Minutes December 6, 2004

The meeting was held on December 6 at 7:00 pm in the Hugh Smith Recreation Center at 1815 New York Avenue.

Present were Cheryn Barnett, David Barnett, Josephine Briggs, Angie Brown, Doug Brown, Grace Darling, John Darling, Raymond Denton, Mara Green, Maud Huber, Linda Lawler, Rachel Lehman, Roy Miliner, Rachel Orozco, Jean-Marie Smith, Stephen Smith, and Al Vincent. Jay Falgout represented the Parks Department. Officer Tracie Baker, Sergeant D. Glenn, Lieutenant Petty, Sergeant T. Anderson, and Officer M. Rodriguez were guests from the Arlington Police Department.

Police officers began the meeting with a detailed report on crime at Hugh Smith Recreation Center and in Bob Cooke Park. The crime rate is lower than that of the surrounding area and was considered low in general. Jay Falgout noted that vandalism is minimal in the park despite busy weekends when considerable trash is generated.

With regard to the issue of fencing, a police officer described a garden in Navasota by the police station. This garden has a 6’ fence and is overseen by a garden club. People required to perform community service do the gardening. Donations by local companies are recognized by signs on the fence. Jay said that we would have access to people needing community service hours through Esther Washington. Police officers had several suggestions: that opening and closing hours would be beneficial, that we should establish contact with Citizens on Patrol, and that we should examine fencing at Manhattan Creek Park. Angie Brown noted that regular hours could be a hardship for some gardeners, and Jay Falgout advised us to beware of liability issues associated with thorny plants used for security hedges.

John Darling reported on the Parks Department Agreement he filled out and submitted to the Parks Board. CGA is the first group to participate in formalizing a relationship with the department through this written agreement. We anticipate a meeting with a subcommittee of the Parks Board in which the agreement will be considered for submission to the entire Parks Board.

Jay Falgout recommended asking the Water Department for help with the water bill and approaching Allen Jones at the landfill to see about free mulch.

Rachel Orozco volunteered to translate anything we need into Spanish, and she knows of some Vietnamese translators.

Bylaws: Linda Lawler presented the version of the bylaws containing revisions worked out at the last meeting, and these were discussed and further revised, with recommendations to include a mission statement and a definition of the steering committee. There was a motion to accept the revised bylaws as discussed, and this was passed.

Stephen Smith discussed the possibility of an alternate site. A large area at St. Matthew Catholic Church could be considered if liability issues can be resolved.

Angie Brown discussed alternate funding approaches and proposed writing a letter to local businesses outlining an Adopt-a-Bed program when the agreement is formalized and the garden has flyers to hand out.

The next meeting of the steering committee will be held at the Hugh Smith Recreation Center on January 3, 2005.

Submitted by John Darling, Acting Secretary