The Second Reformed Church of Hackensack
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Property Committee Property CommitteeFor the past few years, many of the members of the Property Committee have volunteered hours of their time and money on repairs and restoration projects throughout the Second Reformed Church building. This work has provided necessary repairs and helped preserve the beauty of the church and has also saved us a great deal of money.
To help put this into perspective, the contractor we use for projects beyond the scope of our talents charges us $75 per man hour, plus materials for projects. If we would have hired them, the recent work on the Baptismal Font would have cost the Church approximately $375-450 (allowing that professionals would complete the job more quickly) plus the materials.
Gary Hickey installed GFCI outlets in the kitchen, replaced some deteriorating, forty year old light switches in the basement and installed a new timer for our lighted outdoor sign. He also replaced all of the faucets in both the upstairs and downstairs kitchens. The old faucets were disintegrating and badly leaking into the sinks, wasting quite a bit of water. The new faucet in the upstairs kitchen can now accommodate the height of the coffee urn and makes it easier to fill and clean. Thanks to Art DeBlasio and Pastor Wilcox who assisted. Their efforts saved the Church hundreds of dollars in both labor and materials cost.
These are just some recent examples of how the volunteer work performed by the Property Committee helps to maintain the Second Reformed Church while softening the impact on the Church's budget. The Committee appreciates all the compliments and comments we've received. With the Lord's blessings, we will continue to "roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty"!
      Over the last few years the Property Committee has completed several projects and we continue to explore projects to preserve and maintain our church. We are exploring the feasibility of both a handicap accessible bathroom and installing solar power. We have added some new plantings at the front of the church. A beautiful holly and Alaskan cedar help round out the landscaping on that side. Thanks to Harriet and George Arnold for coordinating this. Some firethorns were replaced on the Ward Street side of the church as well. A new coat of polyurethane was also added to the pulpit, organist privacy screen and the lectern. Thanks to John Gottschall. Past projects included repainting of the entire Chancel, replacement of the Narthex door, the basement purge, and installation of a new fire-rated ceiling below the main church.
Last year we coordinated repair of some of our pews, renovated the bathroom near the upstairs kitchen, added a fresh coat of paint to the gate and fence and coordinated repair of our roof. We also installed occupancy light sensor switches in each of the bathrooms. This will automatically switch the lights on and off as someone comes into the bathroom. The cost of these switches has already paid for itself in saved electrical costs. We also had a digital thermostat in the sanctuary installed to give us better control of the heat and to automatically switch it on prior to Sunday services. New thermostats have also been added in both the upstairs and downstairs hallways of the education wing. The Property Committee has made it one of its goals to look for ways to conserve energy and reduce costs.
Restoration of the beautiful rose window has been completed this past Spring and the "Angels of Praise" stained glass window was restored over the Summer. This beautiful window will celebrate its 100th birthday this year. See the Before and "Work in Progress" pictures. Members also repainted the chapel. The replacement of the lights over the choir loft also been completed. This will provide better visibility in the front of the church and helped prevent a possible fire hazard as the fixtures and wiring showed signs of wear and cracking.
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