My Fellow Parishioners, As many of you have already heard, a water pipe burst in the men’s bathroom in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Oct. 2, resulting in a flood in the hallway, the Founders Hall, the library and the church office. Fortunately, the flood was discovered early and ServPro was summoned immediately to clean up the water, dry the affected areas and return the church to normal operations ASAP. The good news is that the flood water was clean – we did not suffer a blackwater incident or any related outcomes. The bad news is that the Founders Hall is damaged. The insurance adjuster visited St. George yesterday to inspect and assess the floor damage. On Monday, Oct. 7, an inspector will visit St. George to assess and recommend how best we repair the underlying floor, which is intact and contains asbestos that we will have removed through abatement, which entails sealing the room and restricting its use until the work is completed. Currently, there is no threat hazard at all to St. George, and any and all floor removal procedures will be conducted after consultation with both the insurance adjuster and the inspector, as well as a formal decision by the Parish Council. In the short-term, we will experience several inconveniences at St. George. We already needed to cancel the Greek Pre-School the past three days, as well as Father Dimitrios’ “Journey to Orthodoxy’ class, both Thursday afternoon and evening Bible Study classes, and the Sunday School teacher workshop on Saturday morning. Last night, Parish Council members toured the damaged areas and formulated an immediate plan to re-work the St. George schedule this weekend. The Founders Hall, Chapel and Kitchen will be closed. Coffee hour will still take place in the back of the Grand Hall. However, all youth activities such as GOYA basketball and Greek Dance practice are cancelled this weekend. |