Minutes October 18, 2004

Community Gardens of Arlington
Minutes of the meeting on October 18, 2004

The third meeting of the steering group was held on October 18 at 7:00 pm in the Arlington Parks and Recreation building at 717 West Main Street.

Present were Cheryn Barnett, Dave Barnett, Angie Brown, Doug Brown, John Darling, Grace Darling, Dale Denton, Maud Huber, Roy Miliner, Gordon Robertson, Jean-Marie Smith, and Stephen Smith.

Gordon Robertson presented a Parks Department update in which he described the new proposed location for the garden, east of the first proposed site. He also discussed the need for a presentation on the proposed community garden to a subcommittee of the Parks Board before it meets again on November 8. The presentation would cover CGA and its relationship to the Parks Department.

Discussion followed and topics included token leases, maintenance agreements, fencing, and the need for a mission statement. Further discussion involved the desirability of identifying recipients for food donations and other details related to producing text for a brochure.

The latter topic inspired discussion of approaches to CGA organization. AOGC members described the advantages of using various services of the Texas Gardens Club and the need for a minimal number of officers in order to conduct business. This resulted in the election of Stephen Smith as President and Dave Barnett as Treasurer of CGA.

The advantages of an independent CGA Web site versus a page on the Parks site were then discussed, as well as the need for approximately $100 to get a Web site started. This resulted in a proposal to request seed money from the boards of AOGC and ACC.

Subcommittee reports:

Site selection and Development – The group has not met; Gordon Robertson covered relevant matters earlier.

Funding – no report

Bylaws and Regulations – Subcommittee has met and agreed on gardener deposits of $10 and steering committee monthly meetings for the time being. Also covered were eligibility requirements: some beds reserved for groups, the rest available on a first come, first served basis. Suggestion: include a nondiscrimination clause in bylaws and other documents. A “no harm” statement will be included in city documents and should be included in CGA documents.

Marketing and Education – This group discussed the need for a flyer with a logo, goals, mission statement, contact person and other details. Angie Brown described the blog she has created for CGA and invited everyone to sign up.

The next meeting will be at Hugh Smith Recreation Center in Bob Cooke Park at 7:00 pm on November 3.

Submitted by John Darling, Acting Secretary