Hollenback Garden Meeting Minutes

May 21, 2011

Steering Committee Minutes:

1.     Hannah began the meeting by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each of the steering committee subgroups.

1.     There has been confusion lately around which subgroup has responsibility for specific tasks related to the garden. There is further confusion around what should happen when subgroup representatives are not able to be present for a workday/meeting and who should cover the absent members’ role.

2.    Communication among the steering committee has not been going very smoothly and we brainstormed about various methods for conveying information among the 7 SC members. As discussed at the last meeting, a Google site was created so that all of the information could be centrally located and easily accessible by all SC members. However, not everyone agrees that this method is feasible. In addition, the existing PB Wiki site—the main website for the entire garden membership—is still in use. A discussion ensured around whether it is easier to convey communication to the garden membership via email versus the Goggle site versus PB Wiki.

Action Items:

•      Several SC members noted that we should consider holding the steering committee meetings separately from the membership meetings so that we can iron out the communication and other relevant organizational issues.

•      Hannah/Dana will send around a availability inquiry so that we can hold a meeting prior to the next Membership meeting in June.

2.    The calendar of seasonal meetings and general Saturday workdays was reviewed and Cassandra will update to include the composting workshops as well. Discussion ensued around how to update the calendar to include all new workshop and other events. A decision needs to be made about whether the calendar should be updated electronically versus posted on a sign in the garden. While we await the construction of a sign for the gate where we can post garden calendar and activities, it was decided that we would both update the Wiki calendar and post something the bathroom of the garden. The workday and workshop dates should be clarified at the next SC meeting.

General Membership Meeting Minutes:

1.     The meeting began by welcoming new members to the garden and also extending the garden’s appreciation to Joe for taking on the task of acquiring new plants and seeds for the garden. Thank you, Joe!!

2.    Clarification around communication to the general membership was discussed: Gmail will be used for general emails to the entire membership; The PB Wiki site will be used for general announcements, updates, and information.

1.     The gmail address is: hollenbackcommunitygarden@gmail.com

3.    One of the major tasks facing the garden is the fact that we need to rebuild several plots. A survey was conducted via Survey Monkey to ascertain how many beds needed to be rebuilt and whether members approved of allocating general garden funds to spend money on this. Based on the votes via Survey Monkey and in the meeting (22 “yes” votes and 1 abstention), it was decided that we would use Garden funds to proceed with this task. The logistics of carrying this out will be discussed at a later meeting.

1.     There was a question about whether this vote indicates that we will use Garden funds for this year only or whether it authorizes funds every year when someone needs her plot rebuilt. It was clarified that this vote is for this year only.

2.    As a side issue, Hannah requested feedback on the use of Survey Monkey as a way to query the members about various Garden matters. For those who have access to computers/internet, there was a favorable response to this method, though when issues come up and it is necessary to use Survey Monkey, it would be helpful to have a brief summary of the issue outlined so it is more clear what the survey is about.

4.    Another critical issue facing the garden is the current key/lock situation. The lock is currently broken so that it won’t lock. Vlada volunteered to coordinate getting 60 keys copied and then checking each key against the lock (to be acquired from Mark) to ensure each key works. She will distribute new keys at the June meeting.

5.     Rachel Sousa graciously volunteered—once again—to oversee the apprentices to help orient them to the garden and to the shared apprentice plot. Cassandra will give Rachel the apprentices’ email addresses so she can communicate with them.

6.    A sign-up sheet was circulated for those members who might want some assistance from apprentices for their own garden plots. Cassandra will give the apprentice addresses to the members and they can coordinate among themselves how to work with the respective apprentices.

7.    Marissa introduced the topic of compost workdays and invited everyone to attend however many workshops they can. If they can only attend one, that is fine, but different topics will be covered at each workshop, so it would not be redundant to attend multiple meetings. Attendance at these workshops WILL count toward workday requirements and the list of dates for the workshops will be added to the seasonal calendar.

8.    Hannah asked for volunteers to lead various subcommittees: Social = Suzanne M.; BQLT = Hannah; Community areas = Deema; Compost = Marisa.

9.    Emmerson gave a financial update.

10. Hannah closed the meeting by clarifying that the Membership meeting will go back to a start time of 7 pm for the Wednesday meetings since the SC meetings will now be held separately. HOWEVER, we are still struggling with finding a place to hold the weekday meetings. We may need to consider alternative times/dates so we can continue to have monthly meetings. When that is resolved, it is anticipated that we will only need 1 hour for membership meetings since the SC meetings will be held separately.