March 2021: Some steps forward ... some steps back!

There has been quite a bit of progress on the new fire alarm system since my last blog entry. Most of the new work has involved installation of electrical conduit on walls and ceilings to allow wiring of various alarm components to the new alarm panels. Since our new system is being installed in an existing building, not new construction, several places do not have access through an attic or other convenient access point, and we have to install some surface mounted conduit for the wiring needed for sensors and other components. This will be a new look for us. I'm sure we will get used to it in time.

Soon we will be doing installation work in the sanctuary. This will involve installation of new sensors in the overhead areas as well as other new components. Some work will involve the use of an aerial lift to get access to the high overhead areas. Our contractor estimates that the work with the lift could take about a week to complete. Because of the type of lift planned for this job, I am hopeful that the work will require minimal movement of chairs or other items. We will have to temporarily remove some obstacles for the aerial lift such as the monofilament lines used for the banners to the iron ring chandelier.

There is still quite a bit of work remaining for completion of the new system, but progress is being made. As they say, to make an omelet you have to break some eggs. Sometimes you break an egg when you didn't intend to. This was the case last week when a worker installing new conduits accidentally drilled into one of our heating lines, and we lost heating in the sanctuary for a couple of days. Heating has been restored to one of the two heating zones serving the sanctuary, and this is sufficient to provide all the necessary heating in that space. We have redundant capacity for the sanctuary, so either of the zones has the capacity to heat this space. We plan to repair the line to the second zone of the sanctuary heating sometime after the heating season has passed. As always, many thanks are due to our very able heating system volunteer, Jim McKenna, who isolated the damaged portion of the system and put the remaining system back into service. We are so blessed to have his time and talents available to us.

The Thursday group has completed what I have dubbed "Operation Mouse" in the kitchen. This has involved removing materials from many cabinets in the kitchen, sealing off access points for mice, cleaning cabinet interiors and item stored there, and returning items to the cabinets.

The Thursday group has also continued to work on resolutions to problems that the Newington Fire Department identified as violations in their last formal inspection of the building. The violations involved a variety of items such as excessive step-off height at several emergency doors, areas where additional emergency lighting and signage was required, and several cases where existing fire doors were not operating correctly. By the time you read this article, the Newington Fire Department will have been in the building to complete a follow-up inspection on the violations. One of the fire doors has been particularly difficult to fix and may require replacement. I will tell you more next time.

David Mercer, Property Team Leader.

February 2021: Who moved my cheese?

Do any of you remember that somewhat popular management training book, "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr. Spencer Johnson? The central theme of the book was change and dealing with change. The book used the playful comparison of changes we all face from time to time to the situation of a mouse arriving at one of the normal locations for a cheese-baited trap and a snack for a clever mouse, only to find it was gone. In our case we have a different twist on this theme. We are not moving the trap. In fact we are adding to the number of traps and hoping our little friends come and try to take their snack. It may be that the change issue for us is the low activity in our building over these many months, particularly since the cold season has arrived. We have always had mice in the building to a degree, but we are certainly seeing quite a few mice here and there, including in the kitchen. In the past few weeks we have encountered more than a dozen of our church mice in traps and on sticky boards. The mice may be sensing an opportunity! We have been taking some action to address this problem. We have placed more traps and more sticky boards in various places, and have been working to seal up some apparent access points in the kitchen. I don't think we need to fear any attacks by these little creatures. After all, we are so much bigger than they are, but we do want to make an attempt to show them who's boss! Unlike mice, we do have fully opposable thumbs, a very helpful tool for setting and dealing with traps!

For those of you who are interested in the new fire alarm system work, I can tell you the work has been proceeding in fits and starts, as they say. I have asked the contractor to give me information on what has been done to date and a projection on completion. There is certainly a lot more work to be done to install new equipment in every room and space in the building and get it wired into the new alarm panels in the basement. I will be providing additional progress information as it becomes available.

Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader

January 2021: Do you ever think these reports come too often? Perhaps.

As the great modern day philosopher, Yogi Berra, once said, “It's deja vu all over again.” The literal French translation of “deja vu” is “already seen”. I sometimes feel as I try to write these regular reports that I have already written it. As I hinted at, perhaps we are doing them too often. In these strange times when activities around the building and grounds are so limited, the property situation is not particularly dynamic. A quarterly report might serve just fine. I can dream! In any case here we go again. Please excuse any old news.

We are into the Sundays of Epiphany. The decorations for the Christmas season have been taken down and stored. We are moving on to the next topic. It all seems nearly surreal given we have not been in the building to experience the season up close and personal. Streaming, Zoom, Facebook … whatever … just does not do it for me compared to the actual sensations of being there in the building with our Holy Trinity family. Alas … this is not our current reality, so we can only do our best to do what needs to be done to have our facility ready for normalcy when it returns.

Over the past year or more the Property Team has been working to resolve some fire code issues identified in routine inspections by the Newington Fire Department and also as a result of the lightning strike damage earlier this year that destroyed portions of the fire alarm system. Most of the routine inspection issues are very straight-forward and have been resolved. Others involving fire door operation have been more of a challenge, but we continue to work to resolve them. Of course, replacement of the fire alarm system is a major task for our fire alarm system contractor. This work is in progress and will continue for several weeks or more. I assume that the Town of Newington will not allow us to return the building to normal use until the new fire alarm system is completed and tested. To the extent that we can control the completion time frame, the objective is to keep the fire alarm system work from becoming the critical path to getting back to normal building use. A simple explanation of “critical path” is in this example. If we knew for certain that we could open the building for normal use eight weeks from today (purely hypothetical for purposes of illustration), a fire alarm system completion time of eight weeks or more would put this work on the critical path to normal building use. Hopefully, this can be avoided, and we will have schedule flexibility to get things done without delaying return to normalcy.

As always, I wish to thank all of the property team volunteers who have continued to do the various tasks, large and small, needed to keep our property safe and ready for use.

David Mercer, Property Team Leader

December 2020: Minimal progress on the new fire alarm system

Some of you have asked about progress on the new fire alarm system. I have to say progress has been more meager than I had anticipated. Many of the new components (I am not sure of the percentage) have arrived and are in the basement work room, but very little equipment installation has been completed. Fortunately for the schedule, building use continues to be minimal, and we have not been pressed to get the new equipment installed for the Christmas season. I contacted our contractor to request information on their schedule for our work. Their reply stated that they were being impacted by COVID matters and were working to complete a couple of smaller jobs so they could turn their attention to our job. Hopefully, they will be getting to us soon and this work will not impact our eventual return to full building use. For now, I have no significant progress to report.

We experienced a loss of the heating system for a short time (probably less than a day)due to an electrical issue in a panel in the boiler room. Fortunately, Jim McKenna, our competent and conscientious heating system volunteer, resolved the problem quickly. In an unrelated matter, if you were in the building in November, you may have heard a regular, periodic "chirping" from the boiler room. Many of us quickly assume that this means a battery needs replaced. In this case it was our carbon monoxide detector telling us it had reached the end of its life (perhaps seven years or so) and Jim McKenna replaced this detector as well. It is interesting to note that the boiler room currently has a heat sensor which would normally be operational through the first floor portion of the fire alarm system which is not functional at this time. The new system will replace this sensor with a combination heat, smoke, carbon monoxide detector, but until then, the existing carbon monoxide detector is the only functional detector, so we did not have the luxury of waiting for the new equipment. As we say, there is always something!

The Thursday Group continues to serve in limited numbers. Recent efforts have included installation of the Advent Wreath and candles, the garlands and blue bows, and the Chrismon Tree in the Sanctuary. The last hurrah for normal grounds work, de-gassing the mowers and removing batteries, has also been completed, and some late season work on leaves, including leaf removal from gutters, has been completed. Equipment in the barn has been rearranged to suit the winter season and snow blower use as needed. It seems no matter how late we work on leaves, some remain here and there waiting for spring. As always, some normal inside cleaning work has been done as time has permitted.

November 2020: Is it new news, old news, some of both? Be the judge.

The Property Team's Thursday group has operated reasonably well in these difficult times, though our numbers are at minimal levels. Grounds work is keeping up with most of the basics, but leaf removal and minimal mowing are using most of our available people each week. We have been able to get the air conditioners out and stored, and the tent has been taken down and moved to storage. Salt buckets and snow shovels have been taken out of storage and staged for use at three entry/exit door locations. We will be continuing to address remaining grounds work while the weather permits. We were able to complete the last of the outside painting work planned for this year.

As always, work has been done inside the building as well. There is an ongoing need to address cleaning matters outside the scope of our cleaning service, and an ongoing need to tidy things, address clutter, and support various building use matters. These things will become increasingly important and demanding now that we are beginning to transition back to normal building use. Things have gotten a bit disheveled during this long period of minimal building use.

We are fortunate to have a skilled volunteer to make our heating system ready each heating season. This work was completed in October. When you have an opportunity, thank Jim McKenna for all of his efforts.

Some progress has been made on the new fire alarm system. System hardware has been received and two of the new alarm panels have mounted on a wall in the basement work room. No wiring work has started, but this is progress.

The planned replacement of our main electrical distribution panel was delayed by schedule issues, but this work should complete in early November. This work will resolve some electrical breaker issues and also provide power surge protection for the building.

David Mercer, Property Team Leader

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