Most people in St. Louis know that there are two major seasons - winter…and road work season! Things aren’t too drastically different at the parish either, and when school and PSR aren’t in session, we take the opportunity to work on campus renovation projects. Last summer was a big year at the parish, with the completion of the parking lot project and the roof replacement on the school. Both of those turned out great, and have made a big difference on the campus, thanks to the hard work and coordination of our parish Facilities Committee. But it’s a new summer, and that means…more projects! Here’s what’s on the list for the next several months:

Gymnasium HVAC Replacement - One major project this summer will involve replacing the HVAC unit on the Parish Center/Gymnasium. The unit is reaching the end of its life, and we’ve been advised that it could give out at any time. Given as well that the unit is custom built and would need extensive lead time to order, we’ve decided to be proactive in replacing the unit while the gym isn’t getting as much use over the summer. This project should be beginning as soon as this week, so if you see cranes set up around the building, that’s probably why.

School Carpeting - Every summer, we try to replace the carpet squares in some of the classrooms as they wear out, and we’ll be doing the same this summer. Unfortunately, the manufacturer is no longer making the carpet style that we’ve worked with in the past, so we’re going to replace a little more than we usually do as we swap for a new pattern.

Church Sound System - I know many people have been following the saga of our church sound system, but we might be nearing the end of the story! After a few improvements left us still lacking in sound coverage and quality, we consulted with a new company, Elite Technology, which has done work for a number of other Catholic Churches in our area, including our neighbors, St. Peter. Their approach is to create a digital model of our church interior to simulate the materials and acoustics, and use what they find to come up with a plan to maximize sound coverage and intelligibility in our space. They will also be working to improve the sound in the cry room and the narthex, and improve accessibility for those who may require hearing assistance. This will require a bit of a change to the speaker setup in the church, so I will revisit that when the final plans are ready.

Parish Office Vestibule - One last major project we will be undertaking will be in the entryway leading into the parish offices. There were a number of issues that needed to be addressed in that area, including roof replacement, storm-water drainage, and handicap access, but we thought it might also be a time to address the security, weather-proofing, and professional aesthetics of the parish office building as well. The entryway will include an enclosed vestibule leading into the office, which will provide some much-needed security upgrades for the office, but also more clearly designate the building as a professional workplace.

We have been planning a project like this for a while, even during the development of our Parish Pastoral Plan, and our SGM Facilities Committee has been hard at work coming up with the designs alongside the architects, getting necessary approvals from Kirkwood and the Archdiocese, and working with our Finance Committee to secure funding. Construction costs have gone up a lot in recent years, and alongside other required site improvements, the project will be in the area of $285,000. We have been blessed by the generosity of our parishioners past and present and have planned to be able to adequately cover the costs of this improvement. Feel free to take a look at the Finance Council’s piece in this week’s bulletin to learn more. The project completion date is still unknown at this point but estimated at the beginning of the fall.

Of course, all of these improvements are only possible through the generosity of our parish community, and I am so grateful for your support. Many people have graciously asked how they can assist with the needs of our parish, especially without the “Fund-a-Need” appeal at this year’s parish auction, and with such major improvements, we al-ways welcome your support. If you would like to make a donation for the Parish Office Vestibule Project or any of our summer work, please feel free to do so through the weekly offertory or by calling the parish office at 314-965-3985. And if I can be of any help or clarification, please feel to reach out. Thank you for your generosity and support!