For many years there have been discussions about upgrading the toilets at St John’s. They were constructed in the 1980s, before the worship centre was built, and have served us all very well over the last forty years. With use of the church facilities increasing, as part of our ongoing vision for the church, we built and furbished the kitchen to meet the needs and expectations of others within the community who would be using the facilities.
We believe the toilet facilities now fall into the same category of needing an upgrade.
For the last few years, the Committee looking at the toilet refurbishment has pondered: What improvements are needed? How much space is required? What fittings and fixtures are required? How much of a renovation is needed? Would a makeover serve our purposes? – short term – long term? How do we overcome the constant backup of waste that causes frequent foul odours throughout the place? How do we measure up against the current regulations in regard to disabled toilets?
Once some ideas were established, the thoughts were presented to an architect to draw up plans.
These plans were then presented to commercial builders for an estimate of what the plans would cost to build. The committee wanted to see whether the refurbishment was financially possible before presenting it to the congregation. We also needed to get approval from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
We are now at a point where we believe the refurbishment of our toilets is a practical need for a growing church and the wider community who will use the facility. A recent example is the welcoming of the Persian Resurrection Church.
The total cost of the project is $158,000 plus GST and any variations. We expect the final completed cost will not go over $200,000.
To meet this cost, the Wardens and Parish Council plan to negotiate a loan through the Anglican Development Fund (ADF). We are delighted that a donation towards the toilet refurbishment of $50,000 has already been offered. Other donations would be most welcome. The more donations we receive, the smaller the loan is required.
If you would like to contribute to the project, you can give via direct deposit with the description “Toilet Refurbishment”. Find our bank details here. Alternatively you can give via Tithely:
A quick summary of the refurbishment includes:
- Professionally removing asbestos in the current structure.
- Female toilets – 4 cubicles, 3 hand basins, a long bench and a large mirror.
- Male toilets – 3 cubicles, 2 urinal bowls, 3 hand basins and a mirror.
- Unisex / Disabled Accessible toilet – toilet, hand basin, mirror and baby changing facilities.
- New Storage Area to replace current kitchen pantry.
- Communion utensils and some music resources to be moved to a new location.
Part of the work includes removing the slate floor in the corridor and replacing it with carpet tiles to match the rest of the complex.
The work will take about six weeks and should be completed well before Christmas.
We are excited about being able to move ahead with this new development at St John’s. It has been a discussion point for many years.
Please feel free to contact any members of the Committee (Janet and Chris Tiller, Adam Coleman, Tim Johnson, and myself) or Wardens for clarification of any aspect of this refurbishment.
Regards
Alan Fairweather
(on behalf of the Wardens and Parish Council)