54th Annual Salem Heritage Days Begins August 1st

Mayor Kimberley Driscoll today announced this year’s Heritage Days schedule of events which begin on Saturday, August 1st and continue through Sunday, August 9th. 

Mayor Driscoll stated, “Another week of fun filled activities are in store for this annual tradition.
I want to thank all the event managers that have worked so hard to bring almost forty different activities to choose from during Heritage Days this year.” 

Heritage Days kicks off this year with the 27th Annual Salem Maritime Festival at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Derby Wharf from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The 27th Salem Maritime Festival will host an exciting array of free family fun festivities, including free harbor cruises, traditional craft demonstrations, and children's activities. Come cruise, sail, paddle, and row through four centuries of Salem maritime history. Explore the Friendship of Salem and visiting vessels.  It doesn’t stop there folks, there are also three different events happening at the Willows on Saturday.  Be entertained by the Bridgin G.A.P.S. concert with performances ranging from local and non-local recording artists, live bands, dance groups, poets and other performance beginning at noon and running until 6:00 p.m. The Firemen’s Muster takes place at 12:30 p.m. where crews will compete to throw the longest stream of water with an antique hand pumped fire engine.  Clown Day will be also be happening from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. where clowns will be on hand all day to make balloon figures for your children, get their face painted and let them be entertained by a special performance at 2:30pm.

New this year is the City and the Salem Moose Family Center joining forces to combine Sunday’s August 2nd tour-a-truck event with Public Safety Day that usually happens in September.  Along with all of the kids’ big truck favorites, there will be some music and many new things to do and see.  The Ladies of the Moose will be donating 50 bike helmets to be fitted by the Salem Police Department (first come first serve).

Also new this year, something a bit different, Sail Salem will be hosting the 2015 Optimist New England Championship Sailing Regatta at Winter Island with over 400 young sailors from around the country. Although you may only catch a glimpse of the races from Waikiki Beach or the Willows Pier, the best view will be on spectator boats, so think about booking passage. (for rates and reservations go to Sea-Shuttle.com or www.MahiCruises.com. For more information about the Regatta go to www.sailsalem.org

Don’t worry, all your favorites are packed into the schedule:  Salem’s Best Pizza Contest, the Salem Community Concert Band; the Ice Scream Bowl; Kids Night on the Common, the Essex Street Fair and the 14th Annual Phillips House Antique Car Meet to name a few.

During Heritage Week there are also four activities just for Salem Seniors: an ice cream social; a barbecue; a wellness fair and a dinner dance.

For our residents, Salem is the perfect place for your STAY-CATION.  Spend a day being a tourist and take advantage of the generosity of our tourist related business community. Many are free to Salem residents all year long like the Peabody Essex Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, the Salem Trolley (June-September), and the House of the Seven Gables.  The Witch House will be free to Salem residents during Heritage week and Pioneer Village will be free to residents on Saturday August 1st. The Salem Ferry always has discounts for residents and during Heritage Days the Sea Shuttle, Mahi Mahi Cruises and the Schooner Fame are offering discounts for residents.

As part of the celebration, the City of Salem will double the merchant one-hour validation stamps at both garages, so spend a little bit longer enjoying downtown (some restrictions do apply).

CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Some Trash Etiquette

With several new people having moved into the building recently, we thought it might be a good idea to go over some basic dumpster etiquette.
When disposing of cardboard boxes in the recycling bins, please take them apart and break them down as much as possible. Please don't do this:

Also, when throwing your bags of trash into the dumpster, please make sure that they go INSIDE the dumpster. Do not throw them on top, beside or in front of the dumpster. The dumpster looked like this recently, even though there was plenty of room in the back half of the dumpster.

 We ended up with trash all over the surrounding area.

This is always an issue, but especially during the summer months, when stray trash attracts all kinds of vermin such as flies, rats and even fat squirrels. (As well as smelling and looking bad).

Another issue is the disposal of large furniture or other trash items . We recently had this to contend with this discarded toilet.

The dumpster is not intended for construction debris, or large furniture items. If an item doesn't fit in the dumpster, you need to make your own arrangements to dispose of it.
If you are having work done on your unit, you must make sure your plumber or carpenter will dispose of these kinds of items off-site.
The new trash disposal service is not required to take these kinds of items, and if you leave them we run the risk of not having our regular trash picked up.
If you place an item of this kind out by the dumpster, it requires Markwood to hire someone other than our regular trash service to dispose of it, which costs extra money. The more money we take from the operating budget, (i.e. your condo fee) to haul this crap away, the less we have for other expenses and repairs.

Your cooperation is much appreciated.

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

Salem Farmers Market 2015 Opens June 11!

When the opening bell rings at 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, the Salem Farmers’ Market will officially kick off its seventh season in its current format on Derby Square. With over 30 vendors, the market will be held at Derby Square on Front Street in Salem, MA every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. from June 11th through October 22nd, 2015.

Opening day will set the tone for the largely volunteer-run market that, over the next five months, gives residents and tourists alike the opportunity to buy farm-fresh produce, seafood, baked goods, meat, and a variety of other goods. Every week the market will offer demonstrations and live music.

“The market has truly become a destination for the community – it’s a gathering place as well as an opportunity to get fresh, local produce and other goods,"   Salem Main Streets Executive Director Kylie Sullivan said, adding that the 2014 market season brought an attendance of well over 35,000 market-goers. “With the great range of vendors that we have, there’s something for everyone at to our farmers’ market.” 

At the heart of the market are seven major farms who will attend this year: Clark Farm, Gibney Gardens, Maitland Mountain Farm, Grant Family Farm, Heavens Harvest Certified Organic Farm, Long Hill Orchard, and Wally's Vegetables. They are complemented by an array of specialty foods, bakery products, spices, and non-food vendors.

Exciting new additions to the market include Honey Pot Farm (honey and maple syrup), Swissbakers (baked goods), Just Herbals (herbal products), All Fruit (nuts and dried fruit mixes), and Grassy Roots (juice).
       
As in previous years the farmers market will continue to take EBT through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

The market is made possible through the leadership of Salem Main Streets and the Farmers’ Market Committee, as well as the generous contributions of numerous volunteers.  For more information please contact Salem Main Streets Executive Director Kylie Sullivan via email at kylie@salemmainstreets.org. To get the latest updates about the farmers’ market, visit our website at  www.salemfarmersmarket.org  or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SalemMAFarmersMarket) or on Twitter (@salemfarmersmarket).

2015 Memorial Day Events in Salem

Salem Veterans Council's Memorial Weekend Events

Sunday May 24

10:15- Wreath laying ceremony at the Veterans Section of St. Mary's cemetery off of North Street
10:45- Following wreath laying there will be a navel cannon salute to those lost at sea at Winter Island
11:45- Memorial Day Mass at St. John's on St. Peter Street
1:00- Collation at the Polish League of American Veterans (PLAV) club on Daniels Street. All are welcome to attend.

Memorial Day-Monday May 25

10:30- Parade departs from Commercial Street. Free troley ride for any veteran unable to march.

11:00- Memorial Day ceremony at Green Lawn cemetery. Guest speaker is USMC LtCol Michael Hunter.
12:30- Collation at the VFW, 95 Derby Street. All are welcome to attend. Call 978-745-0883 if there are ay questions.

Waste Management to Take Over Salem Trash and Recycling Collection June 1

Good news for anyone who was completely frustrated by Northside Carting's unresponsiveness to the trash pick-up situation this February. (They basically didn't make any pick-ups at our building for the entire month).

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll today announced that the City will be transitioning to a new curbside trash and recycling collection contractor effective June 1. As of that date the City’s trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be conducted by Waste Management.
“Waste Management will be assigned the existing contract for a period of one month, as we work to negotiate and finalize a new multi-year contract with the company to officially commence July 1,” said Mayor Driscoll. “Over the last several months the existing contractor’s performance has significantly deteriorated and become a growing source of frustration for our residents and our City staff. Several weeks ago we began the process of legally separating ourselves from them and transitioning to a new vendor. I am pleased to announce that the new vendor, Waste Management, will be starting June 1.”
Between now and June 1st, residents who experience a missed trash or recycling pick-up should report it by calling 978-619-5673 or reporting it via www.seeclickfix.com/Salem_MA. The daily list of missed collections will be sent to Elite Waste Disposal, who is being contracted by the City to supplement the current contractor, Northside Carting, and help collect missed pick-ups. Elite will work to address the missed pick-up within 48 hours.

City officials are negotiating a new contract with Waste Management that will be submitted to the City Council before the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. That new contract will commence July 1 and additional details about it will be released once they are finalized. More information about the new collection contractor and any applicable changes to the City’s trash and recycling regulations will be posted at www.salem.com/recycling and sent via the City’s News & Announcements city-wide email list (http://salem.com/subscriber).

About Waste Management
Waste Management (www.wm.com) is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, serving more than 20 million customers in the U.S. and Canada. As part of our strategy, we are committed to developing new waste solutions that can help communities and organizations achieve their green goals, including zero waste. With the largest network of recycling facilities, transfer stations and landfills in the industry, our entire business can adapt to meet the needs of every distinct customer group. In 2012, we worked with over 100 Fortune 500 companies and helped over 150 different communities become greener.

FAQs regarding Salem’s trash and recycling pick-up effective June 1, 2015

Why did the contractor change?
Northside Carting was unable to provide appropriate service for Salem residents; the City negotiated with Waste Management WM to take over the contract effective June 1, 2015. A new 10 year contract is currently being negotiated to start July 1.

How do I report a missed trash or recycling pick-up after June 1st?
You can still report these issues on SeeClickFix (www.seeclickfix.com/salem_ma) or call Waste
Management customer service at 800-972-4545.

Can I still bring my materials to the Transfer Station at 12 Swampscott Road?
Yes, Salem residents with a valid Salem driver's license and a non-commercial vehicle registered in Salem, are able to drop off up to 50 lbs. of non-hazardous materials free, over 50 lbs. of non-hazardous materials $0.06/lb, $5 minimum, white goods free), and yard waste in paper bags or loose (free). Please note: Contractors or non-residents - $150.00/ton, $50.00 minimum charge.

Will the dumpster at my building change?
If your dumpster is part of the City contract and not privately contracted Waste Management will work with Northside Carting to change out the dumpsters as quickly as possible. In the meantime, your dumpster should be picked up on schedule.

Is there any change in how Salem recycles after June 1?
Not initially. For the first few months recycling collection will remain as is with a dual stream process
(separate paper and plastic/glass). Any changes to recycling regulations will be posted at
www.salem.com/recycling and announced via City-wide email (sign up at www.salem.com/subscriber).

Are there any changes to how my trash and recycling should be placed curbside after June 1?
For the first few months, trash and recycling regulations will remain the same: unlimited dual stream
recycling and 3 barrel/bag trash limit up to 35 gallons and weighing up to 50 lbs. per container per
household. One bulk item is allowed weekly, per household. Any changes to trash and recycling regulations will be posted at www.salem.com/recycling and announced via City-wide email.

How will I know why my material is left behind?
Waste Management will leave a sticker explaining the problem; also if you call their customer service office at 800-972-4545, they should be able to address the problem.