haunted Happenings earlier than ever, the council adopted designated taxi and rideshare pickup and drop-off zones for Saturdays and Sundays in October: three spaces beside the North Street bridge at 4 Franklin Street, about six curbside spaces in the cul-de-sac at Green Trail next to Leslie’s Retreat, about 125 feet on the west side of Margin Street from High Street, about 140 feet on the north side of Dodge Street from Dodge Street Court, and the non-metered area of the Old Salem Jail lot. Councillor-at-Large Ty Hapworth said Uber and Lyft had been notified. Ward 2 Councillor Andrew Smith called it something people had wanted for a long time, “similar to an airport.”
King tabled a companion order that would have made Dodge Street one way eastbound for the month of October as a trial. She said the businesses and the apartment building on the street had not been consulted ahead of their busiest month, and that the transportation director agreed to bring it back in mid-October for the second half of the month.
Ilene Simons
A resolution honoring Ilene Simons, who retired as city clerk after more than 25 years with the city, including as clerk since 2018, passed 10 to 0 with Councillor-at-Large Conrad Prosniewski absent. Hapworth said serving “11 bosses” is not an easy job. Flynn, the only sitting councilor who voted to appoint her in 2018, called the clerk’s office “the heartbeat to City Hall.” Maureen Elizabeth Fisher is acting city clerk.
Camping ordinance stays in committee
The Committee on Public Health, Safety and Environment, after a packed joint session the night before with a police department presentation, recommended that its review of the camping ordinance remain in committee. Holappa said the number of unhoused people in the city had roughly doubled over two years according to the presentation, and that the ordinance “is not fully achieving the hope.” Davis cautioned against generalizations, citing federal figures that about 38 percent of unhoused people struggle with alcohol and 26 percent with other drugs, and that about half are employed. Flynn thanked the Community Impact Unit and said that outside Lynn, Salem is among the North Shore communities most affected.
Also at the meeting
- Flynn filed a late motion to suspend the rules on October 8 for a reconsideration vote on the September 10 decision to change the city seal. The motion was accepted for that agenda.
- A new veterans square, O’Neil Square, was approved at Lafayette Street and College Drive in Ward 7 for Army Capt. Walter C. O’Neil, who lived at 386 Lafayette Street before enlisting and had been a Salem police reserve officer.
- The Planning Board’s report on a zoning amendment that would define data centers and prohibit them in every district was received and filed.
- Mayoral appointments confirmed 10 to 0: Alphonse Wright to the Food Policy Council, Catrina Meyer to the Bicycling and Shared Path Advisory Committee, Elena Rodriguez-DePaul to the Race Equity Commission, Samantha Stringfellow to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and reappointments of Elena Eimert (Planning Board), Mark Meche (Historical Commission), Craig Bilodeau (Bicycling and Shared Path) and Stephen Larrick (Zoning Board of Appeals).
- The council adopted the city’s Hazard Mitigation Plan update for FEMA and MEMA, approved $11,999.29 in prior-year bills for the schools, parking and engineering departments, and gave second passage to the noise, Salem Street traffic and Beach and Sutton avenue fire lane ordinances.
- Smith’s order for a committee review of administrative reasonable accommodations in zoning for people with disabilities was adopted, and the council set an October 8 hearing on a National Grid pole at Summit Avenue and Eden Street.
- Thirty-five public guide licenses, four taxi operator licenses and two vehicle-for-hire licenses were granted, and residents of Orne Square got permission for a Halloween block party from 3 to 9 p.m.
The meeting is on Salem Access Television’s YouTube channel; the minutes are here.
