HAYWARD COMMUNITY GARDENS
2nd Qtr Report, Oct 2003-Dec 2003
At the end of October, the Hayward Gardens was pleased to be able to provide the Sun Gallery with an abundance of marigolds for the Dia de los Muertos exhibition, with the participation of the Interact Club from Castro Valley and acquaintance with the wonderful students from Tennyson High School. One of our families is an accomplished troupe of Aztec dancers, musicians and artists and performed at the artists’ reception.
The St. Clement’s Senior Center had a field trip to the gardens. This gave us the opportunity to talk more about having elderly and disabled persons in the garden. Topics discussed were pairing the seniors with students and making gardens more senior-accessible and hospitable.
The acting chair as chief executive officer appointed an Administrative Committee separate from the Operations Committee to be responsible for the business and nonprofit dealings of the garden. The elected operations board will remain in place until re-election process anticipated for April 2004. The Operations Committee will solely be responsible for grounds maintenance and enforcement of the rules.
The Operations Committee is: Chair—Sandy Frost; Grounds Manager—Juan Ortiz; members: Jose Romero, Carlos Berber, Ricardo Torres, Jose Fernandez, Tony Ramirez, Marcos Zuniga, Luis Navarro, Mitch Nakashima and Dan Martinez.
The Administrative Committee is: Facilitator [Board President]—Fred Hempel; Treasurer—Stacie Chun; members: Sheila McClellan, Sandy Frost, Kendra Johnson, Gary Kaplan, John Swarr and Vern Morley; Advisory—John Quintero.
Our liaison officer, Ramona Flores, visited the garden.
After an unexpected five-month delay, our contract with the City of Hayward for CDBG funds was signed and reimbursement for expenditures could begin.
A general garden meeting was held on December 20. At this meeting, members were reminded about income and residence compliance for membership, and discussion was held about ways to cut expenses and raise funds. Stacie Chun explained reimbursement for low-income Hayward residents and that higher income members would be responsible for costs beyond what is covered by CDBG. There will be an out-of-area usage fee assigned to those gardeners who live beyond surrounding communities. Applications will be taken in January with increase in plot fees.
Submitted 1/21/2004 sjf