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

EPIC Garden Steering Committee Minutes 03-23-13

East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden

Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

March 23rd, 2013

Meeting was recorded. A thumb drive with all recorded meetings is in the Garden Shed. Take the thumb drive home, download what you want and return it to the shed ASAP.

1)      10:05 AM Brad Pass called the meeting to order & Lynn Mayo agreed to take notes.

2)      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 Meetings –

                                                              i.      Saturday April 6^th at 9:00 A.M. At East Phillips Park

                                                            ii.      Saturday May 4th at 9:00 A.M. At East Phillips Park

c.       Next GMM & Steering Committee Elections – May 11^th at 10:00 AM In the Garden. Steering Committee Elections.

d.      Bike Racks. Brad reported that EPIC and Mpls. paid for two bike racks for the Garden. One of the first Work Group Projects will be to install them,

3)      Finances

a.       2012 Finances
Plot Fees, Keys & Donations   Beginning Balance       Non-Cash Don.                        Cash
$1,010.00                                $166.88                                   $575.29                                   $1,176.88
(Balance on M. Earth & Bachman’s Gift Cards)                     $262.35

Total Cash Expenses:        $949.26
Cash Balance                  $227.62

                                                                        Credit Card Balance:       $217.19
2012 Notes;     EPIC donated $248.90 for Bike Racks. The City of Mpls. donated the rest.

            Gardeners donated $150.00 cash and Brad Pass Donated $575.29 in materials

            $180.00 is due from unpaid Garden Fees

b.      2013 Notes;     EPIC will donate the ongoing annual Property Taxes   $467.30 in 2013

The Garden has a positive cash balance from 2012 of            $227.62

NOTE regarding the EPIC offer to donate money to pay the Real Estate Taxes;

Since much of the money EPIC receives, comes from governmental entities it turns out it is not possible for EPIC to give it back to governmental entities in the form of real-estate tax payments. Therefore, EPIC will donate $450.00 to the garden to cover the budget item we call "OTHER". This item includes such expenditures as Garden Tools, Materials for Garden repairs, Garden celebrations and etc.

c.   Lynn suggested placing a value on volunteer garden labor such as that provided by AmeriCorps and the gardeners. This might make it easier to show in-kind donations for the purpose of matching future grants. It was decided to look into a way to itemize these contributions.

2013 Budget.

Notes on Budget:

·         EPIC has offered to pay Property Taxes (See NOTE Above)

·         Water is variable depending on seasonal precipitation and water conservation

·         “Other” includes Fall Harvest Party, Garden Tools, Maintenance and Supplies.

·         Historically we have been unable to collect 9% of the fees. To cover this shortage, it was decided that the budget shall include this 9% thus providing money to help those who cannot pay.

MOTION:   The 2013 East Phillips Community 17^th Ave Garden Budget, as shown above is                     approved. Motion made by Linda Leonard Seconded by Kevin Chavis. Motion                             passed unanimously.

Our thanks to EPIC for their significant financial help

4)      2013 Plot Fee                                                                                                                      .

a.       $25.00       X         35 Plots                        =             $875.00        $201.00

b.      $30.00       X         35 Plots                        =          $1,050.00        $  26.00              

c.       $35.00       X         35 Plots                        =          $1,225.00        $148.00

d.      Discussion: A range of plot fees, $25.00 to $35.00, was discussed. All discussion included the option of donating more for those who can. Tying plot fees to income or ability to pay was rejected as an option because the Steering Committee does not want to require access to gardeners personal finances.
MOTION:   The East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden’s 2013 Plot Fee shall be $30.00                       with more requested from those who are able These extra donations may be used                             to help gardeners with their plot fee  at the discretion of the Steering Committee..
                              Motion made by Kevin Chavis, Seconded by Jennie Bjorgo. Passed                                 unanimously

5)      2013 Garden Use Agreement
Discussion:              Brad passed out the Proposed 2013 Garden Use Agreement and pointed out the few changes from last year’s agreement which consistes of date changes, the updated and newly adopted budget and a change to the Garden meeting Quarum requirement resulting from an EPIC Board decision to allow ANY EPIC Board member to fulfill the quorum requirement which states that ONE EPIC Board member must be present.  
MOTION:    The 2013 East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden Use Agreement as amended is                            approved. The Agreement is appended to these minutes.
                  Motion made by Jennie Bjorgo, seconded by Linnea Haddaway Passed unanimously

6)      Gardener Obligations

a.       Garden Work Groups and Policy  
Last year the Garden Group decided to adopt a Work Group concept to achieve better community spirit in the garden while helping gardeners accomplish their work requirement which is necessary for the upkeep of the Garden.

                                                  i.      Gardener Lindsay Fenner and a small task force defined the following eight Work Groups:

1.      Weeding/Pest Control

2.      Tools-Tool shed-Building and Repair

3.      Public Face

4.      Mowing- Paths- Surveying

5.      Herbs and Butterfly Garden

6.      Fruit and Berries

7.      Compost

8.      Community Outreach-Celebration

                                                ii.      They created a signup sheet incorporating a task list for each Work Group (appended to these minutes).

                                              iii.      Consider what works group or groups you would like to be a part of. We will sign up for them on Saturday, April 13^th at 10:00 AM at East Phillips Park.

MOTION:   The Garden Work requirement shall be raised to 6 hours per plot. This work                                  must be accomplished in accordance with the new Work Group system and must                               be work on the Garden over and above work on the individual’s own Garden                            Plot. Motion made by Jemmie Bjorgo, seconded by Lynn Mayo. Passed                                      unanimously

Discussion: A better method of keeping track of hours worked and tracking needed work                                  such as watering and weeding is needed. It was decided to allocate another                            Steering Committee Meeting to this discussion;

                              WHEN: Saturday, April 6^th                             

                              TIME: 9:00 AM 

                              WHERE: East Phillips Park
                        The agenda will include:

1.      Garden Work Group paperwork

2.      Seward Co-op Grant opportunity

3.      Grape vine Lice

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

7)      Plot Map

a.       There are 8 Garden Plots available with 3 New gardeners on the wait list and one who would like to trade for a larger plot.

b.      If you know of any East Phillips residents who would like to garden, ask them to send all their contact information to Brad Pass, bpass@usinternet.com, 612-916-8478

c.       If you know of any gardeners who will NOT be returning this year contact Brad as well.

8)      CALL your friends who gardened last year . We need to know if they are returning.

9)      Adjourn at 10:05

East Philips Community 17^th Ave Garden

Use Agreement

2428 17^th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN                                     Year:  2013

 

The East Philips Community 17^th Ave Garden (the Garden) is owned by the East Phillips Improvement Coalition (EPIC) and serves the East Philips Neighborhood.  Distribution of garden plots will be accomplished based on those prospective Gardeners who attend the First Garden Meeting of the year, generally the second Saturday in April, and will be based on the following priorities:

1.      East Philips residents who participated in the previous year.

2.      Residents of the East Philips neighborhood.

3.      Alumni of the garden who have moved out of the neighborhood.

The Garden Group consists of the people who have signed the current Garden Use Agreement, have paid this year’s Garden Plot Fee and who garden in the East Phillips Community 17^th Ave. Garden (the gardeners). 

The five members of the Garden Steering Committee come from two groups, the gardeners and the EPIC Board of Directors. The gardeners elect four gardeners to the committee who serve two year staggered terms. Elections are held at the May GM Meeting. Quorum consists of any EPIC director and two of the four gardeners on the committee.  The Garden Group and Steering Committee hold open meetings and seek input from the gardeners.  The Garden General Membership Meetings will be on the 2^nd Saturday of each month at  10:00 AM, in the garden, during the gardening season. The Garden Steering Committee will meet on the 1^st Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM in the East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center at 2307 17th Ave. S. during the gardening season (March or April through October). Any changes or special meetings will be announced one week in advance on the Garden Bulletin Board and/or by E-mail.

Garden Steering Committee responsibilities include:

1.      Providing EPIC with the Garden Use Agreement signed by all current Gardeners each spring

2.      Creating a budget for approval by the full Garden Group to be presented to the EPIC Board

3.      Directing fund raising efforts and assuring that garden bills are paid

4.      Arranging for the water to be turned on in the spring and off in the fall.

5.      Coordinating the distribution of plots to the gardeners

6.      Notifying and convening regular open democratic meetings of the Garden Group and Steering Committee

7.      Seeing to the upkeep of the garden

8.      Maintaining safe and legal conditions in the garden.

The garden group plans to cover this year’s expenses by requesting financial contributions from gardeners and EPIC, writing grants, and requiring an appropriate Garden Plot Fee based on the current budget needs. A gate/shed key charge of $5.00 each will be levied.  The garden bank account will be managed by EPIC. The Garden Group agrees to maintain safe conditions in the garden and maintain compliance with city zoning laws, the conservation easement placed on the property, and other agreements made between EPIC and the Garden Group.  Each

 

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

between EPIC and the Garden Group.  Each gardener in the Garden Group agrees to maintain his/her Garden Plot and the property in its entirety, including shoveling sidewalks, mowing grass, controlling weeds, removing litter and emptying the boulevard trash receptacle. Each Gardener also agrees to give up his/her plot by the 2^nd Saturday in June - if he/she has not paid the Garden Plot Fee or agreed to an alternative payment plan – OR -  if he/she fails to garden his/her plot by the 2^nd weekend in June as spelled out in garden policies.

Each gardener agrees to hold harmless the Garden Group and owners of the land for any liability, damage, loss or claim that occurs in connection with the use of the garden by them or their guests. By signing this document, each gardener attests that he or she has read, and will abide by this agreement and all Garden Policies imposed by EPIC and/or enacted by the Garden Group.