Mayor Dicki outlines infrastructure upgrades, park grants and public-safety trends in State of the City

Mayor Dicki delivered the Salem State of the City address, detailing a year of infrastructure work, expanded park programming and steady public-safety operations while urging continued focus on planning and grant-seeking."Settle in or if you don't want to have to hear this whole thing, run now," she said, opening a comprehensive review of department accomplishments and plans.

The utilities report led the address. The city marked completion of the wastewater treatment plant Phase 3 project after about 2.5 years at an approximate cost of $18.5 million. The mayor said the upgrade included new dome covers and filter-media replacement, and the plant added a centrifuge that has allowed for dewatering averaging about 30% dry solids. A sludge-conditioning process the mayor called "pondis," said to increase methane production and reduce sludge volume, was put into service; the mayor noted this technology is used in several European locations and is now being applied in Salem. The plant also gained full backup generator coverage.

On the water side, the mayor said staff inspected and cleaned clear wells, repaired chemical tanks, replaced pumps and continued planning for a Phase 2 water-plant project. She outlined planned distribution projects including about 4,500 feet of replacement on Benton Road and a 12-inch main extension from Persing to Edgewood intended to eliminate several dead-end lines; the utilities department expects to apply for funding in spring 2026 to proceed.

Parks and community programming were a major focus. The parks department ran signature events (Easter egg hunt, 14 summer concerts, pool programming and two major seasonal festivals), renovated five ball fields at Waterworth Memorial Park, installed two chimney swift towers through a wildlife grant and planted 129 trees as part of an Earth Day initiative. The mayor said outside funding and grants for parks in 2025 totaled roughly $214,600 and listed example awards including a $49,000 NatureWorks grant and a $50,000 baseball-field grant.

Financial and development notes: the auditor's office reported a year-end carryover of about $1.5 million (roughly $1.6M when rounded), and the city noted rising planning-and-permit activity. Mayor Dicki said total zoning permits grew nearly 30% over a three-year period, commercial and industrial permits increased markedly, and permit-fee revenues showed year-over-year growth. She framed this as broad-based development activity and urged continued use of data-driven forecasting and code modernization to support adaptive reuse.

Public-safety and service updates: the fire department reported a small decline in total incidents with EMS calls composing roughly 70% of responses and an average response time that increased modestly from 4.22 to 4.53 minutes. The police department recorded more than 10,000 dispatch calls in 2025 and described community-policing outreach (about 14 events, ~3,800 contacts) and standard operational statistics.

The mayor also reviewed streets and service work (about three miles paved in 2025, guardrail and catch-basin repairs), IT and security upgrades (Windows 11 and server planning, door controls and employee badging), and several grant awards tied to downtown and traffic-signal projects. She said the city completed the purchase of a red barn for Lincoln Plaza, renegotiated cell-tower contracts for increased revenue, and successfully renewed a local income tax levy to support paving and sidewalk work.

Committee business and next steps: committee chairs gave brief reports. The Public Services Committee scheduled a March 3 meeting (basketball courts and a potential street-renaming item). The Downtown Committee minutes were read into the record; those minutes recounted a downtown snow-removal response that included an announced no-parking ban, roughly 80 towed vehicles reported in the minutes, and removal of multiple truckloads of snow. The committee noted a proposal for a public–private contract for year-round downtown walkway maintenance estimated at about $32,000 per year; members said they would pursue more information at a future meeting.

The meeting concluded with brief council remarks of appreciation for the orientation and the mayor's report, and the council adjourned. The address included multiple department-specific figures and several short names or numeric items whose transcript formatting appeared inconsistent; the mayor and department reports remain the primary source for follow-up questions to staff about grant details, contract terms and precise billing/revenue figures.