Building and Grounds Committee

July 2006
Installation of new windows and siding for the rectory is proceeding at a good pace.

Should be completed by end of July. Lawn area around the Hart House and Rectory looking good thanks to our clean up crew back in April and lots rain as is the area where the old church stood.

St Mary cemetery committee is meeting soon and will discuss further p;laans to improve our cemetery.
We could use some help up there pulling weeds and watering the new areas we put in last year. This could be a family project and would require only a couple of hours for anyone who would like to volunteer.
Anyone who thinks they could help ;us could call me at 673-9941

February 2006
The Driveway at The Hart Hours ;has bee completed and seems to be working out quite well. We have also had a sprinkler system installed in the lot previously occuppied by the Old Church so as to assure a green area in the spring and summer of 06. We have presented a wish list to the Finance committee for various proj;ects and are presently working with them to determine what we might accomplish. We will be looking for help from the parish members in general for a spring clean up. Watch the Bulletin for and announcement. Our goals for 2006 is to have St Mary's properties present an appearance that will be a credit to the neighborhood and to exhibit the pride which we all feel for our Church and other properties.

November 2005
 We met on Saturday morning Nov 6 to determine what could be done to improve our properties and how they could be made to be more useful and efficient to the groups using them.

The Hart House: The Hart House is our main base for our religious education programs. We see a need for additional classroom space in the future. However it is assumed this area will always be used for Religious Education and other meetings held during the week. Therefore we have made up a list of desired improvements that we feel will improve this building.
  1. Improve driveway and parking. We propose lengthening the driveway so that cars entering from Main St will be able to continue on and exit on Bidwell Square, thus eliminating any two way traffic in this driveway.
  2. Repair of the front porch and steps.
  3. Repair of gutters and down-spouts
  4. Eliminate all galvanized cold water piping in basement and replace with copper
  5. Repair of Hatchway. New Bulkhead needed
  6. Possible replacement of Heating Boiler and Burner
  7. Cosmetic improvements such as paint touch up on house and garage and repair of outside trim that show signs of dry-rot. This could possibly done by parish volunteers
The Rectory: The good news is the inside of the Rectory is fine. There are a few windows that won't stay up but we are looking into that problem. Any major improvements would be on the outside and they would include:
  1. Landscaping the entire area around the Rectory with new topsoil and seeding 2. Painting the exterior of the Rectory. Possibly also consider vinyl siding
  2. Repair broken windows in garage and make secure from animals getting inside. 4. Replace wood floor with concrete. (Garage)
  3. Repair of gutters, patching the foundation, replacing plastic covering over attic window which keep attic drafts to a minimum.

The parking area by Perry St:
  1. Provide a pathway to the Church. Presently people have to walk over seeded and planted areas to get to The Church
  2. Design and improve the egress from this area to Perry Street.
Obviously these improvements will be handled on an as needed basis and as finances allow. We did however want to point out the things we felt were most needed for the benefit of us all.