Lowell has declared a snow emergency beginning at 4:00pm with a parking ban starting at 10:00pm. Association rules follow the city ban so all cars must be removed from the surface lot by 10:00 or they will be towed. Parking is free for downtown residents at the Hamilton Canal garage behind Canal Place 3 during a snow emergency but NOT at the Leo Roy garage next door.

Is there anybody in Canal Place One by the name of KUAN (full name appears to be IOK C. KUAN)? Canal Place 2 & 3 have answered negative to this question. This package originated in Thailand and has been in the mailroom since 1/25. It will be considered abandoned if no one claims it.

A reminder that there is NO smoking or vaping in any common areas. This includes, but is not limited to, elevators, fire corridors, stairwells, atrium, upper level corridors/mezzanines, lobby, mailroom, and basement. Not only can such behavior trigger painful asthma attacks in other residents, it often sets off the fire alarms which is both disruptive and costly for all of us.

The City has lifted the Snow Emergency Parking Ban as of noon. Any cars remaining in the Hamilton Canal Garage (or any of the other free-to-downtown-residents-during-a-snow-emergency ones) after 4:00pm will incur charges.

Lowell has declared a snow emergency starting at 3:00pm with a parking ban beginning 6 hours later. Association parking rules during a declared snow emergency follow city rules, so all cars must be removed from the Canal Place surface lot by 9:00pm tonight or they risk being towed. There is free parking at the Hamilton Canal garage behind Canal Place 3 for downtown residents while the snow emergency is in effect; parking is NOT free at the Roy garage next door.

Folks can also sign up to get notices direct from the city here: https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BF210E7D2F2C

Just a heads up that Winterfest is this weekend, and it’s happening in and around the Auditorium. Tonight’s a tad dreary but tomorrow’s weather looks just fine. It’s a great chance to get out and have some fun!

As far as I can tell, there are no road closures, but one might want to avoid driving that section of Merrimack Street to avoid the crowds.

There was a related post about a year ago, but if anyone has any new information to offer this neighbor, please put it in the comments. Thanks!

Our dryer, which might have been original to the unit, has finally died. We think it’s time to get a new washer and dryer, but knowing that some appliances in the building have to be custom ordered, is there a brand/type of stacked washer dryer that anyone recommends? We’d need one that would fit in the upstairs laundry room. Open to thoughts and suggestions!

This morning’s elevator stoppage was NOT a malfunction; it was the elevator working as intended. When smoke detectors near the elevator are triggered, safety protocols lock down the elevator and a repair company key is required to return it to service. Dust from the demo work in the basement may have been behind today’s alarm. This is frustrating and unfortunate, and may occur again before the demolition is complete, but it is a temporary problem.

A reminder to owners planning to attend this evening’s Board meeting (via Zoom): It is at 6:00, not the old 7:00 we’ve been used to. If you are an owner and did not receive the email with the link, please check your junk folder or contact management.

For anyone who has access to the Boston Globe, I’d recommend taking a look at this article: “‘Most Plumbers aren’t even picking up the phone now.’ Burst pipes cause backlog after Boston deep freeze.” 

I know the prospect of the basement being closed (again) for an extended period seems incredibly slow and annoying, but, in reality, things are moving stunningly quickly. Reports of multiple units with burst pipes started coming in Saturday afternoon; by dinnertime we had a large crew of plumbers, management, maintenance, and, I believe, at least one furnace serviceperson and electrician. When it became clear around noon Sunday that the entire basement ceiling was compromised and had to go, we had a demo company arranged within hours; they’re already well along on this enormous project. Next steps have been planned out and some of them already scheduled. Management will be speaking at length this evening on the subject.

Yes, all of this will take a frustratingly long time. But when all is said and done, we expect to have a beautiful new ceiling, free of any problems, plus upgrades to adjacent systems, and that we will never, ever, have to go through this again!

I only just thought of this, and it’s after office hours so I may not be able to consult with management and see if they think an email blast is warranted, but please be aware, there is currently no heat and no insulation in the basement garage and the temps are supposed to be in the low 20s tonight. Yes, the garage door should be staying closed all night which should keep some/most of the cold out, but it was already pretty cold down there. If I lived on the first floor, I’d consider leaving any under-sink cabinets open, keeping my heat above 65 for the night, and leaving the taps dripping a tad.

Perhaps I’m being over-cautious suggesting all this, but as they say, “once burned, twice shy.”