We have many needs and a great opportunity before us.
We need to make some very basic repairs to our existing church.
Minimally, we need to:
- Address the water issues in the church. If you’ve ever been in the church when it is raining, you have seen the buckets and the leaking skylights. We’ve replaced, caulked, repaired and have done everything we can to stop the leaking, but nothing has been effective. If you ask Father Carlin, they’ve leaked since the first day.
- Update the HVAC system. It is as old as the church, and other than basic maintenance, it hasn’t been updated. It is either on or off, it doesn’t have controls to allow us to keep air moving through the church during the humid summer months. This has resulted in growth on the main beams, which we’ve had to mitigate each summer for the past 4 years.
- Update the sound system. It is an antiquated system that doesn’t serve the church well.
- Renovate the restrooms to update them and make them more handicap accessible
- Replace the concrete around the church. Some parts are falling apart and others are uneven, creating tripping hazards.
- Increase handicap access in the church itself: a ramp to the sanctuary as well as seating within the main pews (not just the front few pews)
- Replace the lighting. The lighting is poor and when bulbs or ballasts need replaced, our Building & Grounds Crew need to rent a lift to repair them.
- Refinish or replace our existing pews. Many of the pews are falling apart and in poor condition. The cost to refinish and repair the existing is about 35% of the total replacement costs.
- Replace the exterior doors of the church. They are old and they no longer make the hardware to repair them. Their condition has deteriorated over the past several years and have become costlier to repair.
- While the carpeting has worn remarkably well, it is also 30+ years and should be replaced. Just like your home, basic updates such as flooring and paint can do wonders to update the space!
- We need to paint and update the flooring.