Wow! We were hoping for spring and all of a sudden the April, now May, showers seem to just keep coming after a very long dry spell. Nevertheless, the new growing season is upon us and the plants are in full growth mode at the Church. The gardens are looking very good! Thanks to all of our volunteers who have agreed to tend the Church Gardens!
Spring Clean-up:
We had an excellent turnout for the Spring Clean-up on May 18th. The weather was superb and we completed most of our planned tasks both inside our facilities and outside.
Volunteers are needed for a couple of hours for the following tasks which did not get completed: 1. Cleaning of Nursery, 2. Washing of office windows, 3. Cleaning of seating furniture in Library, 4. A couple of windows in preschool & Fellowship Hall. If you can spend a small amount of time helping to finish these items, please let Deanna know and she will coordinate the work.
As soon as more mulch can be obtained from Yorktown Recycling, we will address a couple of beds that didn’t get finished. If you can volunteer on a Saturday morning to help with mulching a few of the beds, please let me know and I will coordinate this work.
Thanks to all who participated on May 18th for a really great job! Also, thanks in advance for anyone who can volunteer for the few remaining tasks!
Improvements:
Our program of improvements is on-going. We specifically devote time each week to improvement projects. New progress has been made in the following areas:
-Jose has made excellent progress with the refurb of the South Door Entrance as well as the greeting table in the Narthex. Both of these projects are complicated and somewhat dependent on the weather. The south door has been sanded and a coat of primer applied. The weather has pretty much stopped that project at that point.
-The table in the Narthex is a very old and intricate piece of furniture. It is very worthwhile to save it. This project is taking a lot of detailed work in getting the old finish off and readying the table for new stain and finish coats of polyurethane. Jose is very diligent in this preparation work and is to be commended for his excellent and painstaking work.
-We recently discovered some significant peeling of paint on the outside of the Sanctuary; especially, on the East side of the building. Also, several spots of severe peeling of paint on the underside of the gutters gave us evidence of a significant problem. Tom Clemmens of Clemco Construction reacted immediately upon receiving my call. Tom is standing behind the redo of the general paint peeling. He has sanded all of the spots showing peeling and primed those and repainted the entire east side of the building. The gutter issue was a case of old seams in the copper gutters opening up and letting water drain into the wooden soffits. That part of the restoration is the responsibility of the Church. My thanks go out to Tom for his quick response to my call for help and for an excellent job in correcting all issues. As soon as the wooden soffits under the gutters dries out, Tom will repaint the entire wooden parts of the gutters.
Maintenance:
-Routine maintenance continues as usual. We regularly replace light bulbs and recently had to replace an electric-ballast in one of the hallway fluorescent fixtures.
-I recently found the source of a leak that was wetting the inside wall in the cross hallway. Portions of drip molding on the outside wall of Fellowship Hall had rotted away and let water in. Repairs are underway. We will be adding painting of this molding to our annual maintenance schedule. The sun is very hard on the wood in that area of the building and results in bleaching the paint and wood.
-All A/C units have been exercised and are working properly.
-This is the season where we start turning off the furnaces to conserve on oil consumption. On occasion, we have to turn them back on for a day or two if the weather turns cool. This spring has been one of warm days and cool days & nights so we monitor this area closely. Should any of the rooms feel too cold, please let me know and we will immediately adjust our actions with the furnaces.
Our goal is to keep our facilities and grounds in first-class condition. If you see something that needs repair or improvement, please do not hesitate to bring it to the attention of the Operations Commission. You may contact any member of the Commission or me.
Thanks to all for helping us to keep things in good shape and for volunteering when we call for assistance. Everyone’s effort is very much appreciated!
Thanks!
Dick Seymour, Chair of Operations & Facilities Coordinator