A snow emergency has been declared beginning at 5:30PM today with a parking ban starting six hours later at 11:30PM. All cars must be removed from our surface lot by 11:30PM to allow for plowing or they will be subject to towing. The city offers residents free parking during a snow emergency at the Hamilton Canal garage behind Canal Place 3. The Hamilton garage is accessed from Dutton Street.

Parking at the Leo Roy garage next door is NOT free and the Association will NOT refund fees incurred during the parking ban.

There is a board meeting via Zoom this evening at 6:00; unit owners are welcome to attend. An email went out to owners Monday with the agenda and the link.

The lobby office will be open Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday next week. Please plan accordingly. Hours on the 13th will be 6:30 to 8:00pm

We’re getting rid of a two-year-old Maingear Forma GT MK II gaming chair. Because the current owner works full-time online, he needs a serious workhorse of a chair, and this one no longer qualifies. It would be great to be able to re-home it rather than just tossing it. The reclining mechanism no longer works (everything else seems to), and there’s a loop of spring peeking through the seat that needs addressing (see second photo), but for someone who needs a desk chair for minimal cost (free!) this might be an option. Email me if you’re interested.

If anyone notices a chemical smell in the atrium this morning, it’s from trying to remove the marks on the carpet that were left when a propped door allowed boys on bikes to come in and “play.” Please don’t prop doors open unless you’re right there keeping an eye on things!!

Also, our documents were amended in 2015 to prohibit smoking within 30 feet of any entrance to the building. While it’s tempting to stand by an entrance in the winter for a quick smoke, especially in that nice out-of-the-wind corner by the loading dock, the smoke gets into the adjacent unit and causes problems, even triggering a smoke detector on occasion. Please be considerate and step away from the building.

FYI, some fob readers may be out on and off over the next few days as our electrician reruns the wiring through conduits to meet code requirements for the basement project. The loading dock one appears to be down for the weekend.

There have been reports of little green doggie poop bags dropped in common areas recently. Seriously!? If you don’t want to bring it into your unit for disposal, at least drop the bag down a trash chute. If anyone knows who is doing this, feel free to let management know. The board has the right to issue fines for this sort of nonsense.

My personal thanks to all the responsible pet owners out there.

Just FYI, there’s been a water main break today a few blocks over so our water’s a bit discolored with stirred up sediment at the moment. You may want to run your cold water for a few minutes to flush the lines before using it.

Please be aware that a squirrel has found its way into the mailroom. He seems to retreat to the ceiling void quickly when faced with humans, but he’s already helped himself to the contents of a Chewy box so the faster folks pick up their packages the better. Management has been informed of the situation and should be addressing it on Monday.

From Georgi: Hi. I have a bifold door in great shape but with terrible hardware attached. I have the appropriate hardware kit to replace all the broken pieces but need a hand to get it done. Is there anyone who could help me with this? I have a Dunkin’ Donuts card to say thank you once the door is operable again! Please call me at 978-764-5570 if you think you could help me.

And a question from your web admin: Many years ago someone introduced me to a fascinating B&W photo of our building pre-condo-conversion that showed the fire escapes that used to run down the Market Street side. It was taken maybe around 1970 and had a couple of people getting some fresh air on the fire escape. Is anyone familiar with the photo I mean? It came to mind for a possible project and I’m trying to track it down. Feel free to answer in the comments or email me at canalplaceone@gmail.com

The snow emergency parking ban will be lifted as of 9:00 a.m. today, Monday, January 8. Please note that cars taking advantage of free parking in city garages must be removed by 1:00 p.m. or they will begin to incur charges.

While watching the snow and wondering when one’s car will need to be moved again, now might be a good time to sign up for notifications through the LPD’s Code Red. A number of other options for keeping track of snow emergencies are listed on the Snow Center page of lowellma.gov (I personally have more faith in Code Red than in their Notify Me system).

My own preferred way to keep track of snow emergencies is by regularly checking the LPD Facebook page; it also helps that I have a neighbor who follows this stuff more closely and routinely gives me a heads up. That said, please do NOT depend on this website for notifications—if I’m occupied or can’t get to a computer then nothing will get posted.

Additionally, while the board and management do their best to have email blasts go out, that’s not always possible, especially on weekends. It is the responsibility of residents to keep track of the weather and move their cars as needed.