Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019.02.14 Community Garden Minutes MINUTES Feb 14, 2019 8:00am Colleyville Community Garden Executive Conference Room Colleyville City Hall Attendees Linda Newton; Rich Hendler; Amanda Novak; Uma Lal; Amy Putnam; Natalie Genco; Pam Buie; Lisa Escobedo, Parks Director. Call to order The meeting was called to order at 8:03am by the chairman, Natalie Genco. BYLAWS - Meeting Attendance Rich asked what our policy for meeting attendance is because we have 2 members who have not yet attended. Natalie explained that her mother, Mary Ramatowski, has not attended because her Alzheimer’s has worsened and she will not be able to be part of the committee. Lisa said that Mary will need to officially withdraw from the committee. Linda mentioned that the language regarding attendance was loose and we may want to add the wording “per calendar year” to the bylaws to further define the requirement. Process for removing a committee member It was mentioned that if someone misses too many meetings, it is the discretion of city council whether to remove that person. Our chair should speak with that person if this occurs to determine what the issue is and if it can be resolved. Committee vacancies If there is a vacancy, our committee members can make suggestions or get people we know to submit an application. Lisa confirmed that applications are always available and the city secretary has them if they cannot be found online. Quorum and Voting Lisa clarified that a quorum to conduct business is a simple majority of committee members. Every committee member in attendance has a vote including the chair. Special Meetings It was clarified by the city attorney, and is in our new revised minutes, that special meetings by the committee where no action is to be taken, do not have to abide by posting and notification rules of regular meetings. Open Meetings Act 4.10 of our bylaws state that our meetings are not subject to public posting and notice requirements. We were confused by this language as we believed that we are required to post our meeting notices. Linda wondered if we are possibly not required to post meeting notices but are requested to do so. Lisa believes this language means that we are not required to take the class about open meeting requirements but we are still required to post meeting notices. Raising funds There was some discussion regarding whether the nonprofit would raise and spend money as an independent entity or if it should be rolled into the community garden committee. Natalie explained that the nonprofit will have more freedom with how to spend funds then if money raised goes through the city. She believes the community garden in N. Richland Hills uses their nonprofit to raise funds because it was easier than using their 501c3 (which they let expire) or having funds raised go through the city. Anyone wishing to donate can do so through the non profit but if they wish to get a tax deduction, they can donate to the city for the benefit of the community garden. Rich pointed out that the language in our bylaws (Article 5.2) is non specific so we don’t have to decide this now. Lisa will consult with the city attorney so he can help us decided the best way to structure fundraising. Natalie mentioned that Mayor Newton suggested we would have more freedom with funds going through the non profit then going through the city. Lisa will ask the mayor’s opinion also. New Meeting Time Pam Buie came to the meeting late due to having to drop off her daughter at school at 8:00am. Natalie asked everyone if it was possible to adjust the meeting time to 8:15am so Pam wouldn’t miss as much. Amanda said it was due to her schedule that the meeting time was 8:00am and it would be fine with her if we changed it to 8:30am. Everyone decided 8:30am would work much better. Staggered Terms Natalie suggested that committee terms be staggered so we don’t end up turning over our entire committee at once. Rich pointed out that terms are already staggered as 3 members were appointed a year before the rest and their terms expire a year apart. VOTE - Approving Bylaws Linda motioned to approve our bylaws with the added language “per calendar year” to the 75% meeting attendance requirement. Rich seconded. The motion was approved. Partnering with the Parks and Rec Department Rich mentioned that the Parks and Rec department will be taking a field trip to visit our parks and he would like to combine their field trip with a visit by our committee to McPherson Park. We agreed this would be a good idea. We will choose a date and see if the Parks committee can join us. Field Trip to McPherson Park We decided to meet at McPherson Park on Saturday, February 16 at 10:00am (UPDATE: Meeting time has been changed to 11:30am). This is the site for the planned community garden. We will meet at the picnic benches near the parking lot. Natalie will explain the garden plan that has been drawn and then we will meet in the Rock house to discuss dividing tasks so we can begin to work on them. Lisa will ask someone to open the rock house for us and make sure there is not a class in there at that time. Other field trips Natalie suggested we wait to visit other community gardens until March and April when plants are blooming. Organization of business and tasks We decided that we will spend the next 2 months researching and organizing and the 3 months after that finalizing publicity and completing tasks. Linda suggested making a timeline to ensure we stay on track. Next Meeting Due to a conflict with spring break, our next meeting will be moved up to Thursday, March 8 at 8:30am. At this meeting, if our bylaws have been approved by city council, we need to vote for a vice chairman and a secretary to take minutes. Agenda items Lisa requested that we have agenda items to her by Feb 28. Natalie mentioned that we should know our next agenda items after our visit to McPherson Park on February 16. Adjourned Linda motioned to adjourn the meeting and Amanda seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20am.