Building & Grounds Projects Updates

It’s been a very busy spring and summer at St. Benedict and so a projects update to the congregation seems in order.

First the obvious stuff: 
Our Lead Gardener, Clarice is developing a 5 year landscaping plan of which only the first steps have been taken.  The first major action was to remove the junipers that had grown so large that they blocked the views of the church from the street.  Next we had a review done by the Thurston County Extension service to help us plan to use native, low maintenance species when we replant.  They also recommended that as soon as possible we put down a thick layer of compost to restore some of the nutrients stripped by the junipers and then add a layer of mulch (bark) to keep the compost composting and help keep moisture in when we do replant which has been done. We are all excited to see what is chosen to go back into the beds but final planting will need to wait until fall so nature can do the watering.

We had an arborist look at our flowering trees as a couple of the trees look like they have rotten cores.  She agreed with our assessment and indicated that she was surprised they had lasted as long as they have due to their natural life span.  We are waiting for a permit from the City of Lacey and then the 2 worst trees will be removed with others following over time. The arborist also made recommendations for replacing the trees which included the admonition that we plant more than one species so we don’t have to take them all out at once due to age or disease in the future.

Our “triangle sign” started along the path of being repurposed after some repainting and rehab work by Don Laford.  One of the St. Benedict signs and one of the service times signs were moved to the corner of the building previously occupied by a peeling St. Benedict Sign.  (There are plans in the works for the other repainted St. Benedict sign, so keep an eye out for it.)

Thanks to a painting party the garden shed has been repainted (with paint that had been mis-mixed but happened to be just right for us (at a really good price))! Clarice has also started reorganizing the shed so that it will be easier to access tools when they are needed. (And speaking of tools, we now have an industrial strength hedge trimmer and a donated, heavy duty battery weed trimmer.)
Rev. Beth is praying hard that our new sign will be in place and ready to be dedicated at the St. Benedict Day celebration on August 10th. (It is now going through the permitting process).

Now the important stuff you may not notice but keeps the lights on (literally):
Our Building and Grounds Steward is working with Capital Heating and our Leadership Team to correct issues with our HVAC system.  If you are not completely comfortable during services we apologize and want you to know that there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make it better.

We recently had a visit from a Puget Sound Energy (PSE) representative.  He indicated that we qualify to have our remaining florescent lighting changed out to LED lighting at PSE’s expense!  We should see this happen in early fall.  In the mean time we will be pursuing other PSE grants for our energy projects.

This won’t keep the lights on but it will keep our toilets draining; Bob Beckman has been doggedly keeping our sewer connection project moving along.  We are close to being ready to get a permit and then can move to abandon our very small on-site septic system and connect to the city sewer.

Our roof has not been forgotten along the way.  No permanent solution has yet been found to our ongoing (38 year) leaking but we have at least figured out how to keep the Rector from getting a shower whenever we have a heavy rain storm and the women dry when they visit the restroom.  We will continue to pursue a long – term solution and in the meantime deal with the small stuff as our volunteers are able.

Finally we need HELP!!
All of these projects are done with volunteer labor whenever possible to help stretch our budget.  Please let Junior Warden Kelly Ellis, Lead Gardener Clarice Gregory, or Building and Grounds Steward Norman Gregory know if you have time and skills to help out. (We also thank our generous donors who have donated money for these important projects.)