A couple of Board members have come across info that may be helpful and have asked me to share it here.

First: Through MassSave, residents can get deep discounts on Nest Thermostats ($9.99 for a regular one). There are also discounts on other thermostat systems as well.  https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-and-incentives/smart-and-programmable-thermostats

And second, some information related to the discussion at Tuesday’s Board meeting: the Energy Manager for the city of Lowell is Katherine Moses, (978)674-1438, kmoses@lowellma.gov

If bringing a tree into the building, please wrap it in a tarp or sheet when carrying it through the common areas so as not to leave a trail of needles. This becomes even more important after the holidays when carrying a dried, shedding tree out of the building. Trees are not normally allowed in the front elevator unless the rear one is out of commission.

Please be considerate of your neighbors and clean up any needles you leave behind. Once the city posts information about tree disposal and drop off sites, it will be found at this link: https://www.lowellma.gov/1722/Christmas-Tree-Disposal

If you’re missing a package, be sure to check the “unit number missing” area on the top shelf of the mailroom closet; it seems some people aren’t aware that that shelf has been designated as such.

A resident has kindly compiled advice for making sure you have the best electric rate available. See below.

Checking your electric bill and signing on to the City’s Electricity Aggregation Program

If you, like me, was shocked with your electric bill recently, look at the back of your bill near the top of the page for Supplier Services.  Mine was National Grid.  If I had been on the ball when we moved in and got our new account, I should have signed on to the City’s electricity aggregation plan with Nextera Energy Services (Lowell Agg) at half the current NGrid rate.

Check your bill.  It could save you a lot of money.  If you want to switch to the City’s aggregation plan, it is serviced through Colonial Power Group and the supplier for Lowell is Nextera Energy Services.  Yes, it gets confusing. You may have been pestered by phone solicitations from other electricity suppliers.  Or you may already be on the City program.

Signing up for the City plan is easy, go to Colonial Power Group’s opt in/out page and select Lowell.  Have your electric bill handy. You will need to check off your city, type of service (residential), supplier (National Grid). Then fill in the online form with the name on account, service address, phone and email address.

The switch to Nextera takes 1 to 2 billing cycles.

Information on Colonial Power Group and the communities they serve can be found here.

Please remember that the ramp to the basement garage will be closed tomorrow to repair potholes. If you park in that garage, and you expect to need your car, you must move your car out of the garage by 9:00 am or it will be stuck in the garage until mid-afternoon.

If you are concerned about your car being parked too near the work area—anyone parking in the basement is presumably aware of where pothole repair is needed—you may also want to move your car.

An email went out about these repairs on November 30th.

As everyone is aware there was a sewer backup Monday. This backup could have caused much more damage than it did had it not been caught quickly, but it still did plenty. Please DO NOT flush baby/sanitary wipes down the toilet, regardless of whether or not they claim to be flushable. It only took a few to block the sewer line and cause thousands of dollars of damage to a first floor unit.

Also, while garbage disposals are great for getting rid of bits of this or that that fall into your sink, please do not use them to dispose of significant amounts of solids. I can tell you from experience that to do so is inviting trouble (and expensive bills) not just for the building drains but for your own. Consider composting when possible; otherwise, wrap your garbage securely and put it in the trash.

Again, please be considerate of our aging plumbing and of your neighbors, some of whom are impacted much more seriously by drain problems than others are. And please remind your ENTIRE household that pre-moistened wipes go in the trash, not the toilet, and that drains, even kitchen ones, are designed for liquids, not solids.

The mailroom is currently flooded with packages. Please, please pick up your items ASAP. Also, the Lowell Police Department recently posted the list of suggestions below on social media.

The city has been flushing hydrants today so there have been reports of discolored water in the building. Folks might want to fill a white bowl to check their water before drinking or cooking with it. It should clear up shortly.

Office hours this coming month are pretty normal except for one missing Saturday and that last week between Christmas & New Year’s Day. Here are the details:

I’m a tad late with this since I was away from my computer, and it doesn’t affect us directly, but there was a major water main break in Lowell this afternoon. The police offered this traffic advisory about 3 hours ago:

“Water Main Break in the area of Moody St. / Cabot St. / Father Morrissette Blvd. Seek alternate routes. Expect Delays. The Ayotte Garage will be open for free parking for residents in the affected area.“

This has caused major problems and done a lot of damage. Please stay away from that area. Stories about it are appearing on multiple news channels. https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/water-main-break-floods-lowell-streets/2905565/

First of all, a reminder that fire alarm testing is scheduled for Monday. Alarm testing in the common areas will begin at 8:00am and in-unit inspections will begin at 9:00. This is a safety issue and it’s important that all units be inspected. Ron will be accompanying the alarm company and giving them access to units where residents are not home. If your smoke detector needs to be replaced, BEF will replace it and you will be billed back by the association. 

Second, tomorrow (Saturday) is Lowell’s City of Lights festival and parade. Festivities begin at 11:00am at the Brush Gallery and noon in other areas. The parade begins at 4:30pm and ends with the lighting of City Hall. For more info about the festival and about road closures and parking, see https://www.lowellcityoflights.org.

And lastly, I’ve been asked to post the following by one of the folks who regularly mark and sort packages for everyone’s convenience, as well as checking security video as needed. While much of the complex has been wonderful about picking up packages promptly (thank you for that!) there are still stragglers, and it’s very easy for the mailroom to get out of control.

Christmas is coming. And that means BOXES and PACKAGES are arriving in the mailroom at the usual Holiday speed!

1. Please keep an eye on the mailroom for items that you are expecting to arrive from all of our friendly delivery people. Items sometimes arrive AHEAD of time, so don’t wait for the official delivery date to start checking the mailroom for your deliveries. It’s not a bad idea to check for packages regularly even if you aren’t expecting anything; sometimes friends or family will surprise you.

2. If you get notice that a package has arrived, please look EVERYWHERE in the mailroom before contacting anyone that your package is missing. Those same friendly delivery people don’t always take the time to put packages where they belong.

3. Items sometimes arrive DAYS after you get notification that they’ve been delivered. Give it a few days before notifying anyone that your package hasn’t arrived.

AND – once you’ve received your packages, please be a good neighbor and FLATTEN THE EMPTY BOXES before taking them down to the basement to dispose of in the cardboard container. If the container is full, place your flattened boxes to the right of the containers to keep them out of the open area in front of the containers. If you want to be really conscientious, arrange to take the boxes to the DPW recycling bin.

If your items come packed in styrofoam, please SEPARATE the styrofoam from the flattened boxes and place the styrofoam in their own bags. Do NOT put unwrapped, individual pieces of styrofoam down the trash chute; they cannot be read by the ‘eye’ of the compactor which results in the crushing process faltering and the chute backing up.

Thanks – and Happy Holidays!