Meet The New Ward Councilors

Last month, the GESNA chairpersons had an informal meeting with our two new ward councilors, Christine Madore (Ward 2) and Lisa Peterson (Ward 3). At that time, we invited them both to come out and meet our neighbors at the next GESNA meeting. We are pleased to announce that the councilors accepted our invitation. This meeting has been scheduled and will be taking place:

Wednesday, February 28th at 7:00 PM
3rd floor Conference Room, City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street.

Councilors Madore and Peterson will be afforded the opportunity to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, say a few words and respond to any questions or concerns you may have. Also, Traffic Director Matt Smith will be in attendance to do the same and to possibly discuss a few initiatives in our area that his department is working on.

Please save the date. GESNA will send out another reminder that this meeting is taking place shortly before Feb. 28th. In the meantime, if there are any specific items you would like to see brought up that night, please inform us by replying to this message, or write us at:
Gesna.Salem@gmail.com

Thank you. We hope you will attend!

Bob Femino & Barbara Mann
Co-Chairpersons, Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Assn. (GESNA

2018 Free Book Swap!

Salem Recycles is holding another Free Book Swap on Saturday, March 17, 10:00 AM -1:00 PM at the Salem Council on Aging Building at 5 Broad Street. It is a great opportunity to recycle old books, CDs, DVDs, VCR tapes, and greeting cards. You can "swap, drop off, take away, or both!
If you have a lot of items, you can drop them off early on Friday March 16, from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM, or Saturday, March 17 from 9:45 AM till noontime.
All left-over materials will be donated or recycled.
It's the same great free event they have been holding for years. If you haven't ever been, go and see what evryone's been raving about.
For additional information call 978-619-5679 or go online to https://www.salem.com/recycling-and-trash/news/sustainablerecycling-events

Mandatory Inspection February 17th

Over the last 2 years, we have seen  a substantial increase in our building water usage,  reflected in a large increase to our city water bill, on the order of several thousand dollars. Although some of this has been due to an increase in water rates, the overwhelming majority of the increase is due to increased usage. Since the number of units and occupants has not changed dramatically, the increase is probably water leaks somewhere within the building. The most likely culprit being toilets or water tanks. A faulty toilet that has a slow leaks can literally waste hundreds of gallons of water a year. If you multiply that by several fixtures, you are looking at a substantial increase in our water bill. For this reason Markwood will be conducting a mandatory inspection.

Please be advised all units must be made available Saturday, February 17, 2018
between the hours of 8 AM – 11 AM. At this time maintenance will be knocking on
doors to conduct visual inspections for signs of leaks/plumbing issues within units.

(in fairness to all residents, specific time requests can not be accommodated).

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

-Markwood Management

CANCELLATION NOTICE

2018 Christmas Tree Bonfire

The City of Salem's 15th Annual Christmas Tree Bonfire scheduled for Friday, January 5, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at Dead Horse Beach at Salem Willows has been cancelled due to the impeding snow storm and dangerously cold temperatures being forecasted for this weekend.

PLEASE DO NOT DROP OFF YOUR TREES AT THE BEACH. THERE WILL BE NO BONFIRE.

Salem Christmas Tree Bonfire

If you are looking for the best way to get rid of your Christmas tree, the City of Salem's 15th Christmas Tree Bonfire is the way to go.

Event Date: 
City of Salem's 15th Annual
Christmas Tree Bonfire
Dead Horse Beach at Salem Willows
Friday, January 5, 2018 
6:00pm to 8:00pm

Bring your Christmas tree with you that evening, drop it off at the beach after January 2nd or leave it out for curbside pickup beginning January 2nd.
(In case of inclement weather, the  rain/snow/wind reschedule Date is Saturday, January 6th)
Check www.salem.com for rescheduling information.
Please don't forget to remove all decorations and lights from your treeCitywide Christmas Tree.

Give your Christmas tree the "Viking Funeral" it deserves!

Curbside Christmas Tree collection will take place curbside January 8-19 on your regular collection day
Sponsored by the City of Salem & the Salem Park, Recreation & Community Services Department

Following Up with Markwood

MESSAGES
There have been several complaints recently that Markwood has not been getting back to people in a timely fashion when they leave a message. One mitigating factor may be the message itself. If you are calling from a cell phone, especially if you are in a car, the basement, or other area where reception is poor or there is a lot of metal and cement, consider that your message may not be intelligible. We recently had a call from someone in the laundry room that was so garbled, it could not be understood at all. Markwood had no idea who had called or why. All that had was a partial phone number and a very hard to understand name. It is also important that when you leave a message, besides giving your name and phone number to also give your unit number. Sometimes the unit number is the most important piece of information, especially since some tenants have non-local area codes, and it is not always clear if the caller is an owner,a tenant or somebody else.
It is also a good idea to follow up any phone call with an e-mail to Markwood. They can be sent to either Kim Lord at kim.lord@markwoodmanagement.com, or to Carol Kenney at carol.kenney@markwoodmanagement.com.

ATTENTION UNIT OWNERS
Markwood has noticed that there seem to be many new tenants in the building who have never received a copy of the condo documents, which include the bylaws sound, and other regulations, from the owner (their landlord). It is the unit owners responsibility to provide a copy of the condo documents to their tenant, or to make sure that the tenant has access to them. Although these documents are available for download here on this blog, it is not the responsibility of Markwood Management to make sure that your tenant has received them.
Another owner responsibility is keeping Markwood informed and up to date of any changes in tenancy. If you have neglected to inform Markwood of a new tenant please follow up immediately.

Tree Trimming!

The trees in front of the building have been trimmed back away from the windows! This was difficult to do as the trees are owned by the city and can only be trimmed by their work crews.

Markwood was finally able to contact the Salem DPW department and secure a date for the trimming. After one aborted appointment (due to rain and wind) the crew was rescheduled and the work was completed last week. The branches are now well away from the front and side of the building. This should reassure owners and tenants in the front of the building who had branches blowing against their windows during the last storm.