NO SMOKING REMINDER

"Man, that pot smell is really strong!" this was the reaction from a vendor on a recent walk-through of the third floor of our building.
With the recent changes in the legality of marijuana, this may be a good opportunity to remind everyone that there is no smoking of any kind allowed anywhere inside 24 Norman Street.
That ban includes tobacco, marijuana, hashish, banana leaves (or any other substance you can think of) in pipes, rolling papers, cigarettes, fruit, bongs or any other device you can think of. 
That applies to all common areas of the building (hallways, entryways, laundry room) as well as all individual units.

It is obvious that people in the building are smoking, because they can be seen smoking around the front door or in the side lot and their cigarette butts litter the ground outside. and of course because you can smell it.

Some smokers are at least considerate enough to go outside to do so, but as happens every year when the cold weather starts, people start fudging it: smoking in the back stairway, just outside the front and back doors, or sneaking one in their units.
This is unfair to the majority who do not smoke. Besides smelling bad, causing eye, throat and nose irritations, and increasing the risk of fire, it also exposes everyone to carcinogens.
 
Smoking in the building will not be tolerated.
You can't hide the fact that you are smoking in a building this small. Interior doors are not tight, and neither are the floors and ceilings between units. It doesn't take a bloodhound to sniff out where the smoke is coming from. Sooner or later someone is going to complain to Markwood about the smell of smoke coming from your end of the hallway, or your unit, or you will be seen smoking inside or directly adjacent to the building.
If that happens, you will be fined, $100 for each offense until you stop or move out
Is that worth it?

.

Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting

Markwood recently received the following notification about a Zoning Board of Appeasl meeting about an issue that may or may not affect us here at 24 Norman Street.

Dear Neighbor,

Many of us in the greater Endicott Street neighborhood recently received a meeting notice from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The notice reads that Excel Recycling is seeking a Special Permit which will allow them "to operate a metal storage, recycling and transportation facility categorized as a junkyard at 99 MARGIN STREET". That location is in Ward 3 between the Salem Police station and 1 Jefferson Avenue. It is diagonally across the street from the bottom of Summer Street.

If you are interested in hearing more about this development, or have concerns as to its impact on our neighborhood, the issue will be on the Zoning Board of Appeal's Meeting Agenda. It will take place at:

6:30 PM, Wednesday Evening, February 15, 2017
City Hall Annex
120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor

Concerns or inquiries can also be directed to Ward 3 Councilor Stephen Lovely.
stephen.lovely@verizon.net

Thank You,

Barbara Mann & Bob Femino
Co-Chairpersons, Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association (GESNA)

Take This Sound Test

 

 


Are you watching a movie or TV show on your television, playing a game on your computer, or listening to music on your stereo? Go out into the hallway and close the door. Can you still hear your device plating? Then it is probably too loud.
If you can hear it outside your unit, then your neighbors can hear it too, either down the hallway, through the wall, or the floor. (Headphones might be a great idea).

If you live at 24 Norman Street and don't know it already, you will quickly find out that it is a small building, and there is minimal soundproofing. The building was converted to condos in the 1980's, before newer building codes stipulated more robust soundproofing. For example, in newer construction, there is a minimum of one foot of space between your ceiling and the floor of the unit above you. We don't have that here. Basically your floor is also someone's ceiling.

That means that sound is easily transmitted. Walking heavily, flushing toilets, running your dishwasher, dropping things on the floor all sound like a heard of elephants stampeding, a tropical rainstorm, and a gunshot respectively. Add that to the outside ambient noise of downtown Salem, and you have a recipe for stressful living. Now we all chose to live here, so there is some expectation of noise, but it is a razor-thin line between acceptable and actively annoying.

Be aware of the time of day as well. There are restrictions in the condo bylaws that prohibit any noise between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM. But I'm sure that if you're playing loud music or hammering something into a wall at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning, you're not going to be engendering much good will from your neighbors.

Here is a link to a blog article titled: "How to Complain About Your Noisy Neighbors Without Being That Guy" , which has some good tips for dealing with sound the almost universal issue of noise. 

This is all a way of saying, please be aware of the level of noise you are making, and try to be considerate of your neighbors. It goes a long way to improving the quality of life here.

Garbage In- Garbage Out

We know how it is. You work a long day, you're tired. The garbage needs to be taken out, the barrel is full, maybe even a little stinky, but the idea of walking up and down several flights of stairs and out to the dumpster is just not appealing to you. So you take your garbage bag, and you put in the hallway outside your door. You intend to take it down just as soon as you can, just not right now, but somehow that gets put off, again and again and again.

The above photo was sent to Markwood Management this week by a concerned neighbor. The bag in question had been put out on Monday. it was still there Thursday...festering and smelling and breeding it's own little colony of flies. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. In recent months  bags of trash, cardboard boxes, and bags of cat turds have been spotted sitting outside people's doors.

Warning: DO NOT DO THIS. 

This practice is totally unacceptable, and will get you a call from Markwood and a hefty fine.
The hallways are not a personal dumping space. Do not place trash in the hallway for any length of time. Either take the item down to the dumpster, or leave it in your unit.

You know, because seeing garbage in the hallway really improves the quality of life around here.

Pay Attention to Recycling Issues or Pay Fines

As the new single-point recycling program continues to roll out, we are experiencing some ongoing issues. We need to address these as a community or there will be consequences: i.e. fines from the city of Salem, which will be progressively increasing as violations continue. It is important to note that these fines will eventually be passed on to you in the form of increased condo fees. Here are some examples of the RECYCLING ISSUES YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO:

1. CONTAINERS WITH FOOD IN THEM.
The plastic bottle in the picture below is still full of juice. This is not OK.
RECYCLED MATERIALS CANNOT CONTAIN FOOD.
Empty and wash the containers before you put them in the bin.

2. PIZZA BOXES (CONTAINERS WITH FOOD ON THEM).
The one in the photo had cheese and pizza sauce all over the inside of it . You cannot recycle pizza boxes if they have cheese or sauce on them. Throw them in the dumpster.

3. NOT BREAKING DOWN CARDBOARD BOXES
This has been a major problem. You need to break down boxes until they are COMPLETELY FLAT. If you don't, we run out of space in the containers very quickly, (they only get picked up every 2 weeks) the containers overflow or don't close, and this allows rain and snow to get in, and the wind to blow stuff around the property and into the street.

It is not difficult to break down a box. It takes an extra 30 seconds. Go to the hardware store. Buy a utility knife. Remove any and all packing materials (foam, bubble-wrap, etc.) from the box you are breaking down. Use the knife to cut the seams on your box and flatten it completely. Put it in the recycling bin. Make sure that it actually fits into the bin.
Now, isn't that simple?

4. PLASTIC BAGS 
Do not use them for recycling. Do not put recyclable items into plastic bags and them put them in the bins. Do not put plastic bags of any kind into the recycling bins. This includes shopping bags, green plastic trash bags and white plastic trash bags. Paper bags are OK.
DO NOT PUT PLASTIC BAGS IN RECYCLING.

Please put some effort into this. No one is going to do this for you. It won't take a lot of extra time, and will save us all money. If you have questions please contact the Markwood office. Thank you. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE about TRASH & RECYCLING

You may have noticed a packet of information under your door recently concerning the new trash and recycling program recently instituted by the City of Salem. Read it carefully.
The skinny is that the new program is mandatory, so we have no choice but to comply.
The city has established an 8-week "grace" period during the implementation of this program to allow people to adjust to the new requirements. After that 8 week period, fines will be levied for violations of the recycling rules . These fines can add up quickly. That is a bad thing because eventually those fines will come out of your pocket, so.... please help avoid additional and unnecessary costs by only recycling those materials allowed and by not putting items that are eligible for recycling in the dumpster. Take a look at the sheet. Familiarize yourself with the allowed and disallowed items. PAY ATTENTION to what you are throwing away.
We encourage you to visit www.salem.com for further information.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PETS

There are still some tenants who are unclear on the rules about pets in the building. I recently encountered a woman from the building walking her dog by the dumpsters. When I told her that dogs are not allowed in the building, she replied "Yes they are, lot's of people in the building have dogs."
Besides being disingenuous, she was also completely wrong. As a trustee I would know who has approval for a dog, and she most definitely did not. In fact only one person in the entire building has permission to have a dog, and that is a small (service) dog in the building by special permission of the management company and the board.  This is the only exception and was the result of a long process of medical documentation, review and approval by the board.

Let me clearly restate the official policy here so there is no longer any confusion.

From the original Condo by-laws:
 (b) No animals shall be permitted in any unit without approval of the Managing Board.

 From the 2013 amended rules and regs:
No animals shall be permitted in any unit or on the common areas without written approval of the managing board

If you are contemplating getting a pet of any kind, you need to contact Markwood Management and submit an application for permission to have that pet. If you somehow overlooked or ignored the condo bylaws and already have a dog, contact Markwood Management immediately, because if you do not, and there is any complaint about that animal, (barking, poop, etc.) the unit owner will be fined until either the animal or you, are removed from the building.

In a building this small, where smells and sounds are a real quality-of-life issue, we cannot afford to have people assuming that rules about pets do not apply to them.

SMOKING: A Reminder

As we start closing up our windows for the cold weather, interior smells become more noticeable, especially that of cigarette smoke. This is a reminder that this is officially a Smoke Free building. There is NO SMOKING allowed anywhere in the building, that includes all individual units, and all common areas.

We know that people who live in the building, smoke, because we them smoking around the front door or in the side lot and we see their cigarette butts on the ground outside.
Many of those who smoke are at least considerate enough to go outside to do so, but as happens every year when the cold weather starts, people start fudging it: smoking in the back stairway, just outside the front and back doors, or in their units.
This is unfair to the majority who do not smoke. Besides smelling bad, causing eye, throat and nose irritations, and increasing the risk of fire, it also exposes everyone to carcinogens.

According to this article, smoking in the home can reduce the value of the property on resale by up to 29 per cent. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/16/smoking-house-prices_n_3093543.html
I'm sure your landlord and neighbors are going to love that.

So what to do? One might consider quitting smoking, however if the overwhelming certainty that smoking causes cancer has not been enough to deter you, that's probably not going to happen.
You could  try switching to an e-cigarette, or move to a building that allows smoking.
But be dead sure that smoking in the building will not be tolerated.
You might be able to get away with it for a while, but you can't hide the fact that you are smoking in a building this small. Interior doors are not that tight, and neither are the floors between units. It doesn't take a bloodhound to sniff out where the smoke is coming from. Sooner or later someone is going to complain to Markwood about the smell of smoke coming from your end of the hallway, or your unit, or if you will be seen smoking in the building. If that happens, you will be fined, $100 for each offense until you stop. Is that worth it? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

So once again... DO NOT SMOKE IN THE BUILDING.

IMPORTANT Recycling/Trash Changes

You may have noticed some new recycling bins in the side driveway.
A new and improved trash and recycling collection program will begin November 2, 2015.
Please read the following carefully. 

Remember — recycling is mandatory in Salem. 

New Recycling Collection Program
Beginning in November, recycling carts will be collected by an automated process in most neighborhoods. Special trucks with ‘arms’ will pick up your carts and deposit their contents into the truck.
NOTE: Recycling will be collected every other week in the blue 96-gallon cart instead of every week. The old bins will be going away DO NOT USE THE OLD BINS after November 2. Only supplied carts will be collected - trash barrels, blue recycling bins, or any other
receptacles will no longer be acceptable or collected.

Trash & Single Stream Recycling Collection
Salem is now offering ‘single stream’ recycling, which means that paper, plastic, glass bottles and cans may all be mixed together in your recycling cart. That is the good news. The bad news is that they will a lot pickier about what is in the bins. Pay careful attention to what items are allowed and what are not. There is a handy guide on the lid of each bin. If you are in doubt, put it in the dumpster. If you place disallowed items in the bins we run a strong risk of not having our recycling picked up, which besides being a pain in the neck, will be an additional expense for Markwood, and therefore for you.

So to RECAP
• Use the 96-gallon blue cart with the green lid.
• Recycling will be collected every-other-week.
• No sorting is needed.
• DO NOT put recyclables in plastic bags.
• Containers that held food should be rinsed and FREE of FOOD DEBRIS.
 For example: no pizza boxes with grease of cheese on them.
Acceptable materials for curbside recycling include:

A more detailed list of materials that can be recycled will be distributed later this week to all 24 Norman Street residents. You can also obtain more information by visiting  www.Salem.com.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Recycling Etiquette

There are a number of recycling bins available for the use of residents at 24 Norman Street, but after finding loose cardboard blowing around the side parking lot and a pile of boxes next to the bins, we thought it might be helpful to go over some basic rules of recycling and trash "etiquette".

1. Put the appropriate item into the appropriate bin.
People are generally in a hurry to dispose of their trash and recycling as quickly as possible, but taking a few seconds to read the labels on the recycling bins and/or check what is already in them before placing your items would be helpful. The recycling is sorted by item, both by where they put it in  the truck and where it is processed at the plant, so mixing different items in the bins just makes it a slower and more difficult process.

2. Make sure the materials to be recycled are relatively clean.
That means rinsing out bottles and cans and food containers so that there is no visible food residue in them. If you have something with food really stuck in it, say some cardboard food container such as a pizza box, if it is permeated with grease or has cheese stuck to it, please throw it in the trash, not the recycling bins. It's hard enough to keep the dumpster from smelling and being infested with flies, let alone the recycling bins.

3. Break down those cardboard boxes.
Too often people do not take the time to break down their cardboard items (such as large boxes) and leave them in a pile next to the bins.
This is a problem in several instances; when it is raining, when it is windy, when there is mixed packing material (such as styrofoam) in the box. These are all circumstances that either make an unsightly mess, make it almost difficult to recycle the material, or both.
Even if anitem is small enough to fit into the bin without breaking it down, you should break it down as much as possible, or you make it difficult for other tenants to use the bin, leading back to the unsightly piles of stuff outside the bins.

4. Leave the caps on those bottles
Rather than removing the caps from bottles, or throwing them into the bins by themselves, please put the caps back on. We have been told that when they sort the materials, the smaller items often fall into the machinery, and gum up the works.

If everyone could make an effort to follow these 4 guidelines, it would make for a much cleaner, more efficient and less ghetto-looking recycling area. Thank you!

NOTICE: DO NOT LEAVE LARGE ITEMS OUT BY THE DUMPSTER

To 24 Norman Street Residents:

Please do not leave large articles, furniture, rugs, electronics, etc.,  in the dumpster area.  Waste Management does not pick up these items when they empty the dumpster and we must send someone, at a cost to the Association, to remove and dispose of them.

Lifebridge in Salem may take some of these items.  There are many small, independent trash haulers in Salem who will take unwanted furniture for a reasonable fee.  In addition, Salem holds "EWaste" disposal days every three months at the High School.  With proof of Salem residency, electronics and household appliances may be disposed of for $10 per item.

We appreciate your cooperation in keeping the grounds clean and keeping costs down.

Thank you,
Markwood Management

As always, we ask that those of you who rent your units pass this information on to your tenants.

If this practice continues, Markwood may be forced to review security camera footage and fine those responsible.

Pets Policy Clarification

There are no dogs allowed in the building. This includes all dogs no matter how small they are. There is currently only one exception;  (1) small service dog is in the building by special permission of the management company and the board.  This is the only exception and was the result of a long process of medical documentation, review and approval by the board. The official policy for the building is that there are no pets allowed in the building. The management maintains this rule and right to control the presence of all pets especially if they can potentially become a noise or health issue. Thank you.

Your Input is Needed for the Salem Artists Row Public Forum

The City of Salem has hired The Cecil Group to coordinate a process to re-envision Artists’ Row, with a goal to spur revitalization of the space so that it can be a renewed focal point of Salem’s creative economy.  A plan for Artists’ Row will be developed and focus on design, uses and programming, and management and operations.  We would like to know your thoughts on how the City can address these critical issues to improve Artists’ Row in the short term and for years to come.

Earlier this week, the City held one of two public forums to gather input from the community on this issue.  Below is a link to the presentation that was shown at the meeting.  Below the presentation link is a link to an online survey that we kindly ask that you fill out and submit by noon on Friday, June 26th.  If you have any questions about this project you may contact Andrew Shapiro at ashapiro@salem.com or 978-619-5685.

Thank you in advance for providing your valuable feedback on this important project.
Artists’ Row Envisioned Presentation (Powerpoint)

Survey

A Major New Initiative by the City of Salem

WHAT: Listening session on Age-Friendly Salem
WHEN: Tuesday, June 23, 2015
First Session: 2pm to 3:30pm
Second Session: 6pm to 7:30pm
WHERE: City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor

"An Age-Friendly city helps people of all ages participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect--regardless of their age. An Age-Friendly city welcomes everyone and adapts its structures and services to be accessible to all including older people with varying needs and capacities. An Age-Friendly city encourages active aging by optimizing opportunities for good health and social interaction in order to add ‘Life to Years.’ This is a vital part of Salem’s future.” - Mayor Kimberley Driscoll

Click Here to Learn More

Electric Rates Are Going Up. What to do?

If you are a National Grid customer, you may have received a notice  informing you that your electric rates are going to be raised by as much as 37% next month. That is 37¢ on every dollar you spend. So a $100 electric bill will now be a $137 electric bill. Coming hard on the teeth of another brutally long and cold winter seems akin to kicking someone when they are down. What can you do? Turn down the thermostat, switch to energy efficient bulbs and appliances, sure, but many of us have already done that, in fact that is one of the reasons that National Grid is raising it's rates. People are using less energy, but the power company "needs" to make the same amount of money, therefore: higher rates. So what to do? Suck it up and pay the higher rates...or look into supplementing our energy with solar power?
The possibility of placing solar panels on the roof of 24 Norman Street is an idea that has been discussed. It is unlikely that we could generate enough power to supply the entire building, but it might be enough to keep our ever-spiraling electric bills down to a manageable level.
Here is an article about how one couple in a Chicago condominium went solar. http://www.motherearthliving.com/mother-earth-living/how-to-go-solar-condo.aspx#axzz3K1C34V4e

The main hindrances to going solar are expense, and maintenance. There are several government-sponsored incentive programs for going solar, as well as a solar initiative here in Salem.
This article is the best in explaining the incentives.
http://brightstarsolar.net/2011/02/solar-power-for-condominiums/

The first big question is: do we qualify? The second is: if not, does anyone in the building want to spend the money to have solar panels installed? Would it be economically feasible?
Like many other initiatives proposed for our building, if there is no interest, we will continue to maintain the status quo, however we would love to know your thoughts.

Using the DUMPSTER

With 39 units, 24 Norman Street frequently has people moving in and moving out of the building. Generally when people move out, they are responsible and take all their stuff with them, occasionally though, we have what you see in the photo above: people discarding their unwanted furniture items either in or next to the dumpster.
The mattress in the image above was discarded by someone who recently moved out, (or bought a new mattress). This is a good time to remind residents that the dumpster is for non-recyclable trash and garbage ONLY.  It is NOT meant for mattresses, large pieces of furniture, construction materials, toxic waste or household chemicals.
We pay for weekly trash pickup, but the condo association has to pay extra for the removal of large items such as this. What is worse; the careless placement of this mattress would have prevented the trash company from emptying the dumpster if Markwood had not noticed the item and called the company ahead of time to arrange for removal.
This has happened on more than one occasion with dressers, chairs, bookcases and mattresses. It is the tenants responsibility for making arrangements to dispose of their large personal items, not Markwood Management's. Do not fill the dumpster with it, and do not leave it to sit outside. A good rule of thumb is; if it takes two people to lift it, it probably shouldn't be going into the dumpster.
If you are linked to one of these discarded items, (or your tenant is), you will be fined to cover the expense of removal.

Railing Vandalism?

Several weeks ago the wooden railing on the second floor staircase was damaged by what looked like scraping it with a set of keys, knife or other sharp object.It left deep gouges in the wood, and was rough to the touch. Since several people have moved in and out of the building recently it was assumed that the marks may have been the result of dragging some kind of furniture up the stairs. Markwood Management paid to have it sanded and refinished. No sooner was that done than someone scratched it up again. The fact that it is in the same place (out of view of the surveillance cameras) and in the same way, makes it look like it was done deliberately. One has to wonder why. There is a very short list of individuals who have ongoing issues with Markwood Management.  Everyone has frustrations from time to time, but taking them out on the building is not going to resolve anything. It's just going to make things worse, and if the person doing it gets caught they will be on the losing side of some serious legal ramifications.

Now a scratched railing may not seem like a big deal, but the fact that someone feels it is OK to destroy community property is an indicator of a much more serious problem. We had someone smash a window in the back stairwell this winter under similarly mysterious circumstances.
If you see anyone vandalizing the building please notifying Markwood immediately.

If the person(s) doing this reads this blog post, please consider communicating with Markwood Management with some other method than vandalism. Try talking directly to Markwood Management or the trustees. Post your grievance on the blog comments. These are meant to be communication tools and not just a one-way outlet.

If you are so pissed-off that you actually think vandalizing property is a good alternative to open communication, please get professional help. Seriously. You need it.

Loading the Dumpster

 We had a bit of a problem with the dumpster this last week. It looked like this:

As it often is, the dumpster was loaded to overflowing with trash, some of which fell or was left on the ground, and with the high winds we had this weekend, blew trash all over the parking area and down the street. Not good for community relations.
The funny thing is, the back of the dumpster was pretty much empty. This tells me that people would rather stuff the front of the dumpster to the point of overflowing or worse yet, leave their trash bags on the ground in front of the dumpster, than walk an extra 10 feet to place their trash in the back of the dumpster.
Maybe you are too short to reach the back of the dumpster, maybe you are scared of what might be back there, maybe you like the look of garbage strewn all over the property, maybe you just don't give a crap, who knows? However, if you are tall enough, and have enough upper-body strength to lift a (maybe) 5-pound plastic dumpster lid, would you please consider placing your trash in the back of the dumpster? I think everyone might appreciate it. Thank you.

LAUNDRY ISSUES: Dryer ist kaputt

The Maytag dryer that is closest to the back of the laundry has broken and is beyond repair. A new dryer has been ordered but it is going to take about 3 weeks to get delivery and installation done. This means that we are down to only (2) working dryers for 39 units. It doesn't take a genius to see that this might lead to some potential problems.

I bring this up because yesterday I was doing laundry when a young couple came in and expressed dismay that their load of laundry had been removed from one of the dryers and placed on the sorting table. Apparently it had also been mixed in with someone else's load of laundry. Although I could relate (I don't like it when people remove my clothes from either a washing machine or dryer in my absence) there is little point in getting upset if other tenants remove your clothes, especially if you do a load and then leave it sitting for several hours.
Since I had been down there earlier in the day to empty the machines of quarters, I knew that this particular couple had left their laundry sitting in the dryer for several hours. However, I would also be upset if I found my laundry mixed in with someone else's.
As much as possible you need to be "present" when you do your laundry. Do not leave the building to run errands, or take a trip. You need to be around. If for some unavoidable reason you have to leave and are delayed in getting back to the laundry, do not be surprised if your clothes have been moved. No one likes it when this happens to them, but with so many people in the building and only 3 washers and 2 working dryers, you're going to need to have some patience and consideration for other people. Everyone has to use these machines, and the longer you tie one up, the less chance there is for someone else to use it.

That being said, here is some basic laundry etiquette.
Here is a scale of acceptable to less-acceptable practices.

ACCEPTABLE
If a dryer has completed it's cycle and the clothes are completely dry, and have been sitting for more than half an hour, go ahead and remove them. Please place them as neatly as you can on the sorting table at the back of the laundry. Make sure not to drop them behind the dryers or on the floor. Do not fold them, (that is just creepy). If there are multiple dryers being used, do not assume that the clothes all belong to the same person, and do not mix or pile two loads on top of each other. Make sure you clean the lint filter before you put your clothes in.

LESS ACCEPTABLE
If the dryer has finished it's cycle and the laundry is still damp, allow some extra time for the person to
come and restart the cycle. If you wait an hour or more and they still haven't come, then remove them and place on the sorting table.

REALLY DISCOURAGED
Removing wet clothes from the washing machines is really not OK unless they have been sitting in a machine for more than 2-3 hours. It just makes a mess. If you are feeling particularly generous and are in a hurry to do a load of wash, you could place them in a dryer (if empty) and start the cycle for them.

Try to balance your need to get laundry done with imagining how you would feel if they were your clothes. Hopefully things can go back to normal once the new dryer is in place. Thanks!

Salem Residents Survey Online Through April 18

City seeks residents’ input and feedback on quality of life and city services

Mayor Kimberley Driscoll today announced the fifth annual Salem Residents Survey is now online. The survey will be available at www.salem.com/mayor until Friday April 18. A Spanish language version of the survey will also be posted at that website in the next several days.

All Salem residents are encouraged to visit the online survey and share their opinions on a range of issues facing the City of Salem and their view of City services.

“The 2014 survey marks the fifth year this data has been collected,” said Mayor Driscoll. “Hearing directly from residents allows us to improve service delivery and focus our public resources on those issues that are of most concern to the people of Salem. Having a number of years’ worth of data now also enables us to take a closer look at trends and changes that are taking place.”

The final data is compiled and included in the Mayor’s annual budget, issued in May. The information provides important performance and outcome measures, which have, in the past, contributed to the City of Salem being one of just a handful of Massachusetts communities to be awarded both a Certificate of Excellence and a Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.