Lowell Deeds

Shortly before noon today, the Trial Court notified me that the Superior Courthouse here in Lowell, the building in which the Registry of Deeds is a tenant, would close at 1 p.m. because of the impending snowstorm. There was a flurry of activity as people with transactions scheduled for about that time raced to complete their paperwork and get documents recorded before our shutdown. Based on the forecast, I had expected to release most of the registry’s employees at 1 p.m. anyway, but retain a handful of workers until the conditions created by the storm posed a safety hazard. But with the building closed, the registry had to close also - legitimate court-related security considerations don’t allow us to let or keep people in the building after it has officially shut down. So we put a notice on the website and the front door. I’ve stayed behind to answer the phones, but there’s only been one call inquiring of our status in the past 45 minutes. After the devastating storm of last December 13, which struck at midday and paralyzed the region because schools and businesses all waited too long to dismiss - a storm in which some registry employees who normally have 20 minute commutes spent more than 4 hours on the road before arriving home - decision makers now understand that safety considerations sometimes require closures in advance of on-the-scene conditions reaching the crisis point. This realization was probably reinforced by last Friday’s ice storm which knocked out power for much of this region (some of which has yet to have electricity restored). We certainly regret any problems that resulted from the court’s decision to close the building but it was a prudent course of action given all the circumstances.