Property

PROPERTY COMMITTEE – 2023 ANNUAL REPORT 

GSLC PROPERTY TEAM – 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

The physical facilities of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church are where we gather to hear the ‘Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, share in fellowship and conduct mission outreach. These facilities serve as the “operations center” from which we implement our ministries and initiatives that truly demonstrate that, “We are here for GOOD.”

During 2023, the Property Team continued its mission of ensuring that the entire campus of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is maintained, attractive and welcoming to members and visitors alike. A sincere and appreciative thank you to all who gave of their time, talent, and treasure during 2023 to continue our ministries through the maintenance, care and enhancement of your church’s facilities and grounds; none of this would be possible without your generosity and support. As I reflect on the past year, I continue to be amazed and appreciative of all the volunteers who contributed to the success of the GSLC Property team.

The Property Team’s 2023 activities and accomplishments:

Green Team:  The Green Team was responsible for weekly mowing and maintaining the church lawn and trees from May through October. We were blessed with only a couple of lawn mower maintenance issues with replacing the drive belt on the large riding lawn mower (an annual event) and some relatively minor repairs to the push mower.

Thank you to Dennis Christenson and Jeff Fehling whose support and hard work as Green Team members kept the lawns mowed, trees trimmed, and the east side light barrier clean of unwelcome growth. In addition, Dennis worked multiple days weeding and maintaining the garden area around the sign in front of the narthex (a time-consuming project that was long overdue). Meanwhile, Jeff handled weed control and fertilizing the lawn in front and on the side of the church along with sidewalk edging and spraying herbicide to control weeds in the numerous parking lot and sidewalk cracks. Also, thank you to Jon and Nancy DeCleene for their continuing awesome job in maintaining and caring for the garden beds, planters and plants that beautify the areas around the church building.

In October, the Green Team trimmed and cleaned up the small tree grove on the west side of the campus along with clearing the area around transformer box behind the church in preparation for installation of three-phase electrical service required for the new HVAC units.

White Team: A thank you to all who responded to my calls to serve on the White Team and help with clearing sidewalks following each snow event. Team members ensuredthat church sidewalks were cleared of snow and ice soon after each event. We continue our snow plowing contract with Dave Cichocki for plowing the parking lots with contract costs based on a per snow event. His fees for snow removal have been unchanged for several years and we thank him for his continued services to our campus. A special thank you to Carolyn and Zim Zimmer for their generous donation of a snow blower to replace the “old” 8-hp snowblower; it is greatly appreciated by the White Team after last winter’s problems with the “old” snowblower.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning units (HVAC): Thank you to Brian and Michelle Legois and their business, Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, for maintaining the furnaces and air conditioning units in the GSLC facility. Their prompt response to problems during the past year and performing necessary repairs continues to be very much appreciated.

In consultation with the Legois’ and the Property Team, the Church Council made the decision to move forward with bringing three-phase electrical service to the church and replacement of the three HVAC units serving the Narthex and Sanctuary. Subsequently, the Property Team cleared the north wall of the Utility Room so Cummings Electric could install the required panel for the new electrical service. Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) has completed installing the associated underground cable and new transformer box on the grounds. As of this report’s writing, WPS is in the process of installing the new three-phase electrical service line to the campus from the intersection of Glendale Ave. and Cardinal Lane. A big thank you to Al Vander Grinten for coordinating the HVAC project with WPS. Of course, this project wouldn’t be possible without the overwhelming offer of the Legois family to donate the new HVAC equipment and the related installation, as well as the generosity of the members who provided sizeable challenge gifts, and the great response overall, so thank you!

Janitorial and Maintenance Services: Rather than contracting for janitorial services, the Property Team continues to take care of the weekly cleaning and vacuuming duties in our facility. Thank you to Don Wiesner for his assistance with weekly vacuuming the carpets in the narthex, sanctuary, office area and Education Center. Due to the current budget situation, the Property Team intends to continue handling the janitorial services during 2024. Thank you to Al Vander Grinten for assisting with replacing the exterior lights over the office entrance. Additional 2023 maintenance issues included replacement of numerous florescent light bulbs, ballasts, and damaged lenses; the goal is to replace burned out florescent bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs.

Computer maintenance: Thank you to Blake Felton for his continued support and expertise with maintaining the computers and related technologies.

 Renewing For Our Future (RFOF) and pastor’s office: The multi-year RFOF initiative, which started in 2017, was concluded in May of 2023 with the renovation of the two office area restrooms into a single use accessible restroom with family friendly features such as a diaper changing station and a child protection seat. The renovation project provided the cost-efficient opportunity to expand and upgrade of the pastor’s office at the same time. Thank you to Tom Felton for sharing his time and expertise with drafting the blueprints, obtaining the necessary building permits, and overseeing the project. Thank you to the many volunteers who then assisted with demolition of the Pastor’s office and existing restrooms (i.e., removing existing walls and fixtures). The project then progressed with volunteers assisting with framing new walls, reconfiguring mechanical systems, hanging new ceilings, plumbing work, electrical work, custom shelving and woodwork refinishing, installing restroom accessories, and painting the pastor’s office, new restroom, and office hallway. Special thanks to Ron Khun for handling the plumbing work; Michael Hansen for completing the associated electrical work; and to Dave Grosam, Gary Roberts and The Granite Company for their donation and installation of the new restroom countertop and sink.

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of RFOF through your financial contributions and sharing of your time and talents. Thanks to you, the GSLC campus is in an excellent position to continue as the “operations center” for our ministry and serving our congregation, community, and future generations for years to come.

Future property needs: Looking ahead, there are four major property needs that the congregation and church council will need to address in the future.

Garage. The two outside storage sheds are deteriorating and need either major repairs or replacement. The ideal solution is to replace them with a single garage/storage unit behind the Education Center.

Narthex and sanctuary window woodwork. Due to condensation and moisture, the wood base of the narthex and sanctuary window frames need to be stripped and revarnished before rot sets in.

Parking lots. The parking lot drains need to be repaired and the parking lot asphalt resealed or replaced in some areas and painted.

Emergency vehicle access lot. The blacktop on the emergency vehicle access lot behind the Education Center needs to be replaced.

Education Center exterior. The Education Center exterior wood and window framing needs replacement, repairs, and recaulking.

Tom Hansen, Property Team