Our Facilities Manager, Victor Young, has been arranging for contractors to do the significant work for which the Board has allocated funds. 

SIDEWALKS: You may have noticed our smooth, new sidewalks surrounding three elevations of the property. All areas that were determined to be trip hazards have been repaired and these improvements are completed.

ROOF REPAIR: With both flat and sloped roof areas, there are several different style roofing systems that support the building structure. Given that about 1/3 of the slate tiles on the sloped roofs are broken or missing, there has been an ongoing challenge to determine whether the roof should be replaced or simply repaired. The plan now is to make repairs only for the slate roof system that affect the Sanctuary and some offices. The Durable Slate Company is scheduled to commence work in late August. They will set up their equipment and work throughout the remainder of the summer and fall seasons to complete this major roofing improvement. All work depends on weather conditions so the work could possibly continue into the winter season.

BOILER SYSTEM: The boiler system has been shut down for the season and will be reenergized in October 2024. During the shutdown of the boiler system a blockage was in the waterloop line that supports the heating register in Room 204. The blockage was successfully removed to ensure acquitted waterflow through the system to heat the space for the upcoming winter season.  

EXTERIOR WALL LEAK: There is exterior water seeping into the interior wall of Room 108. This will require exterior excavating along the south wall between the east and west entrances. ABV Waterproofing was contracted to dig out that area, add waterproofing materials, and backfill with dirt and stone. The lilac tree and the overgrown plant materials will be removed as their roots are part of the problem. They will eventually be replaced with low-growing plants that don’t block the windows. If we have any native plant landscape designers in our midst, please speak up. We hope to eventually make that area attractive as well as safe. Our current gardening volunteers are up to their eyeballs maintaining the orchard and the pollinator gardens! Stop around those gardens for a moment and feel the buzz!

STAIRWELL LIGHTING: One problem that was identified during our Congregational Conversation about safety was the lack of adequate lighting in the stairwell going from Fellowship Hall to the narthex. The light fixtures on that stairwell and the one on the east side of the building will be replaced. They will not have switches to turn them on and off because they will be set to be on all the time as required by building codes. In Fellowship Hall, where the lights will not be on all the time, the switches will be replaced with lighted ones so that people will not have trouble finding them.

The stair noses will be re-painted with white paint for metal on the staircases going up/down from Fellowship Hall. If the new lighting does not sufficiently illuminate the edges of the stairs on the staircase going from the stage level to the narthex, the noses on that stairway will be painted as well.

The passageway across the back of the stage will have an occupancy sensor like the restrooms do to ensure safe passage through there to the exit in case of emergency. A 12” x 12” fixture will be installed at the end close to the exit. Signs will be installed on the risers going from each of the stage dressing rooms to the wooden stage floor to alert people to the rise in floor levels there.

This work will be completed by Ken Kuehm by July 15, 2024.

TENT: A decision was made in April not to put up the tent – usually up from Memorial Day to Labor Day – because of the difficulty in getting volunteers to help erect it. Only two outdoor services were planned for the summer, so it appeared not to be worth the effort. However, some of the renters have indicated that they really want it, and others say they would use it if it was up. A tentative date for erecting it has been set for Monday, July 15, at 5 p.m..

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