Meeting Minutes, 15 November 2007

The Executive Committee of Sheboygan Community Garden of 2008 met in the Social Room of Monticello Apartments, 5015 Sheboygan Avenue, at 7:00 pm, on 15 November 2007. The following persons were present:

The Executive Committee discussed the Agenda, November 15, 2007, presented by Coordinators Pat Soderholm and Mary Malischke.

The date of the Sheboygan Community Garden Executive Committee meeting has in past been the second Thursday of the month. We will continue this schedule, meeting on the second Thursday of the month (December excluded), from 7-8:30 pm, in the Social Room of Monticello Apartments, 5015 Sheboygan Avenue. January 24, 2008 (NB: CHANGED DATE), is the date for our next meeting.

Then: February 14, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, August 7, September 11, October 9, November 14.

Geren Zhang was welcomed to the Executive Committee as a Member-at-large.

There was comment that we need to send both snail mail and email copies of communication. Although Marsha Park volunteered to communicate to non-English speakers/readers by phone tree, all translators need to know in advance what to say (i.e., translation of crucial parts of automatic email). Spanish speakers are Silvestre Soto, Mario Dominguez, Camilo Vazquez; Korean speaker is Marsha Park; Laotian speaker is Nit Suetmeier; and Chinese speaker is Geren Zhang. Marsha Park will do the phone tree in English (and Korean)

Mary Malischke will talk to Ben Sommers about Sheboygan’s using CAC resources to obtain satisfactory Southeast Asian translations.

Last year (2007) Pat Pakpoom volunteered to translate Thai; Sonam Choedon, Tibetan; Thay Seuasoukseng, Laotian; Tshung-shen Lia, Chinese; and Fadey Feyman, Russian.

Volunteer translators are to contact Marsha Park if they are willing to continue the phone tree task. Still, all communication is to be sent both by snail mail and by email.

It was suggested that the Weed Patrol/Evaluation by conducted by column of the garden, with 1 person per row per column. Although Tyrone Bell conducted his 2007 evaluation more on a visual/weather-related/potential scale, he will forward his completed evaluation to Mathew anyway.

Summarily speaking, committee chairs and members are not to do anything until first approved by the Executive Committee.

On January 10, the Executive Committee will prepare a form letter, to be sent in February, to all Satisfactory Gardeners to indicate their plans to continue to garden at Sheboygan. The form letter will be sent automatically to all highly rated gardeners. A Registration letter will be prepared by Sue Brown, Nancy Stroud, and Jane Dennis

The Spring Meeting/Potluck Dinner is scheduled for April 17 at the Senior Center, Sawyer Terrace. At that time, gardeners will vote on Sheboygan Community Garden bylaws (which were approved at the January 2008 Executive Board meeting) and receive free seeds from CAC.

Opening Workday is Saturday, April 26. It was stressed that these scheduled workdays are days to work on community projects (mulching, mowing, etc.). The suggestion was made that Workdays be scheduled on days other than Saturday (which omits Saturday-employed persons). What about a night time, maybe with a weenie roast?

The Sheboygan Garden Preservation Committee has been meeting with city and state personnel to evaluate potential sites for the garden (assuming not in Hill Farms DOT area). The committee has had regular visits with state and city officials about every other week (since 2 October 2007, skipping mid-December). The next meeting will be held January 22 at the Madison Municipal Building.

The Executive Committee dealt with unfinished business, namely, results of Fall clean-up, complaints of stolen vegetables, and need for additional raised beds. Since these are private gardens, it was said, the Executive Committee cannot consider stolen vegetables. There will be no additional raised beds in the Sheboygan Community Garden in 2008.

The meeting of the Sheboygan Community Garden Executive Committee closed at 8:25 pm.