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Campus Facilities Updates from Our Parish Operations Director, Matt Brophy

May 2023

A part of Parish Operations is facility management, maintenance, and repair. St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy and St. Giles Parish has one Facilities Committee made up of members of both church worship sites.

At the St. Catherine – St. Lucy site, a number of facility repairs or maintenance has been completed or will be completed in the next four weeks:

The Church sound system has been serviced and repaired.
Two wireless microphones were purchased and installed for the deacon and priest.
LED lighting was installed in all church light fixtures.
The front vestibule of Church was professionally cleaned before Easter.
The gardens in front of the Church have been worked on by a local landscaper.
Coping/flashing on the Church roof has been refashioned and replaced.
A new boiler for the Rectory will be installed in June (with an $85,000 grant from the Archdiocese).
The exterior doors of the Church have been sanded and refinished.
The Rectory was prepared for a shelter used by Housing Forward.

Saint Catherine – St. Lucy Church Front Vestibule

Old Boiler at the Saint Catherine – St. Lucy Rectory

Damaged Coping / Flashing on the Saint Catherine – St. Lucy Church Roof

At the St. Giles site, the following projects have been started as we move into spring and summer repairs:

Installation of drain tile and two sump pumps in the crawl space of the Gleeson Building at 1101 Columbian. The building has an excessively high percentage of humidity due to water that doesn’t drain properly in the crawl space.
Installation of a new condensate and vacuum pump for the boilers that heat the following buildings: Corrigan, Frawley, the Church and Rectory. The current vacuum and condensate pump has reached its life expectancy and has leaks that cannot be repaired. The unit is located behind the boilers in the Frawley Building at 1034 Linden.
Painting of all classrooms and the band room in the Corrigan Building at 1030 Linden.
Painting of the school library on the second floor of the Dore Parish Center at 1025 Columbian.
Replacement of original plumbing (1928) hot and cold water lines in the lower level of the Frawley Building. Currently there is only one water shut off for three buildings: Frawley, the Church and Rectory. For a recent plumbing problem, we had to shut down all three buildings to fix a toilet that wouldn’t shut off. This job was put on hold last year by the Facilities Committee, but recent plumbing issues have escalated the project to the top of the list.
New fencing will be installed on the preschool playground behind the Gleeson Building. The old wooden fencing is worn and is a safety hazard for our children.
Installation of soft surface material for the Corrigan playground on top of the rubber mulch. The soft surface playground material will be a safety feature for the children.
Tear up and replace the black top on the Corrigan playground with a new blacktop. The current blacktop is uneven and a fall hazard for all that use the playground.
Trimming of trees on the main parking lot across from the Church. Possible replacement of the chain link fence and additional benches placed throughout the campus.

Installation of a New Condensate and Vacuum Pump for Boilers at St. Giles Site

I would like to thank the Facilities Committee for their expertise in reviewing the project needs, determining what projects are more immediate, and working with Fr. Carl and me, as well as the Archdiocese Office of Facilities and Construction.

If you have any questions, please contact me either by phone at the office, 708-383-3430 ext 102 or by email at mbrophy@archchicago.org.