EPIC Garden Membership Minutes 04-13-13

East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden

General Membership Meeting Minutes

April 13th, 2013

Steering Committee Members Present:  Brad Pass, Linnea Hadaway, Kevin Chavis, Carol Pass

Steering Committee Memebrs Absent:   Lynn Mayo

Gardeners Present:   Marie Holm, Hope Flanagan, Stephanie Olive, Dave Moore, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Darren Konsor, Khem Neopane, Nanda Lol Neopane, Om Nath Poudel, Tila Chapagui, Govinda Dahal, Rosie Cruz, Narinta Katel, Lindsey Fenner

1)      10:05 AM call to order & Linnea Hadaway agreed to take notes.

2)      MOTION:   Approve Agenda.  Motion passed unanimously

3)      Announcements

a.      Garden Steering Committee Meetings are on the 1^st Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM at the East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center. All are invited

b.      Garden General Membership Meetings are on the 2^nd Saturday of each month at 10:00 in the Garden

c.       The EPIC Annual Meeting is Saturday April 27^th at 9:30 AM at the East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center. Breakfast is served, door prizes, board elections and info on EPIC Projects.

d.      Steering Committee elections are at the next GMM on May 11^th, 2013 at 10:00

e.       Garden Work Groups  (See Handout). Decide which one or ones you would like to sign up for. Sign-up is later in the meeting

f.       Go to your Precinct Caucus on Tuesday.

4)      Brad provided a brief discussion of Garden History and Carol gave background on EPIC’s Ownership

5)      Brad Reviewed the Garden Use Agreement and discussed selected Garden Policies . He then passed out the Garden Use Agreement Sign-in-Sheet

6)     

The Gardeners are responsible for $1,093.57 of  the total budget which is $1,543.57. If all the plots are allocated and each Garden Plot pays $30.00, we will raise $1,050.00 . This is $43.57  short of our goal. Never-the-less, the Steering Committee feels that if those Gardeners who are able, will contribute a little more than the $30.00, then we should be able to keep the Plot Fee at $30.00 and still reach our budget goal. The SC Recommends a Plot Fee of $30.00 for 2013

Garden Budget and proposed Plot fee: The SC is responsible, for and recommended the following budget.

2013 Budget
Paid by	EPIC	Gardeners
Insurance		$237.40
Property Tax		$467.30
Water		$300.00
Unpaid Plots (9%)		$88.87
Other	$450.00
TOTAL	$450.00	$1,093.57

7)      MOTION:   The Gardeners Approve the recommended $30.00 Garden Plot Fee. Motion made by Margaret Kirkpatrick, seconded by Carol Pass. Passed unanimously

8)      Describe Garden Work Groups: Brad thanked Gardener Lindsey Fenner for her work in putting together this new program which is designed to make the necessary garden work more fun while giving gardeners the opportunity to get to know each other better.  The sign-up-sheets were handed out after the meeting.

9)      Steering Committee Election discussion.

a.       Election date – May 11,2013

b.      Brad Pass and Lynn Mayo are up for reelection if they wish to continue serving

c.       Linnea Hadaway and Kevin Chavis have another year to serve

d.      EPIC will appoint an EPIC Board member and any EPIC Board Member may serve at any meeting for the purpose of achieving a quorum.
 

10)  Gardener Obligations:

a.      Gardeners in each plot must put in at least 6 hours each year of work on Garden projects other than their own Plot

b.      Plots must be planted by June 8^th  (or they will be reassigned)

c.       Water (Conserve Water – use rain barrel water FIRST)

d.      The water valve in the shed must be turned off and the shed and garden gates must be locked at all times when no Gardeners are in the Garden!!!

e.       Plot Fees are due on plot assignment. Contact SC member for an Alternate Payment Plan if necessary

f.       No digging deeper than 12 inches. The polluted land was remediated by the City before it was purchased and 18 inches of clean black dirt was spread over the entire garden. Therefore, so as not to stir up potentially polluted soil beneath the new dirt, digging deeper that 12 inches anywhere in the Garden is prohibited!

11)  Assign available Garden plots:  Plot #1, Nanda Neupane; Plot #2, Khem Neupane; Plot #4, Om & Hari Poudel; Plot #8, Rachel Smith; Plot #15, Irene Holley; Plot#17, Lorena Ramirez; Plot #21, Marie Holm

12)  Garden Tour:  Steering Committee member Linnea Hadaway created a Garden Tour for all gardeners and specifically for all new gardeners. The tour is mandatory if you are a new gardener in the East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden. Please contact Linnea or Brad (612-916-8478) to schedule your tour. The tour explains Garden Water use and Conservation, Access to the Garden Shed, Composting, Garden Policies and Procedures, the No Dig Policy and many more nuances of the Garden.

13)  Pay Garden Plot Fee   ($505.00 in fees & donations were collected)

14)  Adjourn: Every Gardener must sign the Garden Use Agreement, Pay their Plot Fee & sign up for Work Groups

NOTE:  The seven-page Handout which was passed out at the above meeting is available in written format or as email attachments. Contact Brad Pass, 612-916-8478,  email;  bpass@usinternet.com

EPIC Garden Steering Committee Minutes 04-06-13

East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden

Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

April 6th, 2013

            Meeting is recorded

1)      9:05 AM Brad called to order as a Committee of the Whole & Lynn took notes.

SC Members Present: Brad Pass, Lynn Mayo, Linnea Haddaway, Kevin Chavis, Carol Pass, Jenny Bjorgo
Gardeners Present:    Lindsay Fenner

2)      While awaiting quorum: Brad distributed Draft Garden Work Group paperwork for consideration. With minor changes, the paperwork was accepted realizing it may require further improving. A portion of each General Membership Meeting will be allocated to Work Group reports.

3)      Approve April 6^th SC Agenda Unanimously approved by the committee of the whole

Announcements

a.       First Garden General Membership Meeting – Saturday April 13th at 10:00 A.M. In the Garden. Plots assigned, Fees Collected & Work group sign up

b.      Next Garden Steering Committee Meeting - Saturday May 4th at 9:00 A.M. At East Phillips Park

c.       Next GM Meeting & Steering Committee Elections – May 11^th at 10:00 AM in the Garden. Steering Committee Elections.

d.      Bike Racks will be one of the first work group jobs.

e.       Go to your Precinct Caucus

4)      EPIC will donate money to cover the “Other” budget item instead of the “Property Tax” budget item due to City restrictions on how EPIC money can be spent.
Carol Pass, EPIC Board President, stated that in the event of a disaster that required large scale repair or replacement of the Garden shed or water system, for example, she is sure that the EPIC Board would provide the financial help required.

NOTE:  Quorum is acquired.

MOTION:   Approve April 6^th SC Agenda Passed unanimously by the Steering Committee.

5)      MOTION:   Approve March 23^rd SC Draft Minutes Motion made by Lynn Mayo, seconded by Linnea Hadaway. Passed unanimously

6)     MOTION:   Approve 2013 Garden Use Agreement with necessary changes to budget showing that Epic is paying the “OTHER” Budeget item of $450.00  Motion made by Lynn Mayo and seconded by Linnea Hadaway. Passed unanimously.

Carol Pass requested that the Budget be separated from the Garden Use Agreement because the budget changes on an annual basis and the use agreement should change only infrequently. It is inappropriate to tie the Garden Use Agreement which outlines the operating conditions of the Garden and specifies Garden responsibilities and therefore should not be subject to annual changes to the budget which does change annually.
MOTION:   The Budget will be separated from the Garden Use Agreement and will be discussed in another document  Motion made by Linnea Haddaway and seconded by Lynn Mayo. Passed unanimously

7)      MOTION:   Approve the Garden Use Agreement with the Budget removed. Motion made by Lynn Mayo and seconded by Kevin Chavis. Passed unanimously.

8)      Develop Paperwork necessary for Work Groups Already discussed – see above.
The following question was raised: If I am in the “Herbs and Butterfly Garden” (H&BG) Work Group but want to help replace a fencepost, where do I record my time and where do I record the fact that a fencepost was replaced?  Record your time in Herbs and Butterfly Garden behind your name. Also, fill out Work Date, Time, Plot #s, Task, and Notes in the “Tools/Tool shed/Fence, Painting & Repair” Work Group where we would expect to find notes on Fence-post replacement.

Discussion: We discussed how to explain this at a Garden meeting to multi lingual Gardeners. We will try to keep those needing translation in one area in the back and provide time for questions.

9)      Steering Committee Election discussion.

a.       Election date – May 11,2013

b.      Brad Pass and Lynn Mayo are up for reelection if they wish to continue serving

c.       Linnea Hadaway and Kevin Chavis have another year to serve

d.      EPIC will appoint an EPIC Board member and any EPIC Board Member may serve at any meeting for the purpose of achieving a quorum.
 

10)  Review letter for non-paying gardeners
Corrections will be made and a letter will be sent to those who owe past years fees explaining the appropriate policies.

11)  Gardener Obligations:

a.      Gardeners in each plot must put in at least 6 hours of work on Garden projects other than their own Plot

b.      Plots must be planted by June 8^th  (or they will be reassigned)

c.       Water (Conserve Water – use rain barrel water FIRST)

d.      Plot Fees are due on plot assignment. Contact SC member for an Alternate Payment Plan if necessary

12)  Assign available Garden plots
Hindalo and Vidya want a larger plot – Brad will assign the plot they want. There are three others on the wait list and seven available plots. There is a note in the Alley Newspaper mentioning our available plots. If anyone has a friend or neighbor who lives in East Phillips and wants to garden, ask them to contact Brad

13)  Discuss Seward Coop Grant
Linnea will determine how much money is available in the grant and what strings are attached. The deadline is Mid June. Brad suggested that the front entrance to the garden needs work to stop erosion and create better garden access for wheel barrows, bikes and people. He said the Landscape Specialists at Phillips Garden offered to give us their suggestions. This might be a good project for the grant depending on its requirements.
Brad reminded us that any grant proposal must go through EPIC since they own the garden and have ultimate responsibility for meeting any conditions of the grant.

14)  Report on Grape Vine Pest Invasion
Lynn reported that she and her son as well as Americorps did extensive grape vine pruning and according to an expert she brought in, the lice may not have affected the roots as of yet yet. More information and intervention strategies will be forthcoming.

15)  Adjourn at 10:05 AM