Facilities Updates for the Month of July

This month’s update highlights several ongoing and upcoming facility projects across our parishes. These efforts reflect routine maintenance and longer-term investment in the safety, beauty, and sustainability of our buildings.

St. Mary Parish & School

At St. Mary, our focus continues to be on maintaining the church, school, and cemetery. Along with routine maintenance, several improvement projects are underway.

These projects include:

• Cleaning, re-caulking, and touching up paint on the church windows.
• Stripping and repainting the school alley entrance doors.
• Reinstalling the lower-level center doors for proper operation.
• Continuing our annual school window maintenance program, replacing or repairing windows as needed.
• Repainting the ceiling and exposed heating pipes in the Activity Center.
• Repairing the bell tower, with work scheduled to begin at the end of July.
• Leveling and seeding grave sites at the cemetery, also scheduled to being the third week of July.

St. Anthony

At St. Anthony, much of our recent work has focused on maintaining and improving the campus while addressing a significant infrastructure project at the St. Therese Center. Alongside routine grounds maintenance, several restoration and energy-efficiency projects are underway to preserve our facilities and enhance their long-term functionality.

Current projects include:

• Replacing the main plumbing line exiting the St. Therese Center after leaks, blockages, and tree root intrusion required full replacement.
• Restoring the affected basement area, including backfilling, new concrete, and future carpet or tile installation.
• Completing seasonal mulching and trimming throughout the campus.
• Converting exterior lighting to energy-efficient LED fixtures.
• Repairing deteriorated plaster in the church, particularly on the ceiling and beneath the bell tower.
• Refinishing the front entrance doors and the windows above the archway, with work scheduled for the third week of July.

An Opportunity for Savings at Both Parishes

At both parishes, we are changing our  approach to entryway rugs in the churches. Rather than continuing a rental contract with a rug service, we are purchasing rugs outright. 

Over time, this will  reduce monthly costs.  In fact, about 10 months of current rental expenses would cover the purchase, resulting in long-term savings.

As always, these projects are undertaken with a focus on safety, care of resources, and the long-term maintenance of our parish facilities. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we work to maintain and improve these important spaces.