October 2020: As The Season Turns

Usually, the earliest indication we have of the coming season is our snow plow service contractor sending the contract for the coming year. I have not seen the contract yet, so the early leaf fall this year is our first harbinger of what is coming. I didn't get any input from the dead elm tree! It is down and, by the time you read this, gone.

The leaf removal activities, late season grounds work, and fall cleanup are always solid reminders of other seasonal tasks on our routine list of work to do. Soon we will be removing and storing the window air conditioners, draining and putting away hoses, striking and storing the tent, putting our snow blower back in service, preparing our mowers for winter storage, breaking out salt buckets and shovels, and other matters I have probably forgotten. Martha and I are not going to Florida this winter season, so I have to say I am not really looking forward to the preparations and a long winter in New Hampshire. I will probably have to learn again what goes on at Holy Trinity in the January to April period!

All that said, I anticipate a busy time between now and the end of the year. Work to install the new fire alarm system will begin soon. The new system has been approved by the Town of Newington and equipment procurement is in progress. Equipment installation will begin as the equipment becomes available. One of the first things to be done will be installation of smoke detectors in the sanctuary. That work will require an aerial lift of some sort to allow access to the ceiling areas. I also anticipate temporary removal of some of the wood trim in the sanctuary to facilitate routing of sensor wiring. Some of you may recall we did this same thing to route sound system cables a few years ago. There will be quite a bit of work going on throughout the building as work on the fire alarm system progresses. I am hopeful that this work can be completed in November. I have been working with the fire alarm system contractor and the electrician who will be installing a new main electrical distribution panel and power surge protection. The new electrical panel and the new fire alarm panel will be located in close proximity on the same wall in the basement work room, so the work requires close coordination. At this point, installation of the the new electrical panel is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 16, so electrical power will unavailable for all or most of the day.

Where it is reasonable to do so, the Property Team will take on some tasks to support the fire alarm system work. We have already relocated a wall-mounted cabinet unit in the basement work room to free up wall space for the new fire panel and electrical distribution panel. Another example is the temporary removal of some wood trim in the sanctuary. Another possibility is pulling a new electrical power cable from the basement work room to the overhead area in the vicinity of the administrative office door. The need for this cable arises because the Town of Newington required one component of the new fire alarm system to be relocated from the basement work room to a wall beside the entrance to the office area. The property team did a similar cable pull a few years ago to support a new printer installation, so we know how to do it. An electrician would make the cable connection to the distribution panel. It should be noted that Property Team resources (people) are stretched very thin these days, so these support tasks will be pursued only to the extent we have the resources.

For Property Team planning purposes, I wish I had a crystal ball to tell me when we would likely be moving back into the building, because there is quite a bit of work needed to put the building back in order. Over these many months the building use has been significantly restricted, a lot clutter has arisen in various places in the building. This will need to be dealt with (items returned to storage, disposed of, whatever). Also, time will tell if the fire alarm panel work introduces any additional work to get us back to normal. We will need to be flexible as the work on the new fire alarm system proceeds. This work has to have priority since a functional fire alarm system is required to allow us to return to full, normal building use.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

September 2020: A dead tree, new electrical panel, power surge protection, saving the "fridge", odor in the sacristy

With the recent moderation in the hot weather and the occasional rain, things are beginning to grow again, and we have been doing the routine outdoor grounds work as needed. As you can see in the following, other important property related matters are continuing.

Since the last Property Team report, engineering work has been completed on the new fire alarm system and we have received a quote and proposed contract to obtain the required permits, procure and install the new system. We anticipate approving the proposal to allow work to begin in September and complete in November. This will involve work throughout the building to install and test a new fire alarm panel, new sensors, other fire protection equipment, and new wiring.

Council has approved a Property Team proposal to remove a dead elm tree adjacent to our entrance driveway. We have accepted a quote for this work which is scheduled for September 23rd.

Council has also approved a Property Team proposal to replace the main electrical power panel for our building. This will resolve some issues with the existing panel and will also incorporate power surge protection for the building. We have an informal quote for this work and anticipate accepting a quote for this work soon. This work will require coordination with the installation of the new fire alarm panel because the electrical panel and fire alarm panel are located in close proximity on the same wall in the basement work room. The new fire alarm system has the highest priority, but we also want to get the new power surge protection installed in time to protect the new alarm system and other equipment in the building.

You may have noticed the new concrete pads (steps) that have been constructed outside of three emergency exit doors (sanctuary exit near the choir, the outside exit for the Wiggle Room, and the outside exit for the back emergency stairway from the second floor). A special thank you goes out to Scott Carson who did this concrete work as well as considerable work to replace rotted wood siding adjacent to the Wiggle Room exit. The new pads resolve a fire department finding that step-down height at these exits was too large and did not meet life safety code requirements. It is now easier and safer to walk out of any of these emergency exits.

Last month's reported demise of the refrigerator in the conference room was premature. We were able to clean this refrigerator so it can be returned to service when needed.

This month we have been working to resolve an odor issue in the Sacristy. The issue appears to be moisture related and aggregated by the lack of use of the room and long periods of time with the door closed and resulting low air circulation. The banners and vestments have been temporarily moved out of the room to minimize possibility of odor absorption. We have found no indication of water leakage, although there could be some moisture under the carpet or the problem could have resulted from stagnant, humid air. We have been running a fan to move air out of the room and have also been running a dehumidifier to pull some moisture out of the room. The situation appears to be improving. Should we be looking forward to the dry, heated air of winter?

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

July 2020: An unusual and challenging year for us.

This continues to be an unusual and challenging year for the property team.

The virus issue has limited our volunteer participation through most of this year's outdoor growing season, but we have been able to keep up with most of the outside work. In recent weeks many of our regular volunteers have begun to come back on a regular basis and our outside work accomplishments are returning to normal.

When you have an opportunity to drop by the church, please take note. We have managed to keep up with the routine mowing and trimming, the gardens and plantings, shrubs, tree trimming and prunning. A tree and selected bushes have been removed. Extensive clearing of brush and other growth has been completed on the property perimeter. A big job, removal of a large, dead elm tree near our entry driveway, remains. We hope to hire a tree removal professional for that one before winter. Each year some inevitable cracks appear in our parking lot and driveways, and the ubiquitous weed growth appears through the cracks. We plan to get these cracks cleaned and sealed before winter.

If you are one of those Holy Trinity folks who sometimes need to carry trash bags out to our trash bins beside the storage shed, I hope you have noticed it is much easier to lift the heavy lids of the trash bins. You can thank Bob Hollister, Stuart and Gisela Wimple for installing hydraulic lift cylinders on the lids and adding reinforcement to the edges of the lids. We have experienced some growing pains with the lifters, but they generally work well. We will get the kinks worked out.

Given the limited use of our building facilities, property team work inside the building has also been limited, but recent storm power-surge issues experienced at the church in July have introduced some new challenges. We are actively working with several contractors with a goal of replacing our existing fire alarm system that was damaged in the July storm and for which replacement parts are no longer available. This work will be ongoing into the fall. We have also been involved directly and indirectly in various ways supporting resolutions to other storm surge related equipment damage at the church and supporting an insurance claim for this damage.

We have recently been working with two different electricians to resolve questions and issues concerning our main electrical control panel in the basement that provides electrical power to all parts of the building. In July two circuit breakers in this electrical panel were found to have failed significantly and were replaced. It is unlikely that this problem was caused by the storm, but it was discovered as part of our evaluation of storm damage to components powered from this panel.These circuit breakers impacted lighting and wall outlets in the basement, but also several outlets in the conference room and one in the kitchen. Both of our refrigerators lost power for several days. It appears that one of these refrigerators is no longer useable.

Evaluation of the breaker panel also identified some form and fit issues with circuit breakers in the panel that need to be resolved at some point. None of these panel issues are related to the July storm, but we have investigated adding surge protection to this breaker panel to minimize the possibility of similar power surge problems in the future. This could involve replacement of, or significant modifications to, the existing panel.

As part of our ongoing work to resolve concerns identified by the Newington fire department last year, we have been working to provide steps at three emergency exit door locations. As is often the case for our older building, these projects sometimes lead to additional issues that we would not have known about had we not been pursuing unrelated work. In this particular case we have discovered quite a bit of rotten, water-damaged wood near ground level in the vicinity of the wiggle room emergency exit door. We are working to resolve this issue. As I am fond of saying because it's so true in the area of property matters, "The Beat Goes On." There is always something to do even if we don't know what it is yet!

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

June 2020: We are all challenged but, property work must go on!

The virus issue has imposed some strange and challenging times on property matters because of the obvious restrictions on Thursday Morning Group activities as well as what I personally feel comfortable with doing in this period of uncertainty. I know each of us has their own personal view of things ... what is safe, what is more risky. I am probably more tolerant of the risks, but I recognize my responsibilities to Martha, the Thursday Morning Group, and all others I may encounter in the process of going about my routine, or should I say, the new normal. Still, property work has continued to a degree. The lawn is getting mowed and trimming continues in fits and starts, depending on the weather and time. A conspicuous pile of brush has been hauled away. Some of the more adventurous Thursday Group folks and others have been in to do window washing, repairs to our trash bins, and trimming of grass and weeds. Required inspections using outside services have continued as they come due. Our annual fire panel inspection and testing was recently completed, and others will be completed when required to the extent that our service providers are working in these times.

Having said all of that, we are behind on several fronts. The tent is not yet up, the air conditioners are not installed, some of the outside tasks have fallen behind,some important tasks to resolve Fire Department concerns have not yet been completed, some outside building repair and maintenance work has been delayed, and I could go on. Overall, we are doing fine, just not as good as we expect to do based upon past practice. Bear with us.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

March 2020: Fire Doors update & the transition to Lent

Update on fire doors: Three fire doors are now equipped with automatic fire door closures. Stuart Wemple developed a template for drilling mounting holes that facilitated installation for all 3 fire doors. The last fire door that needs a closure will be installed very soon.

The transition from Epiphany to Lent was assisted by Glenn Oswald with his crew for the change to three purple Lenten banners and the removal of the Sanctuary star. The cross had to be set up by the Property Team with decoration by Leslie Darling.

Barry Philbrick, Interim Property Team Leader

February 2020: Fire door upgrades, and a few special helpers.

The main focus is to upgrade certain fire doors to comply with fire regulations. Four doors have been identified as needing an automatic fire door closure. The first door is nearing final adjustments before testing.

The new conference room now has a large TV moved from within the church for any needed video presentations.

Extra Helping Hands: January had two special helpers – Bernie Olsen and Erica Nania. Erica took on the task of moving the large TV from one classroom and installing it in the new conference room. Bernie has helped consistently each week and was the main installer for the first fire door closure.

Barry Philbrick, Interim Property Team Leader

December 2019: The behind the scenes work we do.

Have you ever wondered why there are (almost) no cobwebs in our church building or why there are no moldy sandwiches in our church refrigerator?

It’s because those are two of the chores that the ladies in the Thursday Group tend to. It’s also the reason that the outdoor gardens and indoor plants always look heathy, watered, and weeded. And the glass doors rarely have fingerprints and smudges. The Thursday Group ladies also change the baptismal font water weekly to prevent bacteria; scrub crayon marks off the children’s tables in the sanctuary; remove wax drippings from the sanctuary chairs after candlelight services. They clean ovens and kitchen cabinets and drawers. They wash all the windows, inside and out, every spring and fall. Not just the sanctuary windows, but the windows in the offices, Sunday School classrooms, and bathrooms. They sometimes tackle big projects, such as cleaning out the attic storage, painting, and taking home all the tablecloths to wash and iron.

To sum it up, they work behind the scenes to keep our church building and grounds clean and tidy. This past summer Erica Nania joined the group on a part time basis. If you’ve ever thought that you’d like to be an active part in the life of our church, consider joining the Thursday Group. Like Erica, if you aren’t available every week, come when you can. There’s always something to do. Talk to Gisela Wemple or Pat Woollett for more information on this very important volunteer opportunity.

November 2019: Preparing for Winter

It seems to me to have been a strange Fall season this year. Typically, I feel we have things reasonably under control as Winter approaches, but this year it seems to me that we are in more of a survival mode as we get closer and closer to snow and cold. The basics are under control ... the snow removal contract has been signed, the snow blower has been test started and is running well, snow shovels and salt buckets have taken out of storage and staged at various doors, air conditioners were removed and stored, hoses have been put away, parking lot maintenance has been done ... but still I worry about tasks yet to be done. There is still routine outside work (grass, leaves, general autumn cleanup) before we can get our equipment winterized and stored, and additional things I wish we could do before winter. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we will get most of the outside work done before the change in seasons forces us inside.

The new Wiggle Room has been completed. The old Wiggle Room has been painted and is ready to be furnished for its new role as a conference room. Many thanks are due to all the folks who helped in various ways to complete the work in these two rooms.

I know I do not adequately characterize or document all the routine cleaning work done inside by a very small number of Property Team volunteers. That said, I know and appreciate what they do week in and week out, and I am going to offer them a chance to take up the pen for a future Tidings report and tell you what they are doing. It is a story that needs telling, and they can tell it best.

This month we will bring in an aerial lift to do the work in the high overhead area of the Sanctuary. We plan to change several burned out bulbs in the ceiling area, repair several issues with monofilament lines used for mobiles and banners, and install new hanging microphones above the choir area. Mike Cresta has generously agreed to provide and operate the lift for this work at no cost. Thank you, Mike!

October 2019: RIP Riding Lawn Mower, New wiggle room and conference room, Fire Safety can be expensive!

We tried using our older riding mower, but the engine failed after 45 minutes or so of mowing. The model and serial number on the engine indicates the engine was made in 2005, so the mower is 13-14 years old, perhaps too young too die, but who knows? We explored repair options and concluded repair costs would be too high for a mower of this age. We will replace the mower this fall or next spring.

After seeking bids to prepare and paint the walls in the old kindergarten classroom and the old Wiggle Room, we were unable to find a painter at a reasonable cost and acceptable schedule. We decided to do this work ourselves with the Thursday Group and other available volunteers. We disposed of or relocated items in these rooms. The walls in the new Wiggle Room were stripped, repaired and painted. Furniture and equipment has been moved into the room and it is back in service in its new location. A few details remain to be finished. With this phase of the project nearing completion, we will be working on stripping, repairing, and painting walls for the new conference room. Special thanks to Richard Topping, Bernie Olsen, Bob Hollister, Jill Larson, Lara Scammon, Barry Philbrick, Erica Nania, Don Gindlesperger, and Len Small for helping with this effort in various ways.

We typically have two annual inspections/tests for our fire safety equipment. The first of these assures proper operation of the Fire Alarm Panel and heat sensors throughout the building. This system sounds alarms and notifies the fire department if heat sensors in the building are activated. This is typically a routine test, although we sometimes replace a battery in the panel. This inspection was last completed in May of this year. The second inspection addresses all of our emergency lighting and fire extinguishers. Emergency lights are tested to see that they function on batteries, and the batteries are stress tested to verify lights can be powered for the fire code required 90 minutes. Fire extinguishers are inspected to verify they are fully charged and operational and hydrostatic testing is within the required time intervals. These tests were last completed in August and September.

This year, costs for fire safety equipment testing and service has been relatively high, about $1800, for basic testing, replacement batteries, fire extinguisher service, and fire extinguisher hydrostatic pressure testing. There will be additional costs this year and next year for normal annual inspections and to bring our facility into compliance with life safety code issues identified by the fire department in their most recent walk-through of our building. Most of these code issues involve the need for additional emergency lights, additional lighting and signage for emergency exits, and improper operation of several emergency exit doors. We will be working to resolve all of these code issues by next summer.

September 2019: Things are supposed to slow down a bit in August, right?

Maybe my memories of August are just wishful thinking, but I recall our outdoor work typically slacked off in August, just in time to accommodate late summer vacations. This has not been the case this year, due in part to a backlog of outside work that did not get done earlier in the summer, but we have managed to keep the seasonal vegetation under control. Many thanks are due to Scott Carson who came in several times in August to trim and shape all of our bushes, cut back some troublesome tree branches, cut back the plant growth along the Spaulding Turnpike fence line, and more. Erica Nania, the newest member of our Thursday Group arrived just in time to help Scott with some of the trimming and she has also been introduced to the normal inside routine. It is great to see new people such as Erica, a mother and employed, who finds the time to help us when her schedule permits. As always, our Thursday Morning regulars have continued with their outstanding efforts to maintain the building and property. I applaud each of you. Thank you for your service.

The mystery of the non-functioning electrical outlets in the kindergarten classroom has been solved! The electricians we hired to resolve this issue and install additional outlets in this room, discovered an electrical line in the basement overhead area that had been damaged and cut off. It appears that the wire was probably damaged in one of our construction projects, so the outlets have not been functional for many years. They are functional now, and all of the receptacles are the tamper-resistant variety recommended by our insurance carrier, especially in spaces for our young children. We can now move forward with converting this space to the new Wiggle Room and converting the existing Wiggle Room to a conference room. Another new Property Team volunteer, Bill Kath, came in to help move items out of the kindergarten room to support the electrical work. This is a great example of how a volunteer can support the Property Team at times other than Thursday Morning. Thanks, Bill.

By the time you read this, we will have completed a cleaning of the stone floor in the Sanctuary. As noted by a long-time member and passable humorist (thanks, Alice), the last time the stone floor was cleaned was when the roof leaked during construction! All jokes aside, many thanks to all of the volunteers who came out to move chairs and other items so our cleaners could do their thing. There is good reason why it has not been done for a long time. It is a big effort. Many thanks to what I am calling the "Clean The Stone Floor Team" ... they are ...

• Byrl Short
• Bob Hollister
• Bernie Olsen
• Barry and Phyllis Philbrick
• Eleanor Young
• Pastor Tim Krick
• Dave Arrington
• Pat Wollette
• Dick Topping
• Dave Mercer (Yours truly)
• And of course, Seacoast Cleaners

I can't resist a little braggadocio. I recently repaired two of our lawn mowers for a grand total of about $10. One of our riding mowers quit on us, so I hauled it to my garage in Madbury, found a failed part and got it running again. One of our push mowers would not start for lack of compression ... off to Madbury! I found an internal engine part that was not working properly and fixed it at no cost. I estimate I saved the Holy Trinity about $400! I have one more piece of our equipment in Madbury that I am working on. Time is money unless you are retired! Martha says I need a raise.

As for what is coming up, we will be continuing to resolve fire protection related issues identified in a recent Fire Department inspection. We have taken care of several items, but much more remains to be done over the next several months. Stay tuned for more progress reports.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

August 2019: Tent Comes Down the "Easy" way, and the Fire Department has concerns.

This past week the tent came down in record time. Strong winds and rain took it down in about 5-10 minutes. Of course, the Thursday Group spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the resulting tangle of canvas, poles, stakes, and straps. The tent survives, but some poles are damaged and require replacement before we can use it again.

The Fire Department completed a periodic inspection of our building last week and gave us a fairly lengthy list of issues to resolve. The majority of the items involve emergency lighting and emergency doors. We will be developing a plan and budget estimate to resolve the concerns. These issues should not influence building use or occupancy.

We are in the process of seeking bids for electrical and painting work to support a project to relocate the "Wiggle Room" to the adjacent kindergarten classroom and to convert the current "Wiggle Room" to a conference room. Council will make a determination regarding this project.

We have accepted a bid to fill and seal cracks in our parking lot and driveways. Cracks in the paving are the normal consequence of the seasons and must be resolved to avoid more serious paving problems. We will make every effort to get this work done on a Friday when the building is not in use. This work should have little or no impact on access to the building.

We continue to work on the backlog of property related tasks. Recent progress has been made on trimming bushes and trees and cleaning up our garden areas. It all comes down to priorities and circumstances. Recently I was discussing Property Team work backlog with some of my team members. In a perfect world, it should be simple. Make a list. Assign priorities. Work items off the list by priority and within available resources. Easy Peezy ... right? Not! Reality says the list of "to-do" items constantly grows because valid issues keep coming up. Some, such as fire safety issues, have high priority and drive other valid issues lower down the list. With our limited resources (time, people, money) some tasks would never get addressed based on priority alone. Some low priority items get worked on simply because the time is right and it is convenient to do so. Some low priority items just languish on the list. We do what we can. Bear with us!

David Mercer, Property Team Leader

July 2019: Help Wanted. Apply Within!

Last month I gave you the big picture view of Property Team matters, our responsibilities, how things get done in general terms, the crucial importance of volunteers, and the various ways interested members or friends can help if they are so inclined. All of that was a view from 100,000 feet above our building and property. At ground level the view is more pragmatic, and I would like to give you a typical view at ground level using the current backlog of tasks to illustrate our reality. I do not claim this list is complete or exhaustive, just a stream of conscienceness dump of things I know are lurking and, in some cases, starving for lack of care.

Our windows need washing. The Thursday group has done much of the interior sides, but some still need to be done. The exterior windows need to be done.

All of our bushes are in need of trimming and shaping.

We have five metal doors that need work to remove exposed corrosion and be painted.

We have some damaged vinyl siding that needs replacement.

We have several windows with exterior and interior damage needing repair. Some windows have missing parts that prevent proper operation.

Some exterior wood trim around doors and windows needs painting.

Several sections of gutters need cleaning.

Some downspout repair is needed to divert rain runoff away from the foundation to limit water intrusion to the basement.

We would like to install hydraulic lift/close assist cylinders (similar to those on automobile hoods, lift-backs, etc) to make it easier and safer to use our wooden trash bins (parts are on order).

Throughout the spring, summer, and fall we have an ongoing need to mow, trim, tend to flower and plant gardens, cutback plant growth, clean up debris, and all kinds of things needed to keep the property looking presentable. The Thursday Group gets to most of this when weather cooperates, but there is always a backlog waiting to be addressed.

Sometime in late summer or fall the tent will need to be taken down and put into storage. It is one of those tasks that is becoming increasingly challenging for the Thursday Group.

Later this year we will need to remove and store four (possibly five) window air conditioner units. This year, because of weather issues and other more pressing work, we will have barely gotten them installed by the time you read this. I mention a fifth unit because we are considering installing an additional unit in a classroom to support Vacation Bible School ... another item for the backlog.

There is an ongoing need to chase down bids for outside services for various work scopes that are probably unrealistic for volunteers. Some examples ...

• Cleaning and/or painting our steeple which is becoming increasingly shabby looking.
• Re-doing the gravel ground cover along the foundation of the Sanctuary.
• Cleaning and re-staining the exterior wood around the Sanctuary and main entry.
• Trimming our larger trees.
• Installing additional rain gutters and downspouts.
• Parking lot service
• Diagnosing and repairing an electrical problem with the wall outlets in the kindergarten classroom.

We need to do some follow-up work with one of service providers to resolve some emergency lighting issues in the Gathering Area.

We need to install a switch loop with dimmer capability to allow the new track lighting above the right side of the choir area to be turned off or dimmed.

We need to replace the sliding divider between the Gathering Area and the hallway to the Sunday School, wing. The existing divider is damaged.

We would like to re-work the wiring for the library lighting to allow the new track lights to be dimmed when desired.

We need to re-wire the electrical supply line to an outlet in the overhead area of the Gathering Area to resolve a code compliance matter. Alternatively, the line and outlet could be removed. The outlet is used for the Christmas Star.

We always have bulbs to replace in overhead areas. Some in the Sanctuary are 28 feet above the floor. Bulbs in the Gathering Area can be serviced from a ladder.

We need to resolve some problems with certain of the monofiliment lines in the Sanctuary used to hang items above the baptismal font and to support decorations between the walls and the iron ring. We have access to an aerial lift to do this sort of work.

And that is just part of what demands ongoing care and feeding! If you are moved to help in any way, please let me know when our paths cross at church, or call the church office. As always, I really appreciate what many of you already do on an on-going basis and cannot thank you enough, but our numbers are too few for the tasks at hand. There is nothing we do that could not also be done by hired help, but just imagine the cost and the lost opportunities!

If you have not been involved in Property Matters, but think you could help in any way, please contact me. You can get involved with the Thursday Morning Group as your schedule permits and/or you can participate at other times and in various ways. I would love to discuss possibilities with you.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

June 2019: Volunteers Needed for Property Team Work!

I imagine most folks at HTELC have a good understanding of the various things that have to happen to keep the church property safe, clean, comfortable, functional, and presentable. Fire safety equipment must be properly inspected and operational. The heating system, water systems, electrical systems, kitchen and restroom equipment must work properly when needed. Equipment and furnishings throughout the building need to be kept serviceable.

The facility must be kept clean. The building exterior, grounds, driveways and parking lot have to be maintained. Grounds equipment must be operated, stored and maintained. That said, I also surmise that far fewer folks understand how all that gets done. For a facility of our size many churches would be relying heavily on outside vendor/contractor services and might well have a paid staff position or a service to manage and coordinate all that has to be done. Historically, we have relied heavily on volunteers. Of course, we also use outside services when appropriate and within our budgets, but week in and week out, throughout the year, our volunteers are heavily engaged in addressing our property needs. The scope of the volunteer work is considerable, and, increasingly, a challenge to keep going as the number of volunteers has gradually reduced over the years. An inevitable consequence of this trend is a growing backlog of work. The regular, routine work of the Thursday Morning Group tends to take all the available resources, particularly when the outside grounds work is heavy, and we are unable to address the backlog.

So, what is the answer? There are really just three ways we get property work done. First, we have volunteers who meet most Thursday mornings through the year to work on a wide variety of property tasks. These volunteers are nearly all retired folks who can regularly get to the church on Thursday morning. The second way uses volunteers who cannot work Thursday mornings, but are willing to work on property tasks at other times that suit their availability. This approach works well for volunteers who are comfortable working alone or possibly with another volunteer or team of volunteers. The third way involves hiring someone to come in and do the work. This usually means a volunteer is needed to seek bids, select a vendor, get the work scheduled, and see the work through to completion.

No matter how we go at it, it always comes down to volunteers, and we need more of them. If you are willing to help us on property related work of any kind, please contact the office, or contact me by email at dmgr@comcast.net or call me at 603 953-3855. Thank you for your consideration. Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader.

May 2019: Warmer weather is beginning of outdoor work

With the arrival of Spring and the Easter season the Property Team has begun to increase its emphasis on outdoor tasks. The winter equipment has been put away. The warmer weather has allowed us to complete repairs and painting of damaged doors on our outside trash bins, and to install improved door latches. We are evaluating additional improvements to make the trash bins easier and safer to use.

The lawn mowing equipment has been taken out of storage and put back in service. The first lawn mowing of the season was completed just after Easter Sunday. Soon the tent will be going up, a sure harbinger of summer!

As always, our indoor work has continued as needed, and we always have a list of indoor projects on our "to-do" list. The Easter cross has been put back in storage, and the Easter lilies have been removed. With the seasonal change more of our resources will be devoted to the lawn, bushes, plantings, and other details of our grounds.

A special thank you goes out to Barry Philbrick who served as interim Property Team Leader during my winter absence. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to check out the Property Team blog entries from January to the present to learn about team activities through this past winter period.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

January 2019: Time to De-Decorate

By the time you read this report, the Christmas scene has been transformed to our normal worship surroundings. We have enjoyed the decorations to enhance the Advent and Christmas season. But, it takes a group effort to create this enhanced worship setting.

Dave Mercer had an action plan for each Advent week as the decorations expanded or changed. The three blue banners were hung from the sanctuary sides to the overhead iron ring for an awesome display. This was created by Glenn Oswald who engaged some of the Thursday Group, Worship Team and youth for help to construct and raise these banners.

Poinsettia plants and wreaths had to be ordered early so we could enjoy the flower display on Christmas Eve. Julie Moore was in control of this, as well as setting up the initial decorations.

After the tree was assembled by the Thursday Group, Bill and Julie Kath then placed the numerous symbolic crismons on the tree to complete the appearance.

And now, it is time to de-decorate.

Barry Philbrick, Interim Property Team Leader

December 2018: Inside, outside ... mostly inside!

Another month has come and gone! Wow! Suddenly, cold weather has arrived. Our snow removal contractor has already made a couple of visits to plow the driveways and lots and to clear our walks and emergency exit paths. We have put our snowblower to early use to clear some areas around our storage shed and trash bins.

It has been an unusual fall season. With the colder weather closing in, we were able to complete work to clean up the outside flower gardens to prepare them for winter, and we completed repairs to our trash bins. We may yet have the occasional warmer days to work outside, but most outside work will have to wait for spring. Our primary emphasis has moved inside. I refer you to last month's blog for a more detailed description of the various tasks that the Property Team works on, week in and week out.

Other recent work included the repair of one of the wall lighting fixtures in the Sanctuary. The fixture was taken off the wall, disassembled, an internal part (ballast) replaced, and the unit put back in service. We are also planning to install a switch loop and dimmer function for the recently installed track lights on the right side of the Sanctuary, near the musicians. This change will allow us to turn off and/or dim these bright lights when there is a need while keeping the normal wall lighting units in service.

Our emphasis in December will focus on getting the various seasonal decorations out of storage and installed. In some cases, the Property Team has the lead for this work, and in other cases, we assist other teams to get the job done. As the seasons change, we will also be involved in taking the decorations down and putting them back in storage.

December will also see a seasonal transition in Property Team leadership as Martha and I complete our preparations for our winter trip to Florida for the January to mid-April period.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

November 2018: Things seen and things unseen

When I think about all the things the Property Team does routinely and from time-to-time, it brings to mind a portion of 2 Corinthians. Forgive me if I paraphrase and take some liberties. It says, more or less, don't look at what we can see, but at things we cannot see. You can read the source for more insight, and beyond that, there are many more Biblical citations regarding what is seen and unseen. It is a long reach, I know, but the relationship to property matters comes to mind because I think it is easy to overlook things we regularly do even when the results can be readily seen, and even easier to overlook things we do that cannot be readily seen. All that said, I encourage everyone to be sensitive to what gets done and what it takes to get these things done. We can only speculate on the magnitude of cost savings that results from all our volunteer efforts, but it has to be substantial.

There are so many things that the Property Team does on a regular basis to help keep our building clean, organized, and beautiful. We keep the Sanctuary tidy by picking up papers, debris and various personal item left behind. We clean candle wax from the chairs and the floor. We clean the baptismal font. We water and care for plants inside the building and on the grounds. Our palms continue to bring out new shoots and our Christmas cactus in the alcove at the office entrance is setting up many buds.

We clean the glass doors and wash windows, inside and out. We recently cleaned all the sanctuary windows from the inside and are continuing with inside windows in the rest of the building. Weather permitting, we will do outside window washing after the outside fall property cleanup has been completed.

Periodically we clean refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, drawers, and closets as well.

We typically assist with putting up and taking down Christmas and Easter decorations.

We manage the "Lost and Found" by collecting misplaced items and periodically putting them on display to help get them back to their owners or find them another home.

Apparently, I was one of the last to know that a skylight window in the Sanctuary has been leaking and dropping water on the congregation. Someone pointed out the problem to me on a recent Sunday, and I observed a few drops of clean water drops falling from one of the overhead windows. The quantity was small, a drop or two every 6-10 seconds, but an irritation none-the-less. Since learning of this problem, I am told these overhead windows have leaked before, and sometimes the water drops are discolored and can stain clothing, carpet, or furniture. In the most recent case, I cycled the affected window open and closed a few times and the leak stopped after a few hours. A few days later, no leakage was seen after several hours of heavy rain. We will be keeping an eye on the windows for any additional leakage. If necessary, we will bring in a contractor to inspect, clean, and service the window seal material.

As we get deeper into the fall season, we have been putting away summer things, removing and storing air conditioners, dealing with leaves and other outdoor cleanup. Winter is near and we are getting prepared. We have signed a contract with our snow removal and salting contractor; test started our snow blower, and are deploying our snow shovels, and other winter maintenance items. We should be ready for what is coming.

You may notice some new track lighting just above the windows on the right side of the Sanctuary. Our choir musicians requested this additional lighting. Many thanks to Richard Topping and Jeff Morrison who helped get this lighting installed and wired. It seems that there is always a lighting issue to be resolved. We do our best to address these issues as they arise.

You may have noticed that our wood trash bins beside the barn have been going through some refurbishment. Time and weather have taken a toll on the covers and doors, so we have been working to resolve these problems.

As I said ... seen and unseen. Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

October 2018: Another snapshot in time

The Property Team has continued "doing its thing", which is to say we have kept on doing what we've been doing. The specific "things" change with the seasons and the situations, but the big picture seems timeless enough. Some of the same tasks always roll around in an informal, but predictable cycle, and new tasks keep coming up. We do our best to take care of them. Our "to do" list seems to grow and grow.

As of Saturday afternoon, October 6, all of the various lights in the Sanctuary were functional again with the exception of one that we are keeping off by choice. A special "thank you" goes out to Mike Cresta who provided and operated the aerial lift to get me up to the high overhead light fixtures that needed attention, and Tracy Barry and Barry Philbrick who also gave up a portion of their Saturday afternoon to move chairs and lug various things around. Of course, there remains a possibility that another bulb will fail before you read this. That is how cycles work!

We try to use volunteer resources where it is reasonable to do so. Another one of our volunteers, Jeff Morrison, will be coming in to modify a dedicated electrical line to make it compatible with the new office copy machine to be installed this month. Some tasks demand outside assistance. This month we will have a vendor in to replace a power supply that serves several emergency lights in the kitchen area. These lights have been out of service for quite some time.

Situations change, and sometimes our plans change as well. Our plans to change one of the kitchen faucets fell on hard times when I was unable to get the old faucet out. The work space is very tight and one of the nuts securing the faucet to the sink proved uncooperative. Since the existing faucet is still functional, we have decided to keep it in service so long as parts are available and it remains serviceable. While working on the sink, we also discovered a problem with one of the drinking water coolers. We will be ordering and replacing a leaking part and resolving a marginal drain for this cooler.

There is always more to tell about Property Team activities. Here are a few more examples. We have recently been involved in coordinating/advising Brian Clement on his successful Eagle Scout project restoring and reorienting our church sign and related improvements. We have been making plans to resolve issues with our old weathered and damaged trash dumpsters.We removed and replaced furniture and other items to support the new carpet installation. We resolved issues with doors for both the ladies’ and men’s’ rooms. We removed many items stored in back classrooms.

The story could go on, but I will wait for another time. Until then, we will be working off items on our "to do" list. Dave Mercer, for the Property Team

September 2018: Watch your step! Where is the sign? When does the tent season end?

You may have heard or even personally experienced an unanticipated consequence of the new carpet installation. Some folks have advised us that they have tripped or stumbled at two locations near the kitchen where the hallways merge with the Gathering Area. Since construction of these areas of our facility, there has been a minor elevation change at these points. We are not sure why this problem has arisen now, but it may be the consequence of the new carpet in the hallway being identical to the new carpet in the Gathering Area which makes any elevation change or transition more difficult to see or anticipate. We have placed some warning signs near these locations and have put "black and yellow" warning tape on the floor at the transition. We will continue to monitor the situation. Please make yourself of aware of these locations and be cautious as you pass through.

Brian Clement advised us of a delay in the schedule to complete the installation of the refurbished sign in front of our building. He now anticipates the sign will be installed the weekend of September 8th.

This is the time of year we start thinking about taking down and storing our tent for the season. Unless a need to keep it up after Sunday, September 9th is brought to our attention, the Property Team will plan on taking it down on Thursday, September 13th, weather permitting.

Faith Formation Team volunteers have been busy this past month painting the back two classrooms in the Education Wing. These efforts are much appreciated and greatly compliment the newly installed carpet in these rooms. We will be continuing to clear these rooms of materials stored there, but not needed in these rooms.

This summer we encountered a few plumbing issues which we have addressed and will continue to address. A faucet in one of the two kitchen sinks failed and was out of service for a few days until we found and installed a repair part. As it turned out, the internal parts are not particularly robust, and the new part also failed after a short period of usage. A second replacement part appears to be hanging in there. We have purchased a new replacement faucet which we will install when a good opportunity arises (a Thursday morning with rain). We also recently found some water in the cabinet under this same location. It appears that this issue is unrelated to the faucet problem, and is likely due to a failed seal where one of the sinks joins the counter top. We have applied some temporary calking material at this location, but the sink needs to be lifted and the entire seal around the sink replaced. This should not be a major, expensive project, but it takes time. We have also recently found a problem with the toilet in the mens room in the Education Wing. The metal ring holding the toilet to the floor had corroded away rendering the hold down bolts ineffective. This is an unusual and difficult installation because of its attachment at a concrete floor. We have completed a repair and the toilet is properly sealed at the floor. An energetic user may still sense some movement of the unit, but it is still sealed. Be gentle, guys! Given that we have other similar installations of similar age in the building, the Property Team is waiting for the next shoe to drop! Oh, joy!

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

July 2018: Inspections, Exterminators, and Permits

Posted by Mark Donahue on Thursday, July 12, 2018 @ 2:18 PM

The Property Team has been busy with the normal outside tasks of mowing, trimming, garden care and such, as well as our normal inside routine of cleaning and minor repairs. Since my last report, the contractor for our basement sump pump system and dehumidifier system has been in to inspect and service this equipment. This equipment is working well with no problems noted. Also, I called our exterminator in to apply chemicals for carpenter ant control in selected areas of the Sanctuary after hearing some reports that these potentially problematic visitors had been seen. Please let me or the office know if you see any problems with insects, rodents, etc.

By the time this report is published, work to seal the parking lot and driveways should be in progress. The work has begun on Tuesday and we’re on schedule to complete on time by Friday, concluding with painting of the parking lines. Also, the carpet replacement work in the Gathering Area, Sacristy, first floor hallways, and two first floor classrooms is scheduled to begin on August 7 and be completed in about a week. I have also been working with the Newington Fire Department to obtain a renewal of our permit for the tent. The permit expired on July 1. I anticipate the permit will have been renewed prior to the next planned use for Vacation Bible School. David Mercer, Property Team Leader