This time of year the weather dictates that nearly all of the property work involves inside tasks such as cleaning, painting, selected repairs and maintenance, and work to minimize or reduce clutter around the building. We will be working on selected aspects of such items to the extent time and people resources are available.
We continue to be blessed with a skilled and professional volunteer, Jim McKenna, who keeps our heating system in good working order. We are so fortunate to have his experience and skills available to us. I am typically reluctant to call out a volunteer by name, but in this case I think it is completely appropriate to do so. Many thanks to Jim for all his work on the heating system throughout the year.
We were recently able to complete some repairs to one of the doors for the storage barn and to do some sod repair near the storage barn doors to allow proper operation of the doors to get access to equipment such as the snow-blower when needed. Outside work this time of year is rare and an exception to the tasks inside the building.
Over the past several weeks the Property Team has been working on general cleaning, vacuuming and stain removal for chairs in the sanctuary. This work tends to be time consuming and the team is using this experience to see if we can find better methods to get it done. This is a task that may be more suitable for a cleaning service that has the requisite experience and equipment. The team invested some time on cleaning of the tile and grout on the dais at the alter and learned this was also a task better left to professionals. We used Stanley Steemer ... yep, it is steemer, not steamer ... to successfully clean and seal the tile and grout on the dais as well as the tile and grout in the kitchen. Stanley Steemer also cleaned the carpet in the sanctuary and could be a good choice to clean the chairs in the future.
We are always seeking to eliminate clutter, reduce safety hazards and minimize potential fuel for fires. Accordingly, the Property Team has recently been working to get rid of items that appear to be unusable, unused or no longer serviceable. So far we been concentrating on the basement, including the work room in anticipation of doing some floor painting later in the year. We will also be looking at other areas of the building, including storage areas, to see if there are unneeded items that can be removed. We encourage the various individuals and teams in the congregational who may have materials of various kinds stored in the building to review their holdings to see if any of it can be removed. Please contact the Property Team if you have items that can be eliminated and you need assistance in doing so. On occasion, we may spot items that appear to be likely candidates for removal and will make a reasonable effort to find an appropriate team or individual for confirmation before we remove it.
Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader (pro tempore)