Halloween Prank?

Did someone steal our stairs as a Halloween Prank?

It did happen on Halloween, but it wasn't a prank. If you walked this set of stairs, you may have noticed that the angle of the steps were off on the top two and they weren't even. So the contractors pulled it out and will re-pour the steps. They want everything to be perfect.

Adding a Turning Lane

Sixth Street, was closed yesterday to stripe the wider street. The first portion was to grind out the old yellow lines.

Stripes were put down so there can now be a turning lane. This should make it easier to get into the church and a help overall traffic flow along 6th street. Unfortunately we got some unforecast rain. As a result the workers will need to come back for a few finishing touches.

All of this is part of the St. Columbkille's Pave the Way project. While the city approved the project, we are paying for it to make the street better for our parishioners and our neighbors.

We Have Power

Above is a picture before the electricity was turned off in our Parish Office. Below you can see the difference as there are no longer overhead lines going to the office and the poles have been removed.

Here's a picture from just before the work began. You can see the sleeve which the new lines would travel through underground to replace the overhead lines.

With the posts out of the way, the hill has been cleaned up so work can begin to build a retaining wall. The workers are anxious to start pouring concrete.

Construction Continues

For our Pave the Way project, 

work continues on our second phase. 

Brick on the south side of this 

building will match the church.

One of the first steps is calculating

where the future light poles will go.

Weather permitting, we'll start to see some

 concrete on the ground starting next week.

Trench Work

Not only our our chillers (air conditioners) past their lifespan, they are loud. Part of the Pave the Way plan is to replace them in Phase Three of construction AND put them further away so people can talk outside church.

Part of Phase Two, which is underway right now, is to put the insulated pipes underground which the pavement will cover. They will then be in place when we add the new chillers later.

As you can see, the pipes are in the trenches and the trenches are filled in. We keep moving forward on this project.

Phase Two of Pave the Way

Phase Two of our Pave the Way parking project has begun in earnest. As part of this the north parking lot is being redone. When finished, there will no longer be steps between the church and this parking lot because it will be the same level.

The first plan would have kept these trees. That was before realizing that three of them were dead and the rest are not in good shape. We'll be planting plenty of more trees before this project is finished.

It will be very nice when it's done.

Tearing Down the Parish Office

Yesterday the parish office was torn down. The original plan was to tear down the building before out current church was built. But because we didn't have the money to build a new rectory, it was moved a turned north of the church. It first housed priests like Fr. Steinhausen and Fr Pat Henry. Now, over 30 years later, it is time to transition the space into parking.

It was great to have Papillion Sanitation on hand hauling the debris away as it was loaded.

Bob Roth has been overseeing this event. Bob said that one of the first projects he was a part of was tearing down houses in Omaha so I-480 could be built. He said he got so he could tear down five houses in one day -- though they were smaller than this one.