Water Quality Brochure

If you are poking around the front stairway, you may spy a pile of these brochures sitting on the floor. They are the Salem and Beverly Water Supply Board 2009 Water Quality Report.
It outlines where our water comes from, how it is processed, and most interesting of all, lists all of the levels of microbiological, inorganic chemical, and heavy-metal contaminants, including copper and lead, that are found in our drinking water. Pick one up. It makes for some interesting reading. On second thought, maybe you don't want to know...

Gardening Anyone?

Several people in the building have expressed interest in the possibility of starting a small garden in the area on the west (White Hen) side of the building. As you can see in the picture it is partially paved and largely unused. Markwood management is open to the idea, but a lot of questions would need to be answered first. It would likely be modeled on one of those urban community gardens like you see in Boston.



















The condo association would provide the space only, the individuals involved would be responsible for purchasing pots, soil, raised beds, and whatever else is required for a garden and maintaining it. Herbs vegetable, or flowers, maybe some tomato plants. The pots or raised beds would need to be move-able so that maintenance can access that area if they need to. Don’t know what the pest situation would be like either. I’ve never seen squirrels or chipmunks around the building, but you never know. We also need to figure out how much sun that area really gets. It seems like it gets a lot of afternoon sun. Getting access water might also be an issue as there don't seem to ba any outside faucets. I’ll keep you posted if and when this develops.
If you are interested or have any suggestions, please leave a comment or contact me.

Possible Parking Solution?

On a recent trip to New York City, I spied this contraption in the Chelsea area of the Village. It might be a possible solution to our ever-growing parking problems. It lifts the cars vertically. You can put a lot of cars into a very small space, although you need to remove the cars in the reverse order that they went in. It's a thought anyway...

Two Updates

The repairs to the water damage in the back hallway have been completed. The walls have been stripped, damaged wallboard replaced, skim-coated and painted. The repairs also include a new, more secure door to the roof. The workmen finished the end of last week.
























The bolt hole on the bicycle storage area wall has also been enlarged to better accommodate the bolt, and it now works smoothly.