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1. THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY HOURS AT TOWN BUILDINGS

All Non-Emergency Town Offices will be closed on Thursday, November 25, 2021 for Thanksgiving, including the Dedham Public Library.  The following hours will be observed this week: 

• Tuesday – 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
• Wednesday – 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
• Thursday – CLOSED
• Friday – 8:30AM to 4:30 PM

• Tuesday – 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Wednesday – 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Thursday – CLOSED
• Friday – 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM

• Tuesday – 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Wednesday – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Thursday – CLOSED
• Friday – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Saturday – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

• Tuesday – 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
• Wednesday – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Thursday – CLOSED
• Friday – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Saturday - CLOSED

Note: Police Department and Fire Department remain open 24 hours / 7 days a week:

• For emergencies: Call 911
• For Police Non-Emergency: Call 781-751-9300
• For Fire Non-Emergency: Call 781-751-9400

Recycling & Trash:

Recycling and Trash will not be collected on Thursday, November 25, 2021. As a result, all Thursday collections will happen on Friday, November 26th, and Friday collections will happen on Saturday, November 27th. Regular service schedules will resume on Monday, November 29th. For more information, please visit the Recycling & Trash page on our website. 

2. WEEKLY BOH UPDATE AND THANKSGIVING SAFETY 

Below please find a chart of COVID-19 statistics for Dedham and the State as of November 18, 2021. More statistics can be found on www.mass.gov. 

MA data taken from www.mass.gov on November 18, 2021. 

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! To help you enjoy a safe Thanksgiving, remember to take precautions like wearing a mask and washing your hands, and avoid activities that put you, your family, and your friends at increased risk for COVID-19.  Here are more tips: 

• Wear well-fitting masks over your nose and mouth if you are in public indoor settings if you are not fully vaccinated.
• Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
• If you are sick or have symptoms, don’t host or attend a gathering.
• Get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have a close contact with someone who has COVID-19.

If you are considering traveling for a holiday or event, visit CDC’s Travel page to help you decide what is best for you and your family.

Image source: https://www.merakey.org/about/news/thank-you-and-happy-thanksgiving

3. UPCOMING CHANGES TO TRASH & RECYCLING SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS

As presented at the September 23, 2021 Select Board meeting[1] by the Town Manager, the Department of Public Works (DPW) Director and the DPW Administrative Assistant, changes are being made to current trash and recycling services in Dedham.  

Beginning on January 1, 2022, residents will pay for the pick-up and disposal of white goods and bulky items at the time of scheduling directly with Waste Management. Additionally, residents will receive a larger trash cart to replace the existing 64-gallon cart. Developed as part of the Town’s ongoing process to review solid waste and recycling options in Dedham, these changes are expected to improve service to residents, help control increasing costs for disposal, and continue to support the Town’s environmental goals.

So, what happens next?

Bulky Items and White Goods

Beginning January 1, 2022, Dedham will follow practices already in place in neighboring communities, like Norwood and Westwood, where residents schedule and pay for the disposal of their white goods and bulky items with Waste Management directly. To ensure a smooth transition, any pickup scheduled by December 31, 2021 will be picked up and paid for by the Town. 

Under the current contract for trash and recycling services, the Town covers all disposal costs for bulky items and white goods. In 2020 alone, the Town paid a total of $219,894.86 to dispose of over 8,000 items.

Larger Trash Carts

To address common concerns regarding the size of the trash carts, the working group has recommended the replacement of the 64-gallon cart with a new, 96-gallon cart for each resident. The estimated timeline of delivery to residents is early December. The DPW will provide more details and updates regarding delivery of new carts when available. Waste Management will deliver the new trash carts to each resident and remove the smaller trash carts at the same time.  

The purchase of the new, 96-gallon trash carts is at no cost to the residents as the Town will utilize funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, commonly referred to as ARPA.

By providing larger trash carts to each resident, the Town expects recycling contamination to decrease, saving taxpayers approximately $41,000 per year in additional fees. The Town will also save money in replacement and repair costs for existing trash carts as they have gone beyond their useful life (approximately $93,000 spent over the past 12 months). 

Extend Current Contract and Prepare RFP

The current contract with Waste Management has been extended to the end of June 2022 to align with the Town’s fiscal calendar, and provide more time to prepare RFP(s) for future trash and recycling haulers. With the additional six months, the Town will outline the specific needs of future service and collect qualified responses within the advertised timeframe. Discussions and research will also continue about Town-wide composting opportunities.

The Select Board and the working group are confident these steps will help to ensure the trash and recycling services here in Dedham fit the needs of residents and function efficiently and consistently. The feedback collected from residents has been helpful to inform the discussions and to identify the various areas of improvement for both the short-term and long-term planning. 

About the Working Group

The Select Board formed an internal working group in Spring 2021 to research the current trash and recycling services and to provide recommendations that directly reflect the feedback from many residents, including the size of the trash carts compared to recycling carts, and to address other areas of concern, such as increased recycling contamination and associated fees, and the town-paid disposal costs for all bulky items and white goods.  

The working group has prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) based on communications from residents to help provide additional information about these updates. To view the FAQs, please visit the Town website at https://www.dedham-ma.gov/recyclingtrashupdates

To learn more about Trash and Recycling and to participate in future public discussions, please visit www.dedham-ma.gov/trash_recycling, and subscribe to future email notifications from the Town at www.dedham-ma.gov/subscribe and select “Recycling & Trash”.

[1] Presentation available on the Town website at https://www.dedham-ma.gov/trash_recycling

4. HOLIDAY PARKING METER RATES IN DECEMBER 2021

Meters in Dedham Square will offer two hours of free parking starting on Friday, December 17, 2021. The holiday waiver will be in effect through the Christmas weekend. 

Please note that the 2-hour time limit remains in effect. For example, if you leave a car parked at a meter for longer than two hours during posted times, the vehicle owner should expect to receive a $20 citation by mail.

Metered parking is enforced Monday through Saturday:

• 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Along High Street west of Washington Street and on Court Street
• 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - On both sides of Washington Street, between High Street and Bryant Street

On-street parking is free before and after posted times and all day on Sunday. Free parking is available all week long in three nearby municipal lots:

• Keystone Lot (10 Eastern Avenue) 138 spaces
• Lower Gonzalez (506 High Street) 45 spaces
• Upper Gonzalez (420 Providence Highway) 27 spaces

Select Board members voted unanimously on November 18 to waive the parking fees for the benefit of local businesses. The Town has traditionally provided free holiday parking during the month of December.

if you require assistance using the parking meters or experience technical issues,  please call the Parking Enforcement Officer at (781) 751-9245.

5. Public Safety Building Updates

What to expect November 22, 2021 (Monday) through November 26, 2021 (Friday):

• The project site remains closed to the public.
• As of Friday, November 19, 2021, crews have successfully completed the installation of the second floor duct mains.
• The dewatering system remains in place and operational and the contractor onsite will be installing a new drain manhole.
• Crews completed half of the slab-on-grade installation and the wet curing process is underway.
• During this week, crews will continue the following work onsite:
  • Installation of underground electric and overhead automatic transfer switch (ATS) conduits in the garage
  • Installation of drainage manholes and water quality structure on Bryant Street
  • Installation of concrete masonry unit (CMU) wall along the north, east, and south of the site
  • Installation of CMU wall along the interior cell blocks, apparatus bays, restrooms, dispatch area, Sallyport, and mezzanine
  • Continued installation of the rain leader piping (designed to direct stormwater away from the building) and the Town of Dedham Plumbing Inspector will be onsite
  • Installation of air/vapor barrier on high roofs
• The exterior cold formed metal framing and DensGlass installation is underway and will continue this week on the first and second floors.
• Expect periodic entrance and exit of large trucks at the project site entrance, located at the intersection of Washington Street and Bryant Street. Please expect minor traffic delays at this intersection.
• No additional traffic impacts or pedestrian impacts are anticipated during this week.
• The project site will be closed on Thursday, November 25, 2021 in observance of Thanksgiving Day.

Project Team Contact Information:

• Immediate issues or concerns, please contact the Dedham Town Manager’s Office at 781-751-9100.
• For general questions or concerns, please contact the project team at psb@dedham-ma.gov
• For more information about the Public Safety Building Project, please visit the project website at www.dedham-ma.gov/psb
• Download our project team contact information flyer on the project website

6. Meetings/Community Events

Thursday, 11/25/21:

• Thanksgiving – Town Offices Closed
• Family Gratitude 5k Turkey Trot & Kids ½ Mile Run – Beginning at 8:00 AM (Kids Run) at the Endicott Estate

Events shown as listed on the Town calendar as of 11/22/21. Don't forget to check out the Dedham Public Library events calendar and the Dedham Public Schools calendar!

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