Pepsi Refresh grant

Judy Essig and her two daughters, Jenna and Nicole, were texting away in front of St. James Episcopal Church yesterday.

St. James is in the running for a Pepsi Refresh grant -- the same grant that Robert Morris and Byron-Bergen elementary schools won for the construction of new playgrounds earlier this year -- $50,000 each.

If the St. James community wins the grant, they will use the money for the restoration of the church's bell tower, a project that is still in its early phases.

Laurie Oltramari, president of the Landmark Society of Genesee County, said that the church is getting ready to choose a contractor, and that the Pepsi Refresh grant will fund masonry repairs, architectural and engineering fees, and promotion of the overall project.

Oltramari applied for the grant on behalf of the church out of a desire to preserve one of Batavia's most impressive landmarks. Built by Robert North in 1908, it is based on the Gothic architecture of churches North studied while living in England.

Unfortunately, the tower has been slowly deteriorating over the last 10 years due to water infiltration and very hard mortar in its structure. As you can see in pictures below, parts of the stonework have actually fallen off.

According to Marcia Gann, a member of St. James who is also on the committee for the tower's restoration, "the church has pledges of $350,000 directed toward the repair of the bell tower" as a result of the 2010 campaign.

These pledges have been earned through campaigning and fundraisers, as well as a $40,000 grant commitment from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

As far as the project's current phase goes, "I'd say we're going to need about $250,000 just in order to have a safe environment (for people to work in for repairs)," Essig said. 

Right now, they are still working on removing those parts of the tower that need to be removed just in order to "get it up to code," as Oltramari put it.

Starting Monday at 10 a.m., volunteers will man a free Pepsi stand in front of the church -- at 405 E. Main St. in Batavia -- and hand out voting instructions. People can drop off Pepsi bottle caps any time in a designated barrel at the church.

Voting for the project will continue through July 31. To place your vote:

1) Go to refresheverything.com/savethetower, or

2) Text 107740 at 73774.

You will notice a "Power Vote" option on the Pepsi Refresh site. This allows you to vote up to 10 times a day, according to Oltramari.

If you click on this option -- which is right above the normal voting tab -- you will be asked to enter the code on your specially marked Pepsi product cap.

At the moment, the church's rank is 69 out of 250 runners-up. So get online and start voting to hear those church bells ring!

SUPPLEMENTAL PHOTOS

Kids enjoy what the new playground has to offer at Robert Morris Elementary School -- also funded by the Pepsi Refresh grant.