The sunny weather earlier this month allowed significant progress to be made on the rebuilding of the Fredonia Family Church clock tower on Church Street. P-J file photo

FREDONIA — With winter weather right around the corner, efforts to finish the Fredonia Family Church roof have been in full swing and right on schedule, according to Associate Pastor Scott Wise. The church, which was damaged by a fire in May, has required a significant amount of work.

“Right now, the big thing going on is the roof renovation,” Wise said recently. “We had to replace about two-thirds of the tresses in the attic by the beginning of this month, and of course we’re replacing the clock tower.”

Although there is more finishing work to be done, Wise anticipates the new roof to be complete by the end of October. “Then we’ll be finishing off the clock tower and winterizing it,” Wise said. A fiber glass piece will be added sometime mid-spring with a possible project completion date of June 1, 2019.

“We could be finished sooner than that,” Wise explained. “Getting the roof completed is a big part of that, and it will be done very soon.”

Wise credits the reasonably fair weather, especially the heat wave earlier this month, with the speedy progress. “The first week of the month was awful. It rained so much and there was quite a bit of water inside. But lately, it’s been very nice,” he stated.

The church, which averages around 100 people every Sunday, will continue to hold services at 45 Lakeview Ave. in Fredonia. “It’s really been exciting to watch all the work being completed,” Wise said.

“The church was originally built in 1853, and building codes have changed a lot over the years,” he pointed out. “We’re not modernizing the building so much as repairing and updating it. It will be great to be back there next year.”