West 104 St. Community Garden Work Day Minutes, August 8th, 2012
Issues discussed at Meeting:
1. Members approved considering a pick up (obtaining & bringing supplies to the garden ) a workday make up
1.a. Ann will be sending an email requesting volunteers to help Frank getting the materials for the stage
1. Discussion of 12 West 104 St. tenants visiting the garden off-open hours and using our BBQ. The idea of extending the fence on the West Side Garden was considered. Lou said that the contractor who worked on the retaining wall refused to continue the fence all the way to the back because the ground is not flat, making installation complex. (Dinorah’s Opinion: From a professional stand-point adding extra steps is part of any construction process and not a hard job….But we would have to pay for fence now,)
2.a. Lou suggested that we ask Michael (Michael Simpkin is a member who lives at 12 West 104) to put some signs inside the building encouraging people to sign for a membership if they want to have access off-open hours into the garden, and informing them that, otherwise, their visits are not allowed. 2.b. Alan Tenny suggested that in lieu of a fence we put a padlock on the BBQ, an idea that was informally approved. 2.c. (Side Note)Noreen proposed during the SC meeting in August that we write the owner and suggest that if he is going to tell prospective tenants that use of the Garden is one of the benefits of living at 12 West 104. he pay the Garden a sponsoring member fee for each household. Otherwise he should inform them that they have access to the Garden only during official open hours and must schedule and pay for use of the BBQ.
1. The paint chips with the color selection for the gazebo were presented for a vote. Paint brand: BEHR Premium Plus. Velvet Morning – 520E-3 got the most votes (10). 2. Contact Kevin Lee to ask for replacements for water barrel tops. (Done- Dinorah sent an email to him on Friday 10th) 3. Lou is restoring the potting table next to the shed on the East Side Garden. He is cleaning it up and making it more functional to encourage use of it. 4. Wedding event was discussed (over some objection). We received an email from someone who is interested having a wedding in July 2013 and wants to know the procedures. Elements discussed during the meeting: fee, responsibilities, expectations, and rules. Some ideas that came up: to talk with GreenThumb; charging more than the regular fee (50.00) because weddings in NYC are definitely costly and we are not in the position of offering the space for almost free; somebody mentioned leaving it as an open donation because sometimes you get surprised by the amount people offer; others talked about finding how many people we are talking about. Also, the idea of having a fee and using this as a way to create an income for the garden. After the talk, it was decided that now the SC and Kim will be in charge of it. 5. Lou talked with owner of 4 West 104 St. (building next to the East Garden on the east side). The Ivy will be cut at some point, but is not an issue right now. The wall crumbling at the back is the owner’s responsibility to repair. He is asking the Garden for some kind of help. The individual plots along the fence may be putting pressure on the wall, but the wall may be constructed improperly. (Peter noted that the top blocks are not cemented in.) To be continued if owner contacts us again. 6. Frank checked the row boat leaning against the wire fence in the back of the West Garden. He said there was not any harm to the fence. 7. Frank brought hinges for back door of the East Garden 8. Several member thanked David for running a short, succinct meeting.
Informal talks Lou brought up that the floor of the gazebo needs to be sanded and primed before it is painted.
Work activities included: weeding at the back of the West Garden, emptying cold frame in West Garden, collecting the rest of the debris on patio from West Garden, installing the path in the East Garden (halfway done), cutting the grass, installing hinges on back door on west fence in the East Garden.
