Project Care builds patio for elderly woman

An 82-year-old widow, who wishes to remain anonymous, read an article in the Boulder City Review explaining the city’s amnesty program for building projects erected without a permit and went to building official Ron Nybo to apply for a permit for a patio cover.

Nybo went to inspect the structure and found the wood patio cover had been built in the early 1970s by the woman’s husband and one of his friends. According to Nybo, the cover “was structurally challenged” and “on the verge of collapsing.” It couldn’t be repaired in Nybo’s opinion and needed to be replaced.

When she heard Nybo’s assessment, the woman began crying since she knew she couldn’t afford to replace the patio cover.

“It stole my heart when she started to cry,” Nybo said.

He immediately thought of the folks at Project Care and told the woman he would see if they could help. Project Care volunteers come to the aid of deserving residents when they least expect it.

The first people who came to Nybo’s mind were Jack Gaal and Paul Waalkes, quality construction managers. They visited the patio site and agreed with Nybo that the patio cover could not be repaired and needed to be replaced.

Gaal and Waalkes suggested to Nybo and the property owner that the wood structure be removed, a concrete patio floor installed and a new metal cover erected over that.

Hearing this, the woman who had simply applied for amnesty, began to cry. “She stole all three of our hearts,” Nybo said.

Without any hesitation, Gaal and Waalkes went to work and enlisted the help of Urban Jungle to perform the demolition work on the property as well as “form up the patio itself for concrete,” Nybo said.

Gaal got special pricing for concrete. Nybo contacted Henderson Roofing and Patio for the installation and labor of the metal cover. Mike Giroux and Milo Hurst provided financial assistance for the project. Nybo said he hoped he hadn’t forgotten any of the volunteers who were so generous with their time, talent and funding.

Today, the 82-year-old Boulder City resident has a new patio, complete with metal roofing. The new structure meets all building codes. The entire project was completed at no cost to her .

She said she practically “went into shock” when she learned they were going to undertake a complete makeover of her patio. The anonymous recipient said she was “very thankful” to all of them and “really surprised” that these folks took on this project.

Project Care is not a formally organized group and has no officers or bylaws. It is not a part of any department of Boulder City. The group takes on projects as a need arises. Nearly all of the work done by the business people involved in this nonorganization is performed anonymously and without recognition.