The Board of Business Administration has as its charge assistance with the business management of the church. We have helped put together the budget for the office and we work with the nominating committee to make sure that we are putting people in the places of their interests as they serve the church. Our primary area of concern is the property.
We have had two main jobs this year regarding the property. After the completion of the renovation of the streets and sidewalks in the fall of 2021, by agreement with the state, we wanted to refinish the lawn ourselves, as we had some unruly shrubs that needed to be replaced along with our marque sign board. Those projects were completed in the summer of 2021, but it has taken a long time to get lawn care companies to provide us with quotes to do the work.
We are looking to eliminate the weeds which grew up after the holes and trenches were filed, to replace some of the fill with topsoil, and fill the various divots incurred as a result of equipment being operated on the lawn and holes and trenches being dug and trees and shrubs being removed. The state gave us $19,800 for right-of-way which we are proposing be used to restore the lawn. The state is also giving us some topsoil.
The second major task this year has been to explore air quality in the sanctuary. It has been demonstrated that indoor air-quality is a major contributor to the spread of Covid-19. In a building that a very well ventilated Covid-19 risk drops significantly and potentially to as low as the risk one faces in gatherings out-of-doors. So a first step was to meet with Efficiency Vermont. They agreed to provide funding for an engineering study and they agreed to install for a limited time, carbon dioxide detectors. We have three IQAir AirVisual Pros in the building: one in the sanctuary, one in the chapel and one in the office area. These have been in operation since November 9.
Since November 9, we have had five large events in the sanctuary with over 100 people: the Eleva Chamber players Concert, the Mad River Choral concert, the Solaris concert, a funeral and Christmas Eve worship service. The data shows that we do indeed have poor air-quality during events with larger crowds. For reference, the chart below lists various levels of CO2.
| 250-400 ppm | Normal background concentration in outdoor ambient air |
| 400-1,000 ppm | Concentrations typical of occupied indoor spaces with good air exchange |
| 1,000-2,000 ppm | Complaints of drowsiness and poor air. |
| 2,000-5,000 ppm | Headaches, sleepiness and stagnant, stale, stuffy air. Poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate and slight nausea may also be present. |
Our baseline CO2 level in the sanctuary is 425. During worship with 40 people in the pews, that level approximately doubles. Every doubling of CO2 levels from 250-400 ppm means a doubling of Covid-19 risk from outdoor levels (almost zero). The highest recorded level the church has seen so far was during the Mad River Choral Concert on December 11, 2022, probably due to the fact that rehearsal was conducted in the sanctuary prior to guests arriving and that it was very full. By the end of the concert, the CO2 levels in the sanctuary were 2211 ppm.
The reason this is important is that “infectious people exhale airborne viruses at the same time as they exhale carbon dioxide. That means CO2 can serve as a proxy for the number of viruses in the air.” The same Science Daily article that reported on this research confirming that CO2 levels reflect covid risk states that, “in each indoor space, the model can illuminate ‘relative’ risk: If CO2 levels in a gym drop from 2,800 to 1,000 ppm (~2,400 above background levels to 600), the risk of COVID-19 transmission drops, too, to one-quarter of the original risk. In the library, if an influx of people makes CO2 jump from 800 to 1,600 (400 to 1,200 above background), COVID transmission risk triples.”
There are three steps we can take to mitigate this risk. The first is to install MERV 13 air filters in both air handling systems (heating and cooling) and to run air through them when people are in the sanctuary, which we have done. These filters capture airborne water particles which carry the SARS-CoV-2. They are “50% efficient at capturing particles in the 0.3 µm to 1.0 µm size range and 85% efficient at capturing particles in the 1 µm to 3 µm size range” and while the size of the virus is .1µm it almost always travels on respiratory droplets that are much larger than the virus alone.
The second step we can take is to force extra outside air into the building through the use of an Energy Recovery Ventilator. These systems exchange some of the heat and humidity from the stale, inside air and put it into the fresh, outside air. According to one study by the Georgia Department of Health and reported widely by the CDC, “Ventilation strategies associated with lower school incidence included dilution methods alone (35% lower incidence) or in combination with filtration methods (48% lower incidence).” Other options would be to use ultra-violent irradiators. Efficiency Vermont having taken a look at our space and our collected CO2 data concludes: “The CO2 graph on page 2 of the sanctuary report shows that building air quality is a valid concern and air quality mitigation efforts would be worthwhile. Installing an ERV would help address these concerns” (Personal email to Peter Plagge, 1/11/2023).
The third option is to install ultraviolet germicidal irradiation devices. We have not pursued this option, for aesthetic purposes as it would mean installing several industrial-looking units at the ceiling level.
On other matters, we hope to organize another spring cleaning event this coming spring, as our last cleaning was pre-covid.
All church systems are well-maintained and properly functioning and we appreciate everyone pitching in to help keep our building looking neat and well-groomed. We are in the process of hiring a new janitor. We would also like to thank especially heartily, David and Nancy Metivier who have so faithfully kept the lawn looking as good as possible over the last summer. We would also like to thank Polly Sabin and Charles Grenier for their help with trash disposal.
Together we can keep this historical treasure, and our beautiful place of worship in tip-top shape and functioning smoothly and efficiently.
Respectfully submitted,
Alec Tuscany, John Bollard