St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Annual Parish Meeting 2019 Capital Improvement and Real Estate; Maintenance February 02, 2020 Submitted by Masha Zaharoff

Thisreportisparthistory,part“Trueconfessions”andparthowtorecognizesomeonewhodoesnotwanttoberecognized.Nevertheless,inthespiritofwhywewritethesereportsthisinforma>onshouldbeconveyed.

History

Historically,maintenancehasbeenaseparateministryallonitsown—notasitiscurrently,lumpedtogetherwithCapitalImprovementandRealEstate.Thischangeoccurredabouttenyearsagowhentheministryleadermovedaway.Whennoonesteppedforwardtofilltheposi>on,maintenancewas“temporarily”movedunderCapitalImprovementsandbecameitsfosterchild.Tothisday,theposi>onremainsunfilledandhasaddedtotheresponsibili>esoftheCapitalImprovementministry.AHertheRectorywasbuiltin2005,theCapitalImprovementMinistryhadrackedupanextensivelistofprofessionalsfromthetrades.ForthoseofyouwhocametoSt.NicholasChurchaHerthismajorevent,youshouldknowthattheMinistryofCapitalImprovementservedasthegeneralcontractoroverseeingbuildingoftherectoryfromthegroundup.Thisenabledthechurchtosupplementtherectoryconstruc>onthroughvolunteersandprofessionalswhoeitherdonatedtheir>meordiscountedthecosttheirlabor.Bythe>metheprojectwascompleted,St.Nicholashadanimpressiveandextensivelistofprofessionalsweaffec>onatelyregardedas“FriendsofSt.Nicholas”.ItwasthislistoffriendsthatenabledtheCapitalImprovementMinistrytotemporarilyabsorbtheMaintenanceMinistryoverthepastdecade.Thissavedconsiderable>meandmoneyforourparishbysimplycallingtheappropriatetradepersonfromourfriendslisttomakethenecessaryrepairs.

Sadly,thismuchappreciatedlistoffriendshasevaporatedovertheyearsthroughre>rements,deathsandreloca>ons.Concurrently,thenatureoftheconstruc>ontradehasalsochangesignificantlyinthepastdecadeasfloods,fires,andhigh-endcustomremodelinghascreatedanenvironmentofhighdemand/lowsupplyoftradespeople.Pricesescalate,availabilityoffolksdeclinesaslarge-scaleprojectstakepriorityoversmallscalerepairs.Aneffec>veMaintenanceMinistry

nowrequiresamanagerwhocaneithermaketheminorrepairthemselvesoranalyzetheanatomyoftheneedandrelyontheirownlistofprofessionals.

GodProvides

Sohere’sthetrickypart—minorrepairshavebeenmade>mely,effec>vely,andeconomicallyatSt.NicholasthoughnotthroughtheMinistryofCapitalImprovement.Rather,almostalloftherepairshavebeenmadebyaparishioner,whoquietly,competentlydonateshis>metoanalyzetheproblem,iden>fythemosteffec>veapproachandthenmakestherepairhimself.Theembodimentofagoodandfaithfulservantwhoanswersthecallforservice.Youmaybethinking:“Gee,let’smakehimtheHeadofMaintenance.”No,thoughhappytohelpwhenheisableto,asarecentre>reehewilldoallhecan,thoughnotinanofficialcapacity.Sowhybringitup?First,isitpossibletomakeanew,currentlistof“FriendsofSt.Nicholas?”Doyouhavefriendswhoarecompetentinatradewhoarewillingtodonatetheir>meordiscounttheirlabor?Pleaseaskthemandletusknowiftheyarewilling.Secondly,weshouldbemadeawareoffolkswhodosomuchforuseventhoughtheyabhorpublicrecogni>onandfanfare.Butwhynotgiveaquietthankyou,evenonejustwhispered,alongwithawarmsmile.So,hereisalistofrepairshandledbyourunofficialmaintenanceparishioner.

1. Stoveinhallkitchen(trickyrepairentailingmanyhoursofinternetresearch)

2. RepairedRectorystove.

3. Officelockrepair.

4. Sumppumprepair.

5. Oversawrepairofhallkitchensinkplumbing,reviewedplumber’splanandmadechangesmorebeneficialtoparish.

6. Analyzedandmaderecommenda>onsforrectorywasher/dryer.

7. Repairedahcfan.

8. Numerousotherminorrepairsthatescapememory.

Oh,bythewayareyouawarethatGeorgeBaranoffrecentlyre>red?

OtherMaintenanceItemsAccomplished

• Cupola—ThankstoGregAdairthesagaoftheleakyCupolahasbeenresolved.Nolongerdonewsreportsofprecipita>onstrikefearinourhearts.GreghasmasterfullysolvedthemaddeningmysteryofwhytheCupolawasleakingandmadethenecessaryrepair.

• TheChurchdoorswerepainted,ekingoutanotherseasonfromthem.Thoughtheylookbeau>ful,beautyisonlyskindeep,andverysoon,allthreesetsofdoorswillhavetobereplaced.Es>matedcostof$20,000.

• Yard—Wearegratefulforthecon>nueddona>onfromtheGantus’thatallowforthebi-weeklyarrivalofthegardenerswhotrim,weedandcleanourhardscape.ThisallowsFr.Stephanalillemore>metoplant,fer>lize,prune,growtheextraordinarypaleleofcolorintheformofflowersthatbeau>fy,drawinpasserby’sandadornourtempleiconsinflowertraysandbouquets.

UpcomingMaintenanceProjects

• Pressurewashandsealdrivewaypavers.

• Painttheexteriorwallsofthechurch.

• Pressurewashandsealdeck.

• RepairfrontporchofVictorian.

• Repairthelower-partsoftheVictorian’sroof.

Anytakers?

A<c

ThemajorCapitalImprovementeventin2019wasthecomple>onoftheahcproject.ThankstoGeorgeBaranoffandYevgenyKronik,wenowhaveasafe,insulatedandalsotripledoursquarefootageofavailablestoragecapacity.Abearofajobconcludedduringthehotsummermonths,insula>onwascustomfiled,unevenfloorjoistswerepainstakinglyshimmedwherenecessarytoachieveauniformheightandplywoodwascarefullyfiledtoachieveasturdy,safeandlevelfloor.

Li>leKid’sRoom

TheLilleKid’sRoomnotonlylookscuteasabug’searbutisbeau>fullyfunc>onalthankstoGregAdairforhangingthecabinets,SteveMadsenforpain>ngtheroom,andAndreaYanonefortheshinynewtables.

UpcomingCapitalImprovements

• Researchandiden>fynewchurchdoors.