By the time you read this a pile of dirt will once again grace the grounds at church and, within the week, contractors should be on site to work on the last big piece of the Project Welcome “puzzle.”

The narthex restroom has been completed and functioning for several months. A couple of small tasks still need to be completed (i.e. paper towel dispenser, new vacant/in-use lockset, a new shelf). The vertical platform lift is in use. As many as four worshippers make use of the lift each weekend; more when we host a funeral or other big event. The last “step” to improving accessibility is to remove the remaining step at the portico entrance.

The Board of Trustees approved the contracts with a vendor who has completed work at St. John’s in the past (including a review by a trustee with expertise in asphalt maintenance and paving). Two other church members are using their personal equipment to complete a critical drainage project at the church (see note below).  Our hope is that by Memorial Day all of the steps into the sanctuary will be functionally eliminated.

We still need your financial support to complete this project. Additional donations should be marked “Project Welcome” and either placed in the offering or sent to St. John’s in the same way you currently provide offerings.

NOTE ON DRAINAGE:

Every time it rains, a large pool of water collected on the driveway and in the corner of the building near the existing men’s restroom. In the worst circumstances, water enters the building in that restroom and the counter’s room on the lower level.

GOOD NEWS!  The excavation now underway will provide for a “french drain” with stone and attached to a storm water system.  It will also improve the grade away from the building, moving any water at the surface away from the building. Any water that does find its way into the soil will then have a place to not only collect away from the building, but eventually drain away. This SHOULD eliminate the water that has often flooded the lower level of the church building.