MINUTES OF THE CLINTON COMMUNITY GARDEN STEERING COMMITTEE
1 November, 2016, 7:30 pm, Fountain House, West 47th Street, NYC, NY
In Attendance
Annie Chadwick, Charles Gerber, Deborra Mullins, Faser Hardin, John Keenan, Laura McGill, Sandra Shipley, Tom Cayler, Vivian Hoffman
Call to Order
Motion passed to approve minutes from October meeting.
Fence Update
Debbie reported on the status of the fence repairs. A $1,000 deposit required. The company is in New Jersey and will work on weekends. The door may be adjusted to keep it from jamming.
Clean Up Day
Soil was delivered and was the fastest unload; now waiting to be used. The cost exactly matched the Greenacre grant.
Bee/Honey Update
The bees have died and it appears mites were the cause. We harvested 92 lbs. of honey. This should amount to 184 8 oz. jars. We will sell to gardeners first, then to key holders.
So far in 2016 $2600 has been spent. To break even we need $14 per jar. There could be two price points, with back gardeners paying $15 and key holders paying $20.
Discussion re bees dying each year in spite of investment in professional beekeeper, and the possibility of returning responsibility to volunteers to maintain affordability. Annie will look into getting new supplier.
Motion passed to sell honey for $15 to back gardeners and $20 to key holders (2 opposed).
Gardening 101 at P.S. 51
Tom brought up the possibility of supporting the local elementary school, P.S. 51, by teaching “Gardening 101” to students on a volunteer basis. Annie has done this before and volunteered to be involved with this effort. Tom will liaise with the principal and initiate next steps.
Snow Removal Supplies
Tom reported that we will likely need new shovels this year, and guessed we would need 100 pounds of salt and 50 pounds of sand. He will check the status of current stock and identify possible need for an increase in budget to accommodate additional supplies.
Plot Update
Faser reported there will be a walk-around in November to record which plots were never gardened and compare with list gardeners who have no volunteer hours. Gardeners whose names appear on both lists will be contacted and asked to leave the garden.
Miscellaneous
Sandra requested that the compost committee schedule a meeting.
Bulbs have not been delivered yet; 3 bales of straw expected this week.
It was suggested that we up our contribution to Fountain House from $100 to $250.
Motion passed (unanimously)to donate $250 to Fountain House.
Motion passed (unanimously)to adjourn the meeting.