Annual Meeting, 3/25, 6:30pm

March 2, 2010

Hi Neighbors,

The Cypress Area Neighborhood Group’s Annual Meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, March 25th from 6:30pm-7:30pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Methuen.  We will meet in the church hall on the lower level which can be accessed from the parking lot off of Elm Street.

At the meeting, we will celebrate our past successes and make plans for future actions going forward.  Please bring a dessert to share.

Please email me with your ideas for agenda items.  What I have for agenda items thus far are…

  • talk about what projects we want to work on together in the Spring
  • confirm block party dates and divide up responsibilities
  • continued discussions about police presence in the area

Take care.

–Chris

P.S. Thanks to Hoppy for securing our meeting space at Our Lady of Good Counsel.


Community policing personnel change

February 27, 2010

Hi Neighbors,

I wanted to inform you all that I just learned that our contact for Methuen Community Policing, Lt. Kevin Martin (Kmartin@ci.methuen.ma.us), has recently been reassigned out of Community Policing and is now the swing shift Commanding Officer.  Lt. Martin has been a supporter of our neighborhood group by always being willing to listen to us, attend our meetings (or sending a representative), and working to address our concerns.  We thank Lt. Martin for his efforts on our behalf and wish him well in his new post.  He will be missed.

Replacing Lt. Martin in Community Policing is Lt. Jim Jajuga (jjajuga@ci.methuen.ma.us).  We welcome Lt. Jajuga to his new position and look forward to working closely with him as we work together to improve the quality of life of our neighborhood’s residents.  Welcome aboard Lt. Jajuga!


Meeting Postponed

February 23, 2010

Hi Neighbors,

My apologies for the late notice, but due to scheduling conflicts with the church, we are going to postpone Wednesday’s Cypress Area Neighborhood mtg…until March.

Please email me with your ideas for agenda items.  What I have for agenda items thus far are…

  • talk about what projects we want to work on together in the Spring
  • confirm block party dates and divide up responsibilities
  • continued discussions about police presence in the area

Stay tuned for the rescheduled meeting date in March.

–Chris


Save the Date! Feb. 24th, 6:30pm‏

January 26, 2010

Hi Neighbors,

Just wanted to send out a quick “Save the Date” message.  The Cypress Area Neighborhood Group’s Annual Meeting is coming up.  It is scheduled for Wed., Feb. 24th, 2010 6:30pm-7:30pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church.  Please mark your calendars.  This will be a good opportunity to reconnect in the midst of winter.  We will celebrate our past successes and make plans for future actions going forward.  Please bring a dessert to share.

Take care.

–Chris


Caroling in the neighborhood

December 15, 2009

Hi Neighbors,

It is that time of year again to have some fun and also to bring joy to your fellow neighbors by going caroling.  On, Wed. December 23rd, a group of us will be meeting at Chuck & Jen’s house (12 Hemenway Street) at 6pm.  From there we will knock on doors around the neighborhood to sing some holiday favorites and hopefully put a smile on some faces.  After singing, we will head back to Chuck & Jen’s for some hot chocolate.  Hope you can join us.  Let me know if you can make it.

–Chris


Thanks to the City Council and Mayor

December 5, 2009

A bunch of us are planning on attending Methuen’s City Council mtg. this coming Monday night (Dec. 7, 6:45pm) to publicly thank the City Councilors and the Mayor for their support in installing sidewalks on Cypress Ave.  Please post a comment to let me know if you are able to meet us in the Council Chambers (Searles Building, 41 Pleasant Street) at 6:45pm.

Let’s do our part and show the City our appreciation!

–Chris


Our very own 1-mile walking route

November 29, 2009

Now that we have sidewalks, let’s be sure to use them!  I have included below a couple of “1-mile walking routes” throughout our neighborhood.  Feel free to get out and walk.  The more pedestrians walking in the neighborhood, the better.  Walking in the neighborhood can reduce crime, can slow drivers down, can encourage neighbors to get to know each other better, and can improve your health (mental & physical!).  Feel free to share your own favorite walking route by submitting a comment below.

Happy & safe walking!

–Chris

This is a 1.0-mile route


View Larger Map

This is a 1.1-mile route


View Larger Map


We’ve got sidewalks!

November 11, 2009

As you know, the much anticipated Cypress Ave. sidewalks have now been installed.  The City of Methuen recently finished installing new curbing & sidewalks on the east shoulder of Cypress Ave. continuing from the intersection of Haverhill St./Cypress Ave. down to the Methuen/Lawrence line.  In addition, the City installed new curbing and sidewalks on the west shoulder of Cypress Ave. from the Haverhill St./Cypress Ave. intersection down to the top of the steep hill going towards Meadow Street.

The steep hill on Cypress Ave. was a significant safety issue since there is no sight visibility for cars and there were no sidewalks for pedestrians.  Importantly, children can now walk more safely on sidewalks to their bus stop  at the top of Cypress Ave.  Thanks to the City, this safety issue has been resolved.  The next step is for the City to put in crosswalks at the top of Cypress, just prior to the QuickStop Convenience Store, and another one at the bottom of Cypress near Moisen Ave.

This is a great example of how a group of citizens can come together as one voice to identify a neighborhood safety issue and bring that issue forward to local government for help.  In this case, Methuen’s City Council heard the concerns, studied various options, and moved forward with a plan to resolve the concerns.  I am proud of our neighbors and proud of our local government for demonstrating how local government can work with its citizens to improve quality of life issues.


Drivers’ License Info.

October 21, 2009

For those of you that drive…

As you may know, the Registry of Motor Vehicles has stopped sending written reminders for license renewals. This has caused quite a bit of difficulty for many people who have let their licenses expire, expecting advance warning from the RMV.

Below is a link that will put you on an email reminder system. This will notify you when your license is set to expire.  Please take a moment to fill out the form and possibly avoid the aggravation and problems of an expired license.

Feel free to forward this on to friends and family with Mass licenses.

https://secure.rmv.state.ma.us/RMVReminder/intro.aspx

Stay Safe,

Chuck


Recycling? Now’s a great time to start!

October 21, 2009

Hello neighbors (and friends!),

I wanted to pass on some information on recycling. Recycling benefits us in two ways….1 – it saves on resources and therefore is better for the environment, and 2 – it saves money and is better for our tax rate. The city pays for the waste disposal contractor to pick up trash. The cost is based on a dollar figure per ton taken. When it comes to recycling, the city receives money based on a dollar figure per ton. So, by recycling, not only are we paying for less trash to be disposed of, but the city receives more money back! It’s a WIN-WIN.  Recyle bins are emptied every other week. The next time our neighborhood has recycle pick up is next Tuesday, Oct 27.

Reducing your trash by a few pounds a week is easy:
• Recycle ALL clean paper (e.g.mail, catalogues) and cardboard—if it RIPS, you can Recycle it! Recycling all paper and cardboard saves $.
-Flatten/cut cardboard boxes to 3′x 3′ x 3′or smaller (to fit in truck) and
mix with other paper products (e.g. newspapers, magazines)
-Pizza boxes are not allowed due to food/grease contamination
-Do not use boxes as containers for either trash or recycling.
• Turn spoils into soils — compost organic food scraps.
• Include ALL #1 – #7 plastic, metal and glass containers in your bin (please
rinse/no lids)
• Give unwanted stuff away: go to www.freecycle.org
• Reduce Trash! Buy products with less packaging.

Recycling bins are available at the DPW Yard on Lindberg Ave off of Mystic St. (978-983-8865). You can also make your own recycling bin by reusing a container that you already have. Clearly mark it in water-proof ink as a recycling container, or pick up colorful recycling decals at the DPW Yard or DPW office in City Hall.

For additional questions, contact the
Methuen DPW at 978-983-8545 or visit
http://www.ci.methuen.ma.us/DPW/DPW.htm

Stay Safe,

Chuck