City Garage Senior Discount

If you’re over 62 and have an Association-paid pass to park in the Leo Roy garage, please check with the garage office, the lobby office, or management to see if you’re getting the senior discount, even if you know you had it in the past. Some records may have flopped back to full price during a management change or the recent computer hack. Not getting the appropriate discounts is a huge waste of Association money and affects everyone’s condo fees.

For those who should be getting the discount and aren’t, let the lobby office know, and the office manager will see if it’s possible to get the city records corrected all at once without each person trekking over to the main parking office on John Street individually. Lobby office hours tomorrow are 9:00am to 11:00am.

Sad News

I’ve been asked to let people know that Lieby Bouchard passed away last Friday. She and her husband, Al, have lived here for over two decades and are well known to many in the building. I, and so many other neighbors, are going to miss seeing her out and about and stopping for a chat. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Al.

No service is planned at this time.

Mailroom Heat & Free Bubble Wrap

For those who’ve been wondering why the mailroom’s so cold—especially since folks saw a new HVAC unit being put in—the manufacturer shipped us a faulty unit. A replacement part is on order. Management hopes to have it running properly soon.

If anyone has any need of bubble wrap, I have a shopping bag full that I’d rather see reused than go in the trash. I also have a large number of boxes in a variety of sizes headed to the DPW recycling bin tomorrow unless someone has a use for them. Just let me know!

Holiday Tree Disposal

A reminder that there is NO tree disposal on Canal Place property, and that natural trees should be wrapped in a drop cloth or old sheet when removing them from the building so as not to leave a trail of pine needles. The normal rule is to use the back elevator.*

The City of Lowell provides free drop-off sites for natural Christmas trees from December 25, 2023, to January 14, 2024. The sites have changed this year. Numbers 1, 3, & 4 below are most convenient to us.

  1. ACRE: Sheehy Park, 499 Pawtucket Street
  2. BELVIDERE: Cawley Stadium, 424 Douglas Road
  3. BACK CENTRAL: Oliveria Park, 84 Newhall Street
  4. CENTRALVILLE: St. Louis Playground, Lakeview Avenue (or 406 W 6 St)
  5. HIGHLANDS: Callery Park, Parker Street (or 200 B St)
  6. PAWTUCKETVILLE: Campbell Field, W Fifth Avenue
  7. SOUTH LOWELL: Ventura Field, Boston Road

Residents should remove all ornaments and lights from their trees before disposal. Only natural trees are accepted.

If residents need help with tree transportation, they can contact the Lowell Youth Ward. To schedule a pickup, call (978) 656-1910 or complete an online form. A $20 donation is suggested.

*(Management is well aware that the back elevator only seems to work lately when the repair company is here, much like the old TV repairman jokes. A thorough evaluation is being undertaken.)

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Heat Unit Reset

There was an issue with the heat in the building yesterday evening that has been fixed. If your heat pumps are still blowing out cool air rather than warm, try this method of resetting the heat pump:

  1. Identify the electrical breaker that controls each heat pump. They should be labeled in the electrical panel (located in the entryway closet for most units).
  2. While the heat pump is running, flip off the appropriate breaker.
  3. Wait 5 seconds and turn the breaker back on.

Your heat pump should now be reset—think of it like rebooting a computer to fix a problem. Give the unit 5 or 10 minutes and it should be sending out warm air again.

The Old Lowell Canal

Before the arrival of yesterday’s crane, there was a lot of discussion about the old tunnels and where the best place to put the crane would be. One of those tunnels is almost certainly the remnants of the Lowell Canal, the original power source for this mill complex.

The level of water in the canals is very low right now so you can see the walled-off entrance to the old Lowell Canal where it branches off the Merrimack Canal (next to Dutton Street). I snapped a photo of it and thought I’d share. More info about the history of the complex is available on this site’s Building History page.

Packages & a Freebie

People have been very good about picking up their packages but please be especially prompt just now—Cyber Monday is going to do a number on our mailroom.

Also, from a resident:

Free 24″ electric baseboard heater available to anyone who wants it. Never used and only removed from the box to photograph it. Call Georgi at 978-764-5570.

No Downtown Parking Today

This is probably too late to do anyone any good, but there is NO downtown street parking after 1:00 PM today. Any cars parked along Market have been towed and the street is blocked off, although I assume residents are allowed in and out. On the bright side, most of the city garages offer free parking today.

Also, there is a concert on Palmer Street from 6:00 to 9:15 PM this evening don’t be surprised at hearing some music in the air.

Festival of Lights & Holiday Trees

This coming Saturday is Lowell’s annual City of Lights celebration. The festivities start at 11:00AM and end with the lighting of City Hall at the end of the big parade. Saturday’s weather prediction is 35º and sunny, so dress warmly and come have some fun!

And a reminder for those folks who bring in genuine, cut, holiday trees. When bringing trees through the common areas—lobby, atrium, stairs, elevators, etc.—please wrap them in an old sheet or tarp of some sort so that they don’t leave a trail of needles. This is even more important on the way out after the holiday!

Following the holidays, trees cannot be disposed of anywhere in or around the building, however Lowell offers a number of free drop off sites. Once the city posts information about tree disposal and drop off sites, it should be available at this link (plus I’ll try to post it again): https://www.lowellma.gov/1722/Christmas-Tree-Disposal