Hello Parishioners of St Francis
 
We have now completed clean-up of the debris fallen into the Parish Center.  Comstock has hung vinyl over all openings so in case of rain or more snow, things can stay dry.  We are now ready for reconstruction to start. 
 
We have retained the services of Foss Architects to create the plans for reconstruction.  They will sub out the electrical and mechanical engineering services.  Sandman Engineers will continue as our structural engineer and Comstock will continue as the prime contractor and they will sub out the HVAC and electrical construction services.
 
There are four areas of concern in the remaining structure that will have to be addressed before we can occupy our church building.  They are the roof over the working sacristy located behind the altar, office trusses, trusses over the gathering space and trusses over the north half of the education wing.  It appears we will have to re-enforce those rafters but when finished and signed off, the codes officials will allow us to begin using all the existing structure.  I will not have a more definitive timeline until after meetings taking place next week.
 
The new truss rafters will be ordered next week Monday and will be on site in 10 days to two weeks.
 
Next week, the insurance claims people will be in town to view our progress.  At that time, we will find out the extent of our coverage, the approval of the fix of re-enforcement of existing truss rafters, negotiate the contract for reconstruction with Comstock Construction, Inc. and our direction going forward.  At that time, I will be able to create a timeline for completion of all tasks required, bid documents and contractors.  Everything stayed on time this week and went very smooth.
 
Casualties as you see in the video:  Jesus got injured!  You can see he got his nose broken on the crucifix.  It can be repaired!  The statuary also got injured, Jesus has a broken hand, St Francis has a broken arm and vestments.  They can be repaired.  We lost the piano, speakers, base stand for Jesus, and frame for the Last Supper picture.  Our lady of Guadalupe picture survived unscathed.  The clock stopped at 9:43AM.  Flooring, folding doors, ceiling, lighting and all things electrical, sheetrock, chairs and tables were lost.  We were able to recover about 135 chairs and about a dozen round tables.  Next week we will inspect those salvaged to make sure they are in good shape.
 
In summary, everything is proceeding smoothly and on schedule.  The office staff continues to function , Fr Raul, Deacon Dean and Sr. Lucy continue with their various work in ministry to the Parishioners.  Bonnie, Lisa, Dennis and Anthony are working remotely but sneaking back into the office from time to time.  I will have another post after the events next week to bring you all up to date once again.  Have a blessed week.
 
Swede Stelzer, Parish Admin. Coordinator