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February 23, 2015Following up on Fr. Chip’s appeal to the generosity of parishioners to help with the offertory shortfalls due to bad weather on recent Sundays and increased costs due to the effects of the snow and cold, we want to let the whole Collaborative know how we’ve been working to keep the churches and buildings accessible and functioning.
Our Lady of Sorrows
Bullock Center: There have been multiple instances of frozen pipes in the Bullock Center, with the latest requiring that all water service in the building be shut off. Unfortunately the only permanent solution would be to re-route the plumbing since at the moment it travels through the crawlspace underneath the building where even the best insulation can’t protect it from the recent Arctic conditions. There have also been some ice dams on the roof that caused water infiltration and damage in the building. Professional crews were called in to remove snow from the roof.
Rectory Offices: A frozen septic line caused a back up into the offices, resulting in temporarily losing the use of the bathroom and other waste water systems. The plumber needed to be called to uncover the tank and remove the blockage.
Church: A front-end loader was brought in to clear the giant snow piles in the parking lot created from the plowing, recovering a number of spaces that had been covered.
O’Connell Hall: Over 40 inches of snow were removed from the roof by a professional crew to prevent weight-related damage.
Blessed Sacrament
Parish House Offices: Ice dams on the roofs caused some water infiltration into the building. A professional crew was brought in to remove the snow from the roof.
Church: Frozen drains on the flat roof above the chapel caused water infiltration into the sacristy. This is not related to the work on the tower completed last year. Snow was removed from the flat roofs and the drains were reopened. Also a front-end loader was brought in multiple times to clear the large piles of snow caused by plowing in order to make more spots accessible again.
School: Over three feet of snow was removed from the flat roofs of the school by a professional crew.
Other: Accessory buildings, garages, and the rectory all required extensive snow removal from their roofs.
St. Mary
Rectory and garage: Extensive snow removal from roofs was required.
Church: Ice dams caused water infiltration by the side door. A front-end loader has been brought in multiple times to clear the upper lot of the large snow piles created by plowing all the storms, and this recovered a number of parking spots.
Parish Hall and Religious Education Center: Extensive snow removal efforts were required for the entire building. Ice dams caused water infiltration which shorted out a smoke detector and as a result disabled the fire alarm system. The lack of a working fire alarm required the closing of the building for a number of days until it could be fixed. The ice dams were also removed from the building.
Vendors
This winter, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Mary have used the same local plowing companies that the parishes have used for several years. Blessed Sacrament put its snow cleanup out to bid this year and received multiple bids. The vendor selected was one of the best cost options and also had a previous relationship with the parish in that they provided cleaning services to the parish building. Blessed Sacrament has also benefited from some very generous parishioners. A large plow truck has regularly helped clean the lot at no cost to the parish and a generous school parent brought in a front-end loader at no charge to the parish to move the snow once to reclaim much of the lot.
The roof cleaning company at St. Mary was the same one the parish selected several years ago. Blessed Sacrament used the company that was the low bidder and successfully completed the tower project for the parish this summer. Our parishes were like many other businesses and organizations over the past few weeks, in that we were hard-pressed to find contractors that could help us with the large volume of snow removal we had to complete in the time alloted while demand for their services were high. We were fortunate to get the assistance we did at the rates we have agreed to.
Much of the work required professionals using specialized equipment, for example, to reach the multi-story roofs with crews trained in high work. All of these costs are in addition to the plowing, sanding, overtime for our regular facilities staff, and ice melt supplies that have been part of the heroic effort to keep the churches and other buildings open for access. Keep in mind that this has been an unprecedented stretch of weather over the past couple of months with not only record snow, but also record cold, and as you are surely aware at your own homes, the pace and magnitude of the weather made it difficult to prevent the kind of damage and recovery work we’ve seen.
With the usual generosity and patience of the parishioners in our parishes, we know we will all make it through this unpleasant time and we can begin to turn our thoughts and prayers to an early and mild Spring without extremes of weather.
If you have any questions about facilities or the various circumstances outlined above, please send a message to Martin Murphy, Director of Finance and Operations.
