Blog Flyer!

You may have noticed a flyer sitting on your doorstep this week. Yours truly designed them and building trustee Nate Gravel had them printed and distributed them to all residents of 24 Norman Street. If you received the the flyer, welcome to the blog! Follow us weekly on the blog and please send your e-mail address to markwoodmgt@hotmail.com. Markwood management would love to be able to notify you of upcoming meetings, and other building issues via e-mail. Thanks!

The Back Door

In the past few weeks it has been noticed that the door at the bottom of the back stairwell has frequently been left unlatched. The locking mechanism can stick, and keeps the door from closing completely. Markwood Management had Secure Lock out last week to investigate. They could not duplicate the problem but lubricated the latch. It was noticed again yesterday that the door was again not latched.
We just want to remind residents who use the back door to be sure it has closed completely. The door seems like it has enough weight behind it to close on its own, but the lock sometimes sticks, and if you close it gently, it will sometimes not latch. It also can looked closed from the outside, but still not be latched. (see the picture)
Many residents, when dropping off trash, recycling, going out for a smoke or other errand, find it convenient to leave the door ajar, however, if you are leaving the grounds for any length of time, please make sure the door is closed. This is a potential security issue. Markwood will continue to keep an eye on it and call Secure Lock again if we continue to have problems.

New Look for the Mailboxes!

Carol from Markwood Management is going to be cleaning up and straightening out the name/unit information on the mail boxes and would like to enlist your esthetic sense. The plan is to replace the numbers on the lower right with unit numbers and replace the current name stickers. They plan to use an engraved sticky backed plaque like piece for both. Any input regarding shape, color and font?

Markwood Management also plans to pull out the small, dead, dwarf evergreen to the right of the driveway. They will replace it next week, or if possible sooner. Plans to plant along the outside of the fence hiding the dumpster will have to wait until the fence company completes repairs on the center post of the fence, which is leaning in.

New England Condominium's 2010 Condo Expo

For anyone interested, there is a New England Condominium's 2010 Condo Expo at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, Ma, Wednesday May 12, 2010 from 11:30am to 7:30 pm.
With over 150 exhibitors, it will feature thousands of products, services and solutions for condo dwellers in "every area" including Insurance, security, landscaping,waste removal, windows, tile and stone, plumbing, pest control, storage, and exterior maintenance. Vist www.ne-expo.com, or cal 617-274-4819 for more information.

Vendor Suggestions

If any tenant or owner has had positive experiences with vendors for plumbing, air-conditioning, appliances, window repair, doors, locks or any other condo-related service, and would like to suggest them, please contact the author of the blog by e-mail
(see my profile information) or make a comment here on this post.Thanks!

Street Sweeping

If you've been living in Salem for a year or more you know that there is an annual schedule for spring street cleaning. If you don't, this is important news because it will affect where you can park. According to the Salem Gazette, Norman Street and Holyoke Streets fall within Zone 2 and are scheduled for street cleaning (both sides) on May 7. This means that you should plan to park somewhere other than Norman or Holyoke Street on Friday, May 7th between 8am and 5pm. Similar to a snow ban, parking in areas designated for street cleaning can lead to your car being ticketed or towed. If you have any questions about the street sweeping visit the Gazette's web site at WickedLocalSalem.com, (go to the City Info tab on the homepage) or visit the Public Works page at salem.com or call 978-744-3302.

Regular Postings Coming Soon

I have spoken with both Mark and Carol at the 24 Norman Street Condo Association, to decide what kind of things we will be posting here on the blog.
We won't be posting any proprietary information such as financial, or foreclosure information, although we may list things like recent unit sales or purchases, since those are already public information. What we will be posting mostly are resources for typical unit maintenance issues such as air conditioning units, water heaters, windows, appliances, locks, etc. We may also be posting notices about general building maintenance issues, such as any updates to the laundry room, and upcoming repair to the recent water damage in the rear stairwell.
Local Salem events that have an impact on building tenants such as parking, street cleaning, trash, etc. may also be posted here. There has also been a suggestion for postings concerning the building's long and interesting history.
Feel free to post suggestions and comments and let us know if there is any particular subject that you would like to see addressed here. These postings will supplement, but not replace the bulletin board, and the annual condo meeting.
We will hopefully start posting regularly in the next week or so.