A Note About the Disposal of Large Items

Last week a resident of 24 Norman Street had their water heater replaced. Unfortunately, the plumbers who did the replacement, did not take the old unit with them and left it sitting outside
by the recycling bins.

Another resident disposed of a large couch by pushing it out a window and leaving it leaning against the west side of the building.

If you are planning on disposing of large items, you must make arrangements either with Markwood or with a qualified vendor.
Do not place large items in or next to the dumpster or leave them sitting outside.
Our regular trash service will not take these items. We cannot stress this enough.
This includes mattresses, tables, chairs, couches, refrigerators, air/heating units, cabinets, toilets, bathtubs, sinks, and last but not least, water heaters. Professional plumbers and carpenters will take their trash with them if you ask them to. If they will not or cannot take it, then you should look for one that will.

If you dispose of items improperly, Markwood is forced to call our maintenance service to come and remove the items from the property. We get charged for this every time it happens, and we will then pass on that charge to you.

 In the case of the water heater, the cost of removal is being billed back to the unit owner. If you have questions about disposing of large items or want to arrange to have something picked up, please call Markwood Management at (781) 639-4080. Thank you for your cooperation.

Christmas Tree Disposal-2017

Christmas is a time where homes are filled with love and holiday cheer. Unfortunately, it's also a time when homes are filled with things that will need to be disposed of, particularly your Christmas tree.
You have two options this year:

OPTION 1:
Curbside pickup
City-wide Christmas tree curbside collection will continue to take place January 9 -13, 2017. 
Please leave your tree curbside on the same day as your regularly scheduled trash day and Waste Management will pick up your tree. Trees should be on the curb bare, with no bags or decorations.
Since Christmas falls on a Sunday, trash pickup will operate on a regular schedule.

OPTION 2:
14th Annual Christmas Tree Bonfire
 The City’s 14th annual Christmas tree bonfire will be held at Dead Horse Beach on Memorial Drive on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 6:00 p.m., weather permitting. 
Waste Management trucks will be picking up trees curbside on the same day as your regularly scheduled trash day beginning January 2nd.  If you really want to make sure your tree is part of the bonfire, you can drop it off at the entrance to Dead Horse Beach after January 2nd or bring it to the bonfire on the 6th.

Please don't forget that all decorations and lights must be removed from your tree. 

In case of inclement weather (rain/snow/wind) the bonfire will be held on Saturday evening, January 7th at 6:00 p.m. Check www.salem.com for rescheduling information. 

Finally, DO NOT place your tree inside or next to the dumpster. 

24 NORMAN STREET CONDOMINIUM TRUST NOTICE OF 2017 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2017 Annual Meeting ofthe 24 Norman Street Condominium Trust will be held Wednesday, January 11,2017 @ 6:30 PM in the Heritage Room ofthe Heritage Plaza Condominium, 10 Norman Street (next door, lower level), Salem, Massachusetts.
You should have received the meeting package and proxy for your information and review by mail. If you have not, please contact Markwood Management.
At this meeting, you will be electing three trustees for one-year terms. George Courage, Anna Zabierek, and Jessie Zuberek have volunteered to serve as trustees. If you are interested in adding your name to the ballot, please contact Markwood Management no later than Friday, January 6, 2017 and be prepared to present yourself at the meeting.
There will also be news about progress on the National Grid "pit" situation.
Please direct any questions to Markwood Management. Thank you!

A Word About Dealing with "Issues"

As we all know, living in a small space with neighbors above, below, and on either side of you, can lead to occasional friction. This is bound to happen at some point, so it is important to know, and follow some simple protocols for dealing with those frictions.
Recently Markwood Management was surprised to learn that there was an incident on the third floor where the police were called to intervene.  "Surprised" is the operative word here. Markwood had no idea that this incident had been the capper of an ongoing situation. This is unfortunate, because it is an issue that should have been resolved internally, without involving the police, but is all too common. This shows a breakdown in communication between Markwood and the residents, so...
Here are some information and guidelines for problem resolution to keep in mind.


Emergencies:
LEVEL 1:  If there is a situation which is immediately threatening: Fire, Accident, Medical Emergency, Criminal Activity (burglary, theft, physical violence) Call the Police or the Fire Department first. After the emergency has been addressed, (and only then) call Markwood and let them know what happened.
LEVEL 2:
If there is an incident in the maintenance realm (broken pipe, leaking toilet or water tank, electrical issues, roof leaks, blocked driveway or dumpster, broken washing machine or dryer, non-working lights, locks etc.) Call Markwood Management immediately. There is an emergency number to call if there is an actual emergency.
Markwood will try to get back to you as soon as possible (usually within 20 minutes).

Issues with neighbors:
If you are having a recurring, persistent issue with a neighbor over noise, pets, smoking (or other noxious smells), you need to let Markwood know what is going on. Don't wait until you are in crisis mode before you call them. Calling the Markwood the emergency line in the middle of the night when you are upset about a loud neighbor is probably not the most productive way of addressing the issue.  Even a "heads-up" call can go a long way to helping sort out a situation.
There are several channels for addressing this this. You can call or e-mail the Markwood office. You can e-mail or call one of the (3) trustees. You can speak in person to the two Trustees who live in the building. You can even comment on the blog.

The Process for problem resolution:
 Whenever there is a reported "incident, it takes time for Markwood to investigate and sort out the situation. There are two sides to every story, and just because one party is convinced  that something is a problem doesn't mean that it actually is one, or that the incident they related is what actually happened. 
Also there are limited tools for dealing with repeated violations of the condo rules and bylaws. Markwood is not a police force. The main mechanism of enforcement (besides written warnings), is the fine. Fines are levied on owners for violations of the condo rules (not tenants). The fines at 24 Norman Street are substantial starting at $100 for the first incident, and escalating if the infractions continue.  They can amount to hundreds and even thousands of dollars. If they are not paid, a lien is attached to the property. That means the property cannot be sold without paying the fines. That gives owners a pretty compelling reason to make sure that they and their tenants behave.
Markwood also relies on the owners who sublet to renters, to educate their tenants about the rules and bylaws. Too often new tenants are not even informed of the rules or given a copy of the bylaws by the owner. Ultimately it is owners who are responsible for maintaining and enforcing the rules.

Responsiveness:
Markwood  Management manages many different properties. They are a small office with many duties and responsibilities, so they may not get back to you immediately about every issue. That does not mean that they are not addressing it. Addressing tenant/owner issues is a slow process and it sometimes takes months to resolve an issue; either the tenant complies with the rules, or the owner is forced to evict the tenant. The more cooperative the owner is, the quicker it usually goes.

If Markwood does not get back to you in a timely way, please speak to one of the Trustees.
It is their job to make sure that Markwood is doing it's job. If you never tell us there is an issue, then we assume there isn't one. So let's avoid any future "surprises".

Holyoke Petition Update

 

A petition to overturn (or modify) the current tour bus parking ordinance for Holyoke Street has been posted to the bulletin board at 24 Norman Street. The tour bus parking is adversely affecting  Gedney Street merchants, and they are also supporting the petition and have their own version posted at Steve's Market. 

In case you missed it, Kate Fox of Destination Salem, (with the support of our Ward 2 Councilor Heather Famico), petitioned to change the City Ordinance pertaining to Tour Bus Parking and make all of Holyoke Square (east side) designated Tour Bus parking.
This process was started last May without informing any of the local residents or merchants of the proposed change. After two council meetings the ordinance passed several weeks ago in a narrow 5-6 vote. Ward Councillors, Sargent, Milo, Lovely and Dibble were opposed. 

If you are feeling concerned about the lack of neighborhood parking now that the east side of Holyoke St. is reserved for tour buses, we urge you to sign the petition. 

This effort is being spearheaded by Joan Zabkar, who successfully headed up efforts to undo the ill-advised installation of parking meters on Gedney St. by Steve's Market. 

Our goal is to collect as many as 4,000 signatures from area residents, merchants, and sympathetic Salem residents from other wards. It is our only chance to undo the ordinance which is in effect year round, 7 days a week between the hours of 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM.

Please sign the petition!

City of Salem’s 6th Clothing and Household Textiles Recycling Drive

In honor of America Recycles Day, celebrated annually on November 15th, SalemRecycles is partnering with Goodwill Massachusetts and SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association) to host the City of Salem’s 6th Clothing and Household Textiles Recycling Drive. It will be held:

This Saturday, November 19
Riley Plaza (across from the Post Office)
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

It is your opportunity to donate all usable and questionable items in one central location.
What began as a program to educate the citizens of Salem that used household textiles and clothing can be reused or repurposed, has become over the course of 5 years a sort of pilgrimage. Fittingly it is celebrated the Saturday before Thanksgiving and it has grown with each passing year. Contributors come by car, truck, bicycle, and even by foot. They come because they know those questionable items they don’t think have value can make a difference to someone else.
Do we save the t-shirt with the small stain? Do we hang up the sweater that needs new buttons - the one we keep re-hanging with the belief that this year will be the year we fix it? The items we have in our closets that we feel are not worthy of giving to charity, the old handbag, the belt with the broken buckle, what do we do with these?
This year, as you sort through your “not so wonderful” items, keep in mind that the City of Salem has come up with a solution to help ease your mind and keep those items from heading for the trash. Every week we recycle our papers, glass and metal, but we tend to overlook the textiles we have in our homes.
While most of us are familiar with Goodwill, a charitable industry that provides job training to benefit hundreds of thousands of people each year, many of us are unfamiliar with SMART. Since 1932 SMART has been working with organizations such as Goodwill to recycle, re-use and repurpose all clothing and household textiles that might otherwise end up in the trash.
SMART members, in concert with the charitable industry, divert 2.5 billion lbs. of waste that would otherwise fill our landfills each year. These charitable industries rely on the revenue produced when SMART members buy the unusable textiles to help fund their ongoing community based programs such as the Goodwill job training center right here in Salem. Items such as clothing, dish cloths, curtains, and even shoes can be repurposed into other items such as rags, insulation and carpet underlayment. As long as these are clean and dry (a must) they can find a second purpose.

To find a complete list of all acceptable pieces that you can donate please visit www.salem.com/recycling.  And to learn more about other environmentally friendly programs and resources in Salem, please visit our website at www.greensalem.com.
Please call 978-619-5679 for any specific questions, or e-mail jrose@salem.com
Read more: http://www.salem.com/node/97253

A Parking Petition

A petition to eliminate the tour bus parking on the east side of Holyoke Street that was recently instituted is in the works and will be available to sign at Steve's Market very soon. Apparently the residents of 24 Norman Street are not the only ones in the neighborhood who are upset about the lack of due process, representation and transparency in the city council decision to take away an entire street of local and resident daytime parking in favor of tour buses. The decision, instigated by Kate Fox of Destination Salem, and supported by our ward councilor, Heather Famico, adversely affects not only us, but customers of the businesses on Gedny Street, and even the residents of 10 Norman Street and Barton Square. If we get enough signatures on the  petition, we have a good chance of overturning this decision, as the city councilor vote to do this was very close (6 councilors voted for it, 5 voted against it) I will keep you posted as things develop.