May 11 Meeting Minutes

The Community Garden is ready to launch—probably by the end of May if not sooner. Fifteen plots have been “purchased” including three churches. There was a second public meeting held yesterday at the LENSC—approximately 40 people attended, there was a great deal of interest and more applications for plots are expected. The Service center will do the first tilling this week, and the water meter will be installed. Maureen Nakonek from the Mayor’s office has volunteered to serve a secretary/treasurer—big thanks! There are many volunteer opportunities for people that want to get involved with the Community Garden, with a particular need for a volunteer(s) to set up and coordinate composting with local businesses.

The City has received approval from the SWD for a $927 grant to purchase indoor/outdoor recycle bins. The grant was written by the Green Team on behalf of the City. With the grant funds, the Service Center will be purchasing 24 indoor/outdoor bins that are identical to the ones in the Huntington Reservation Metro Park. The City plans to use the recycle bins throughout the parks in strategic locations, and they can be used for recycling at events such as Bay Days. The other grant for indoor bins submitted by the Mayor did not get approved, so this is great news!
Events Update:

· The Green Team sponsored a table at the Bike to School Safety Fair (April 29 6-9 PM at BMS).

· There was a Habitat for Humanity collection on April 15-17 organized by Jerry Jarc. Another collection will be scheduled in Fall.

· A book discussion on “Bottlemania” is being organized by Pam Defino from the Bay Library. The Green Team will be participating in the discussion, planned for Tuesday, July 13. The books are ready for pick up at the Library.

· The Green Team will have a booth at Bay Days—Saturday, July 3^rd --from 10 AM-6 PM (tentative hours). We plan to include a Compost Bin from the SWD to promote an upcoming Seminar on composting to be held in July. Warren Remein has volunteered to organize the compost seminar with the SWD. We are also looking for give-aways. Some ideas include t-shirts for kids to color with a Green message, pool passes, bike maps, and bike reflectors. We are looking for volunteers to set up and work the booth.

· Garlic Mustard Pulls were held on April 26 (Cahoon sled hill) and May 1 (Wischmeyer Creek @ Wolf and Glen Park)—150 pounds of Garlic Mustard was collected!

· The Mayor will be attending the June 8^th Green Team meeting

· We publish in the "Green Scene” section of the Mayor’s Quarterly Newsletter

The next message is being created, and is due to Maureen around May 31^st

· The Green Team received a grant for $3100 from SWD for brochure & labels—this was announced at an earlier meeting. We will be meeting with Dan Galli & Dwight Clark to coordinate on the messaging for the brochure.

· There was some discussion on whether there would be any value to becoming a tax exempt organization—it is required when the grant applications are submitted. No decision was made—the benefits and requirements would need further research.

Join us for our next meeting Tuesday, June 8th @ City Hall--2nd floor conference room. Make a difference, get involved!