The Garden Club of Windham
Minutes of Board Meeting 7/24/2024
Windham Senior Center
Call to order – 4:05 pm, Barbara Wright and Jay Osborne, co-chairs presiding
In Attendance – Jay Osborne, Daniel Phipps, Ursula Roskoski, Debbie Stoloff, Carole Williamson
(arrived late), Barbara Wright, Pam Wright.
Minutes of the Board meeting held on 6/26/2024 were approved by a vote of four with two
abstentions, as they had been posted on-line previously for members to access and read.
High Street Hillside Garden updates – Barbara drew attention to a document entitled
Maintenance Priorities, stating that this was created in an attempt to approach the HSH garden more effectively. The need for this came out of various sidebar conversations and emails expressing some concerns about HSH garden maintenance.
Barbara moved that the board share this list with Karrie Kirchner, the garden tender, and all others who work in the garden. Debbie seconded the motion. Discussion ensued. Pam moved that we add an amendment to the communications item (1.) that Karrie provide a
tentative schedule of the days and times she plans to work in the coming week. Barbara seconded and the motion was approved unanimously. Vote was taken on the initial motion to share the list of maintenance priorities with Karrie and all of those who work in the HSH garden. Motion was passed unanimously.
Fundraising – Barbara stated that the main purpose of the meeting was to explore aspects of
fundraising and come to some conclusion about what the Garden Club should be doing overall in terms of fundraising. This came about after Faith’s proposal, at the board meeting of 6/26/24, to initiate a campaign of soliciting contributions for support of the HSH garden. It was concluded at that time that an individual should not canvas for a separate project but that the Garden Club at large would do a unified campaign of fundraising at some time in the fall for the benefit of the whole club.
Because the board has gone on record, we should now talk about fundraising and possibly modify those plans. the follower points were discussed:
1. Approaches/means of fundraising –
a. Plant sales have historically been done, one per year, and they have benefited the whole
club, although they can be more individually tailored.
b. The club has received grants which have been used for individual projects or gardens.
c. Direct solicitation is another means, canvassing area businesses and individual donors. Faith
does in fact have a significant track record with successful solicitation. Barbara noted that the major difference between grants and canvassing is that with grants we are taking advantage of opportunities offered and with solicitation we are making an approach to a potential donor who has not specifically offered to give any funds.
d. Membership: in the past, members’ dues, along with the plant sale and donations, were the
main means of fundraising.
e. An event is another possible means. Two years ago, the FGOB sponsored its first event,
suggested by Pat Prue who administers the Pageau Family Trust and who had granted a large sum to theFGOB. He was eager to give more but wanted a celebratory gathering to thank donors and to draw publicity/attention. He did subsequently donate another $15,000.
f. Financial institutions provide a lot of opportunities for donations, sometimes matching
donations, and encourage groups to apply.
g. Barbara stated that there are a lot of possibilities that have not been tapped such as the
Food Co-op cash register round-up program, the Sustainable CT matching grant program, and the newly available Americorps project which requires future discussion.
2. Uses for funds raised –
One item that is of concern is the HSH; if we are planning to hire a garden tender every summer, we are looking at needing $2500 to $3500 yearly. Pam mentioned that we are talking as if we are committing to keeping the HSH garden status quo, but another often suggested
option is to change the design of the garden. Jay summarized by saying that one item we might be looking at is maintenance and another is modification. Dan asked whether the amount we have planned to spend for maintenance on the HSH garden for one year is comparable to what it would cost to redesign the garden. This issue of changing the HSH garden is contested at this point.
There is also the GOB. The FGOB have taken care of the needs of that garden. Barbara asked whether there is a need to consider hiring garden tenders for that garden. The conclusion after discussion is that no extra funds would be required, as it has been maintained satisfactorily by the FGOB. Carole mentioned that making it easy for ourselves by hiring garden tenders allows us to acquire more and more gardens, whereas if we do the work ourselves we will be more realistic about what can be handled.
Barbara mentioned other projects, seasonal lighting on the bridge, for example,
and several others. Ursula stated that this is beginning to sound like a wish list, and Pam concurred by stating that she wants to emphasize that, from her point of view, we need to be realistic about wishes; some projects have been initiated without board approval, and once established, the GCW has felt an obligation to sponsor.
3. Priorities:
Barbara stated that this brings us to priorities. What are the one or two top priorities?
We can say that we have ten gardens, removing the HSH and the GOB, and that each one can be
allocated a set amount of money each year, say $100 per garden for $1000 per year. And our plant sale would cover that. Pam mentioned a garden that had been eliminated and Jay said it was good to know that there has been a precedent for eliminating gardens based on capacity of the club to maintain. Ursula mentioned that another need that might show up in some years is water.
After lengthy discussion, it was suggested that, given the funding needs of the HSH garden, the board might consider expanding the HSH standing committee, to a Friends of the High Street Hillside Garden, with separate fundraising capability and a separate checking account that funnels funds through the GCW, similar to the FGOB. It was decided to postpone vote on this proposal until it has been discussed with Faith.
4. Timing:
Barbara stated that this brings us to timing, the next item on the agenda. Ursula suggested
that if we set up a FHSH, we could approve that committee to do a canvassing campaign in the fall and then at some time in the spring we might plan for an event that would be the “thank you” from the entire GCW to all of our donors.
5. Collective versus individual:
Barbara said that the previous proposal answers the question of to what extent do we fundraise collectively and to what extent do we let individual committees do fundraising. If we are doing two fundraisers per year, then there would be one individual and one club-wide campaign. We concluded that we can have individual efforts acknowledged by the GCW.
Barbara made a motion to update the bylaws and policy statements to include a formal review and approval by the board of all fundraising initiatives. Pam seconded the motion, motion passed by unanimous vote.
Next Meeting – TBD
Adjourned – 6:00 pm
Respectfully submitted by Ursula Roskoski
________________________________
HIGH STREET HILLSIDE GARDEN
Maintenance Priorities – 2024
1. Communications: please include the board in your communications about work schedules.
One reason for this, among others, is so that the calendar can be adjusted.
2. Maintenance: the overall goal is to maintain the appearance of tidiness for this highly visible
garden. Please prioritize these in order.
• High Street – Weed the perimeter of the garden
Goal – to remove crab grasses, etc. that are is most visible to those walking on the
sidewalk and to those driving by on the road
Tidying the mulch beds after weed removal – light raking to cover holes
• Lynwood – Weed the perimeter of the garden
• Leave dense stand of Queen Anne’s Lace on the Lynwood side
• Remove stragglers of Queen Anne’s Lace that look weedy from High Street
• Weed the interior of the garden
• No pruning of live wood
• Prune dead wood / dead leaves only
3. Debris: please provide for the removal of all debris at end of each work session – two
options:
a.) Request lawn bags in advance from Jay Osborne – jayosborneathome@gmail.com; (860) 234-4020.
Bag debris in lawn bags and place all bags together in one area.
Notify Jay Osborne (via email or text) who will immediately notify Windham Public Works
that bags are ready to be removed; or
b.) Personally arrange for the removal of all debris at the end of each work session.
Comentários