r/SalemMA

I just heard through the grapevine that Dairy Witch is done! They sold to the gas station next door and are retiring! I’m so sad, where else can we get a coffee strawberry twist with a crunch coat?!?!

May 5th Vote: If taxes are your main concern, vote YES

Many people are doing their research into the upcoming vote on may 5th. A yes vote would allow the city to pay for the bond that allows the creation of demolition of the old high school, and the creation of the new high school. There is obviously a significant cost associated with capital projects like this, so I wanted to outline what a yes and a no vote would lead to. Note I am not comparing the cost to surrounding school projects. The fact of the matter is that this design has been in the works for years and it is too late to make any substantive changes to the proposal. There will be work done on the school either way. We are paying more taxes one way or another. Tim Flynn has a post on his campaign page detailing the financials from school committee member Meg Stott: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1568586367169737/permalink/1824276008267437/

Regardless of if you have kids that would benefit from the new school, YES is the only financially viable path we have forward at this point. If you want to pay less in taxes over 30 years - this is the correct option to take. You can use the calculator here to see the difference in what you will pay with either of these options: https://sites.google.com/salemk12.org/shs-building-committee/salem-high-school-property-tax-impact?authuser=0

What a yes vote would do

• Allow the city to pay the bond for the construction of the new school
• Apply a special override to property taxes above the 2.5% increase allowed annually by the state
• The city would be paying 239m over 30 years.
• The city would significantly reduce energy costs, with a new zero emissions building
• The school would have solar panels and geothermal it would pull on for heating and energy creation
• Due to said energy savings, we would be more economically stable with a world crisis like we are seeing at the strait of hormuz.
• The school would be able to have new trade education options like sustainable energy 
• The city may be able to open new funding sources by renting out the new spaces
• The city would have significantly better sporting options for students and the community
• Students will be less disrupted than with the rehab plan

What a no vote would do

• Decimate the city financially. We will have to start the rehab or risk losing accreditation. The city cannot current afford to pay one month’s worth of this project without the debt exclusion
• Massive cuts across the city - think the roads were bad this snowstorm? Think the cuts we just had for teachers were bad? Those will pale in comparison to future years. See the issues Beverly had with trash collection? That would be us and completely self inflicted
• The city pays MORE for the rehabilitation project. A full renovation would cost us 463 Million compared to 239 Million for a new school
• Since we no longer have a plan for fixing the current issues with the school, NEASCA will start the process to remove our accreditation
• Students will be significantly impacted by the in place renovations during the school year
• Everyone in Salem would be severely and negatively impacted by a NO vote.

Arguments

• We should raise taxes from elsewhere to fund this
  • If this was an option, I would agree! But theres not income stream that could cover this expense, it just doesn't exist.

   

• We can just apply for a grant for the rehab
  • We could do this, but it will take years
  • If our current plan falls apart, the NEASC will have to start the process of removing our accreditation. “…NEASC will engage with the district, which then must demonstrate a clear process for addressing the code violations and system failures identified both in the 2020 NEASC report and the architecture/engineering assessment conducted for the MSBA process. A failure to address these building failures will initiate the process of de-accreditation for Salem High School.”
  • I asked some NO voters about this and they said their plan was “Trust me we will never lose accreditation, its just empty threats” 
  • Construction costs continue to rise, and there's no guarantee we wont be paying the exact same cost, and voting on another debt exclusion in the coming years IF we can even secure the grant. 
  • Salem had been applying for this grant for almost a decade. We just got our turn. Not guarantees we would be a priority after voting down a perfectly good plan
• I don’t think we will need to rehab as much as they say - it will cost less than we expect
  • The valuation for the cost assessment was from the State. The state requires two independent agencies to conduct the valuation and they both have to agree on the final cost estimate. 
  • The argument here is that the experts the city paid were wrong and we don't actually have to fix as much as they said we did. I asked if they had an opposing expert opinion to validate this and they said they knew a facilities guy at Northeastern who said the current plan was not detailed enough and so he’s voting no.
  • I asked them if they could come up with a rough proposal that someone could explain why they think it would cost less. They said the city should pay for a new study (in addition to the current study the city did), for something we are voting on next month, and that we should wait for that vote no. This would mean we would be back to having no plan and risk losing accreditation.
  • Another glaring issue is that they argue that the remediation will cost less but that the new school will cost more than expected. There isn't consistent logic and they have nothing to back up any of this.

   

• We can just pay for the rehab by maxing out our 2.5% increase every year and cutting the city budget
  • The city cannot afford this cost without the debt exclusion. It would wipe out our entire reserves in the first month and would only get worse from there. That means we would need to cut the majority of the government's budget just to fund this one building. Which in turn means we will need to lay off more teachers to fund a building, but we won't have teachers to fill the classrooms in the building… 
  • The 2.5% is a permanent increase, as opposed to this debt exclusion. That means while we may pay less to start, we will be paying more 30 years from now compared to when this ends. The city can still do this increase every year, but that's something we can decide each year, and not be FORCED to do it to pay for this capex
• The old school isn’t that bad
  • If we go through this process of rehab, there is no guarantee that we will not have to do another massive rehab in 10 years
  • The old school accounts for over 30% of the heating budget for Salem. The one singular building. 
  • There is asbestos, falling ceiling tiles and a failing hvac system. Cooling does not happen in most rooms, The heating system is ancient and never worked right. 
  • The school is completely oversized for our school population  
  • The elevator will need to be rebuilt to be ADA compliant and will require massive disruption and cost to achieve this. 
  • The old building uses and outdated layout for teaching and will never be energy efficient. It was built in the 70s at the height of shoddy workmanship for schools. A rehab project would not be the final work we have to do on this school.
• The city was not transparent enough / they should have picked the rehab from the start
  • This has been a years-long process with multiple opportunities for public input. People concerned could have participated in the building committee if they felt strongly about this. The committee was composed of volunteers who wanted to participate. 
  •  Some of these folks shared these same concerns with the experts and building committee, and they still decided a new build was the best case scenario. 
  • You can see the entire timeline here: https://sites.google.com/salemk12.org/shs-building-committee/media?authuser=0

Vote on May 5th everyone! The fate of the city for the next 30 years depends on it.

https://www.salemma.gov/1274/Important-Election-Information-for-2026

Check your polling location here: 

https://www.salemma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9007/CITY-OF-SALEM-POLLING-LOCATIONS-2026

I've got a 9-5 but trying to pick up a side gig. Figured I would check here first to see if anyone knows of places specifically looking for this kind of help!

I guess also open to other kinds of work in those same hours, doesn't have to be a resto!

What can be done about elderly people who should not be allowed to drive? In this area, I encounter this regularly. During rush hour this evening, I got stuck behind an old lady in a white suv in Salem who proceeded to break randomly just to aggravate the situation after I honked at her. I get stuck behind people who clearly can’t see going 10mph all the time. People over 65 should have to take the driving test again. They cause tons of accidents and create tons of traffic.

Jersey mikes does a solid cheesesteak but I’ve found for many pizzerias, it’s hit or miss. What’s your favorite? Bonus points if it comes WITHOUT pepperoni

Hello everyone! I posted before that I plan to propose to my gf this October in Salem. I have the location set ( thanks to Reddit) and a photographer! However, I want to have floral arrangements set up for her. If anyone knows or loves certain flower shops that do proposals. Please let me know! Thank you.

Hey all,

I’m about to become a Salem resident (ecstatic about this!) and will be living very close to the 455 bus. I plan on using it a lot to get downtown, which should take me less than 10 min on a normal day. But how much does Halloween season impact the bus route’s ability to function and stick to any sort of reliable schedule? How does everyone navigate that? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, we have several cases of Enfamil Alimentum Ready to Feed that we no longer need. We haven’t had luck finding a place to donate it. If anyone is in need send me a DM.

Hey everyone. I am planning on visiting for the last weekend in September. My family and I love Halloween, but we are from Sleepy Hollow and get how annoying tourists can be.

So to not be one of the assholes I curse off for 6 weeks of my life, what can we do to enjoy ourselves without making you guys miserable?

Who can give me the supplier of the bill and bobs mac and cheese bites 🫣🫣

Hi everyone!

I visit Salem pretty often but have never paid attention to how many or which stores are dog friendly. My sister is visiting next month and is used to bringing her 10 lb fluff ball of a dog with her everywhere. He's very well behaved, doesn't bark much, and loves people/is very friendly. She lives in NYC and usually will carry him in a bag when she's going into stores or other places.

I don't know if I need to either prepare her for keeping him at my home or one of us will need to wait outside certain stores..? If anyone knows any stores that are dog friendly and/or allow well behaved/trained dogs into them I would greatly appreciate the recommendations! I also understand and respect if most stores are not dog friendly. I'm already assuming most of the museums/historic buildings wouldn't allow any animals other than service animals. Thank you in advance.

Seriously, what is happening with the pothole situation everywhere?! In and out of town is a disaster and it seems like there’s never any repair under way. Is it that there’s no budget? Is it spite? A dare? My poor car can’t take it.