Question: Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep our large campus beautiful, welcoming and operating properly?
Answer: Approximately 35 – 45 hours per month.
Fact: 98 hours of volunteer time (Sept-Oct) for landscaping and outdoor maintenance
Fact: Arborcare was paid $4,700.00 in October to trim trees all around the campus with a total of 33 hours (crew of 3 and an additional 7 hours of volunteer time)
Fact: Sherman Williams was paid approximately $600.00 for paint and volunteers put in 12 hours of volunteer time to paint portions of the E. Thunderhill Road walls.
This year, I made it a mission to wrap our collective arms around what has been a significant cost to the congregation each week, month, quarter, and year…and that is landscaping services. You should know, for a 2nd time since COVID-19, that the council discontinued the paid landscaping service and replaced it with a volunteer team called The Green Team. This decision has saved our congregation thousands of dollars annually.
The replacement of this service of course takes a great deal of coordination and volunteer time to keep Esperanza’s outside campus welcoming and beautiful for the many people who visit us each week.
In addition, you probably know that a small number of people (members of the congregation and outside volunteers) take care of minor plumbing, minor electrical work, irrigation systems, painting and other building maintenance issues that come up on a regular basis.
Below are facts about our buildings and offices…we have:
- 4 buildings with 15 air conditioning units with corresponding thermostats and filters that are serviced regularly and at least 1 unit is replaced every few years
- 20 sinks and 13 toilets that require regular maintenance
- 1 elevator that is serviced by a maintenance safety company and is paid quarterly
- 7 telephones, 6 computers and 1 copier that all have licenses and fees either monthly or annually
Earlier this year, we replaced part of the Preschool roof at a cost of $13,500.00 plus volunteer time. And at some point, we will need additional roof work done on the other buildings. We will need to paint additional walls and buildings soon.
Below are additional facts about our landscaping:
We have over 65 trees with corresponding drips and over 200 bushes with corresponding drips and 2 plots of grass with corresponding sprinklers and over 10,000 square feet of gravel areas requiring replenishment. The trees and bushes need pruned and trimmed on a regular basis.
Below are tasks to be completed weekly, monthly, and quarterly in order to keep our campus welcoming and beautiful.
| Esperanza Lutheran Church Property Stewardship |
| Weekly |
| Courtyard Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Preschool Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Dumpster Area Clean Up |
| Courtyard Rock Raking & Scoop Up |
| Walking Campus for Drip / Sprinkler Leaks |
| Grass Cutting ADA Ramp Area & Preschool |
| Monthly |
| Garden of Eatin’ Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Parking Lot Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Raking front of Walls/Street Sidewalk Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Garage/Fireplace Area Blowing & Scoop Up |
| Preschool Outer Fence/Storage Area Blow & Scoop Up |
| Tree Trimming Low Hanging Branches Campus Wide |
| Raking Parking Lot Islands & Rock Areas Blowing & Scooping |
| Compost Area Clean Up |
| Quarterly |
| Bush Trimming Campus Wide |
| Tree Trimming Campus Wide (by us) |
| Cleaning the Window Sills, Pillars, Walls |
| End of September / Early October |
| Roof & Gutter Cleaning |
| Bush Trimming Campus Wide |
| Tree Trimming (by professional) while PS is on Break |
| Cleaning while PS is on Break |
| Spring |
| Gutter & Roof Cleaning |
| As Needed |
| Tree Trimming |
| Tree/Branch Down Removal |
| Drip System Repair |
| Current Projects Oct – Nov |
| Tree & Bush Trimming |
| Under/Behind/Infront of Bushes Raking & Scoop Up |
In closing, I encourage you to review our September – October maintenance tasks completed by primarily a volunteer team known as The Green Team! Our sincere thanks to The Green Team!
As you pray and decide what your financial treasure intention willl be to the church, please keep in mind that our property is only one of many obligations the church must be responsible for.
In Time, Talent, and Treasure,
Michael Paradise
Treasurer, Esperanza Lutheran Church
To sign up to join The Green Team email: [email protected]
Our next Green Team Clean Up Day is Saturday, November 18th at 7:00 A.M. Click Here for more information.