The Building & Grounds Committee provides maintenance, repair, or improvement for the parish plant.

"Deferred Maintenance"

Two words to strike the soul of any homeowner. The "to-do" list at St. Mary Magdalen Church is lengthy. It includes making some safety upgrades, preventing hillside erosion, shoring up some areas to prevent further weather damage this winter, and generally getting this house in order.

It's a big job. But it can be make manageable if many of the "homeowners" get involved. Are you a weekend gardener, a skilled electrician or a pro at any trade? Tim Hassler, who has been heading up the Buildings and Grounds efforts, invites any one who would like to help to call and leave a message at the parish office.

Some of this maintenance you may have noticed already: repainting the front of the church. And there's more painting to be done. Some painting on the lower levels can be done by volunteers; we'll leave the tall ladders to the pros. What else is on the list? Something must be done to prevent erosion on the hills; ice plant is planned. Some of the front lawn may need to be pulled up to repair the sprinkler system, which may have been damaged by the roots of the trees. The City of Berkeley is paying the cost of tree removal and sidewalk repair this time. Donors have stepped forward to contribute the cost of planting new trees.

Some windows need to be replaced. Some windows need to be made in doors, such as the confessionals. Hand rails need to be installed at the convent and at Cullen Park. Some safety issues, involving earthquake proofing, such as the stabilizing of the candle stands, as well as smoke alarms in priest rooms and hallways, are being addressed. Some work that was done needs to be redone, staving off water damage. This includes new gutters, repairing rotting rafters, and replacing stucco in some places.

Among the projects checked off that to to-do list: The front doors of the church were refinished by volunteers. And they look great.

The bottom line: About $20,000 in work, less if volunteer labor turns out to help. Volunteers can work on their own time frame. If you'd like to donate plants, call Tim to see if the plants fit the needs. Donations of money or labor for these projects will be gratefully received.