Maintenance Issues

When I arrived at church Sunday, I parked near the clergy parking spaces. I knew the paving in our parking lot had some problems, but I had not realized that the lot was in very bad shape in places. The picture below shows the paving at the south edge of the lot. (Click on the image for a larger view on any of the pictures below.)

Later, I left the undercroft and stepped out the door to Mayfair Drive. I wanted to use my phone, and there seems to be no effective cell phone service inside the building. (I don’t quite understand this phenomenon, but I doubt anyone can do much about it.) My gaze first went to the plantings on either side of the sidewalk and then to the metal railing. I was distressed that the railing is much in need of maintenance. It is rusting and, without attention, will simply rust away. (See view of the railing below and a closeup of it.)

I also noticed that the mortar between the stones on the side of the steps was deteriorating (see below).

 

St. Paul’s is a big building, and keeping it is good repair is a never-ending task. Do we inspect the building periodically to find problems? Probably not. In any case, I think it more important to maintain what we have before we spend money on “improvements.”