Mitchell Park West Neighbors

I was surprised yesterday at the announcement by the garden committee that they will be applying for the $50,000 one time grant rather than the $15,000 yearly grant from the City.  It would seem to me that since the $50,000 grant is only issued one time per association, we, as a neighborhood, should think hard about what we want to use it for. And, is there actually support to justify spending that large an amount?  Not for my part.

I also am concerned that after the first year of City sponsored water, each gardener will be asked to pay a fee for water.  This would make it impossible for some people to participate, and reminds me of poll taxes which were put in place as exclusionary.  Fencing off a large part of the park and then charging for it does not seem something appropriate for community spirit.

After hearing that the Salvation Army down the street from us is considering a community garden, I think it would be much better for us to apply for $15,000 from the City and pool it in with the SA along with neighborhood sweat and create a garden that would really encompass the vision of community.

Marcia, 

The garden committee's original, membership-sanctioned intent was to apply for the $15,000 grant. The members did not authorize this change; did the prior Board?If so, when?

I also feel the board must MUST see the final application, as this garden sub-committee acts at the board's pleasure (as I was so often reminded by Mark and Scott), and approve it before it is handed in.  WE, the neighborhood association applying for the grant, must make sure it represents our ideals.  We will be linked with its success or failure, and it would be irresponsible to allow it to be submitted without careful scrutiny of the wording. 

 Some aspects of the proposal are unfair and may doom the project to failure, as public opinion will no doubt be against the way in which proposed garden users were chosen.  You cannot say all neighborhood residents have equal access to this amenity, let alone all Tempe residents, unless all were pre-notified of its potential existence.  Neither the website, the Bimrose notification system,  nor the surveys we handed out provided comprehensive coverage of the issue.

We also need to have delineated  the "legal hoops"  Mark says we must jump through to achieve the garden.

The garden is an admirable goal, and should be attained through honorable means.

Pat

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There was a general meeting in February, and a board meeting in March during which the proposal for the grant was discussed.  While I wasn't at the one in February, I know that in March the board was not given any information about the proposal being submitted for the $50,000 grant.  We, as a board, asked for a written proposal to be placed on the web 5 days before the April general meeting.  This did not happen, but we look forward to seeing it "soon".  There is very little information being presented to the majority of the neighborhood, and it is difficult to make any informed judgement on the proposal considering submission is due in May.  I suggest we all carefully read the plan when it is posted and let our board members know how we feel about the project.

See also comments in Maryanne Corder thread. I dont remember reading any request to post anything prior to April 25 meeting, i apologize.

The schedule for the Garden Committee has been very aggressive. Everyone has done a bunch of work. good stuff. The costs were always up in the air. No one knows what a ton of compost costs, do you?

The process for this grant application has been as inclusive and open as possible.

Every community garden has maintenance costs, and water isnt free and Parks will 'own' but not maintain the garden, fence, water, etc.  therefore a yearly fee is required and typical. It is a very complicated subject, we are a sub-committee to the Board, and the Board will need to weigh in on some of the specifics to handle  the issue.

i would hope that in the future, you will support in a positive manner the efforts of your fellow neighbors. The sub-committee has done a bunch of work. The processes followed have all been agreed upon by intelligent and busy individuals. I'm very proud of the effort, no matter what the outcome. i would hope that all members of the neighborhood would understand that volunteers do this at some personal cost of time and labor, and to disrespect these efforts is not in the spirit of a true community.

btw: i will drop by the bench installation today. I urge everyone to go back to the original proposal for the grant, that is posted in the community pages. The original intent of that grant, which was my idea in the first place (Mark Lymer) was to 'add as many benches to the park as possible'. Accountability is for everyone.