I got an e-mail this morning asking if it was possible to be informed electronically about parking bans, which is a very reasonable question.  Here’s what I know:

You can sign up for the City of Lowell’s Civic Alert System which one would expect to notify you.  Unfortunately, this time, it didn’t (I’m not the only one who noticed the omission).  In the past, I’ve gotten automated phone calls.  I’m not sure if they just overlooked activating it this time or something has changed.  It’s not a bad idea to sign up in any case.

You can follow the Lowell Police Department Official Page on Facebook.  I hadn’t been doing it before but I just clicked their “follow” button this morning so that their announcements will now appear in my FB feed.

If you DO hear about something that might be significant for us downtown residents, shoot me an e-mail so I can post it on this bulletin board.  That’s how I found out about the ban this time (thank you, Brian); unfortunately, I didn’t see his e-mail until very late.

Thank you all, and my apologies for not posting the ban until so late last night!

I haven’t gotten my regular recorded phone call from the police department on the subject, but the Lowell Sun says there’s going to be a city-wide, on-street parking ban starting tomorrow morning at 6:00.  This also means that cars need to be moved from the Canal Place surface lot for plowing as per the Snow Storm Parking policy.

I just checked the Police Department’s Facebook page; here’s the official announcement:

A message from the management:

Christmas Tree Disposal

NO trees may be disposed of in the building garage or out by the dumpster area. The trash company does not pick up trees and the association has to pay someone to take the trees to a disposal site. 

If you bring a tree into the building you must remove it as well by taking it to a city approved disposal location. 

Please remember to use a large tree bag and if need be clean up the pine needles from the common areas. 

Please use only the freight elevator and rear door to bring the tree from your unit for disposal.

Thank you

We generally bring our tree in and out of the building wrapped in an old sheet to prevent leaving a trail of needles.  When the time comes to get rid of the tree, the city has drop off sites, and a couple of local boy scout troops go around picking up trees for a fee on a few weekends after Christmas.  More information on both those options can be found at the Lowell Recycling Department web page.

Just because we live in a large building doesn’t mean we don’t need to pay attention to the weather.  Here’s a reminder from Georgi:

“I’m told we are going down into single digits tonight. Be sure you heat is set AT LEAST to 60. And if you want to be REALLY cautious, open the cupboards under your sinks to let the heat circulate in there!”

Shop, laugh, and learn, all in one place next Saturday, the 10th.  The OtherWhere Holiday Affaire is at Mill no. 5 on Jackson Street from noon to six, with a huge variety of vendors in a fascinating setting.  Charles and I are also doing a short talk with dance demos (3 times) about a humorous little piece of Lowell history.

Just a reminder: Comments about the smoking survey should be sent to the management—royal.cathy@comcast.net (Cathy gets paid for handling these things; the site admin manages the website out of the goodness of her heart)—or posted in the comment section with the post.

From the Board:

The City of Lights parade is this Saturday, the 26th, beginning around 4:30pm.  Other events will be going on throughout the day.  There will be no parking on Jackson Street beginning at 10:00am and no parking on Central and Merrimack Streets beginning at 2:00pm.  Parking will be free in all city-owned garages all weekend.  I haven’t come across official confirmation, but I think it’s a safe bet that parts of Arcand Drive, Merrimack Street, Central Street, and Jackson Street will be closed for the duration of the parade—so please plan accordingly if you’re going to be driving anywhere.

Also, I just got a request for heating/cooling advice:  “Resident is looking for recommendations for an experienced technician who has done HVAC in CP1. Resident would also like to know if others have the experience of the heating unit blowing cold air more often than hot.” 

 A-1 Maintenance Master is always the one I hear recommended (there’s a link for them on the Useful Links page).  They are extremely familiar with the heat pumps in this building and are very nice.  I personally haven’t had any problem with our units blowing cold air but I’ve used A-1 in the past to inspect our systems, and to correct a wiring mistake on a thermostat installed by another contractor.  If anyone else has any thoughts on the subject, please feel free to post them in the comments.

Another request for recommendations:

“A resident is looking for a licensed plumber (preferably with experience in CP 1) to install a water heater.
They are also looking for a licensed electrician, also preferably with experience in CP 1.”

As always, feel free to reply in the comments or e-mail me with info to pass along.

There have been requests for plumber suggestions before and the response has been strongly in favor of Frank Potvin.  I don’t recall much in the way of electrician requests, although someone noted Village Electric in the same group of comments linked above.

You can also find a brief discussion about tankless water heaters here.

A resident is looking for suggestions for a really good house cleaner.  If anyone has someone to recommend, feel free to post in the comments or e-mail me and I’ll pass it along.  Or you can contact Chris directly: cbs33@comcast.net.  Thanks!