The parking lot replacement has been scheduled for September 17, 2001, with expected completion being around September 30th.
After several months of review, it was decided that a complete removal of the old lot, re-grading and then paving was the best solution.
Knowing everything was to be removed, the committee felt it was a great opportunity to replace the irrigation pipe that ran underneath the lot.
With over 800 feet of pipe to prepare for the paving contractor, a group of people working in assembly line fashion, put all the pipe sections together.
In a rare photograph, St. Mark's president was caught in the act of working. He's the one with the high forehead!
Now, I remember in the New Testament, two fish and five loaves fed 5000, but Skip, I can't figure out how you can take 6 ten foot sections of pipe and expect to cover over 800 feet! Hmm!
One of the biggest decisions during the planning stages was whether to remove only the most damage areas and resurface the remaining surface...
...or to completely remove all the existing pavement...
...with the benefit of complete removal being the opportunity to regrade the surface and provide a consistent thickness throughout.
With the pipes having been prepared a few days earlier, the gang was ready for a full evening of work.
Thankfully, our levelheaded foreman was ready for the task.
Having misunderstood the committee chairman's instructions, one of the workers eagerly fills the foreman's pants, instead of the trenches!
With five hours of work already completed, but knowing the job had to be finished prior to morning, the crew worked into the night to finish the job.
At the break of dawn, the contractor completed the surface grading and began laying the pavement. We had no fear that the job would be good, considering the contractor's name!
Based on the evidence during the removal phase, the complete removal was a wise decision as the contractor found some of the most traveled surfaces having less than two inches of asphalt.
The new parking lot is four inches thick throughout, with the exception of the areas where the garbage truck travels, which was made six inches thick.
With proper maintenance, this should be the last parking lot any of us have to worry about!
Finally, with the pavement in, a new shed was completed, providing us with a much improved facility to store our outdoor equipment.
Wait a minute, who let Pastor Rod have the paint roller and blue paint?! Somehow we should have known that he would get his blue parking lot!
