GOAL of Gardens for Charlestown:
Create community AROUND THE ACTIVITY OF gardening.
SITE
Land taken by city in 1980's.
A neighborhood OF HOUSES WHICH HAD BEEN ON THE SITE WAS demolished TO MAKE WAY FOR A PROPOSED NEW HIGH SCHOOL. SOMERVILLE POPULATION STARTED SHRINKING WITH CLOSING OF THE NAVY YARD AND GENERAL DECLINE OF MANUFACTURING IN THE REGION. SO NEW HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT ABANDONED.
Land sat vacant-
STUDENTS FROM THE EXISTING high school (THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REPLACED BY A NEW BUILDING ON THE SITE) helped CLEAR THE SITE WHICH WAS JUST A HEAP OF RUBBLE, around 1985.
START OF COMMUNITY GARDENS
- GARDENERS WERE ESSENTIALLY Squatters.
o bought land from BRA - FOR ONE DOLLAR
o FORMAL GARDEN ORGANIZATION FOUNDED -2001 (?)
o CITY CONTRIBUTION (BROWNE FUND) Fenced Sides-Open Front
63 Garden plots
o Tools and water SUPPLIED IN SHED. GARDENERS PAY FOR UTILITIES
- ANNUAL "MEMBERSHIP" FEE FOR USE OF GARDEN PLOT AND PARTICIPATION - PURPOSEFULLY really affordable (NOT A "CLUB")
o 20 APPLICANTS ON waiting LIST- about 5/year WAIT - ALMOST NOBODY GETS rejected. ONLY NOT USING YOUR PLOT AND NOT DOING 10 HOURS COMMUNITY WORK GETS YOU REMOVED FROM MEMBERSHIP.
THE Shed
o UtilitIES HOUSED - BUILT FROM "FOUND" materials
o ARCHITECT/DESIGNER=Miguel GOMEZ-IBANEZ,. LINK: THEN wife-A Founding Member
o UTILITIES: water, METERED in the foundation OF THE SHED, BELOW FLOOR
o BUILT ON THE Lot line (NOW ILLEGAL, NEEDS SIDE YARD, OR BACK YARD SET-BACK)
ALSO A Good PLACE to Relax -
- GARDENERS WELCOME USE BY LOCAL COMMUNITY (HELPS WITH POLICING TO HAVE CONSTANT USERS PRESENT.
BRA Agreement
o Need to approve everything, BRA HAS JURISDICTION OVER THIS KIND OF COMMUNITY USE, AND RESTRICTIONS EXIST IN THE DEED OF OWNERSHIP
o INCONSISTENCIES WITH CURRENT REGULATIONS WILL PROBABLY BE "GRANDFATHERED"(ALLOWED EVEN THOUGH IN VIOLATION) from set back
o Process with organization - WILL NEED APPROVALS FROM:
- GARDENERS' ORGANIZATION
- BRA
- LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
- CITY BUILDING DEPARTMENT (BUILDING PERMIT, CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY?)
- CITY OFFICE OF HANDICAPPED AFFAIRS?
- STATE HC OFFICE?
- WHO ELSE HAS JURISDICTION? NEEDS TO SIGN OFF?
OLD Shed (OUR PROJECT) - STORAGE OF
o GasOLINE, MACHINERY MAINTENANCE TOOLS
o Snow Blower
o Lawn MoWer
- GARDENING TOOLS
- WHAT ELSE?
New Shed "BIG" OR "NEW" Utility Shed (NOT OUR PROJECT, THE ONE BUILT LATER) - HOUSES
o Lawn furniture
o Board meetings
o Fund raising AND EVENT PARAPHERNALIA
- GENERAL STORAGE (NOT "DIRTY" OR "WET"
COMMUNITY EVENTS HELD AT THE GARDEN, SPONSORED BY THE GARDENERS WITH CO-HOSTS:
o Spring, SUMMER, FALL
- EASTER EGG HUNT
- April: Flea Market
o July: Lobster in the Garden
o August: Children DAY
- pony RIDES, FACE paintING,
Every two years, DURING June
o Garden/town holds major community event
o Halloween
·
Winter
o BIG Storage SHED is filled WITH LAWN FURNITURE, ETC. in winter
o ONLY REAL WINTER ACTIVITY -
PLOWING - necessary to keep sidewalks clean in winter (LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF ADJACENT LANDOWNER
Gazebo - KEEP IT OR NOT? (DISCUSSION)
o Events & SHORT TERM Storage
Green house
- GARDENERS USE FOR STARTING, INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
- POORLY MAINTAINED, NO OVERSIGHT
AVAILABLE FUNDING SOURCES
- "Mitigation" MONEY:
ALLOCATED FROM "BIG DIG" (CENTRAL ARTERY RELOCATION) - FEDERAL/STATE FUNDS TO OFFSET DISRUPTIONS AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACTS CAUSED BY CONSTRUCTION OF MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
o Opportunity for handicap accessible gardens
o raised planting beds
o with input FROM SPAULDING REHAB HOSPITAL (THE MAJOR REHABILITATION HOSPITAL IN GREATER BOSTON) (BEING RELOCATED TO CHARLESTOWN FROM NORTH END)
PROGRAM ISSUES - THINGS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED:
o Water pooling - NOT DRAINING FROM IN FRONT OF SHEDS, STUDY DRAINAGE PATTERN
o ramp - CLEAR, LEGAL HC ACCESS FROM SIDEWALK ONTO AND THROUGH SITE TO HC PLANTING BEDS AS WELL AS SHEDS, PUBLIC COMMUNITY AREAS (BUT NOT ALL OTHER PLANTING BEDS).
o Light standards - WHAT TO DO WITH OLD LAMP BOTTOMS? HOW IS SITE ILLUMINATED AT NIGHT?
o Water lines SERVING PLANTING BEDS (Roberta's husband laid out. DOES THE ORGANIZATION need to blow OUT WATER AT END OF SEASON TO PROTECT FROM FREEZING?)
Adjacent Fire House
o FUNCTION RELOCATED IN NEW FIREHOUSE ON DIAGONAL CORNER Moved to other corner
o Converted into Charlestown working theater
o Fireman's memorial- other side
o (where ARE SANITARY FACILITIES, IF ANY?)
Landscaping
o other ideas (FROM US) to tie together THE WHOLE SITE AND FUNCTIONS
o trees provide too much shade - can affect plants
o 10 HOUR GARDENERS' COMMUNITY BASED maintenance
o keep gazebo
"Public Areas"
- Rose Gardens
o All borders- member input 10 hours a year of community service
o Community Grills
o Not too many rules
Times OF USE
o early mornings and late afternoons
o public use - ALL DAY LONG, DOES NOT CLOSE IN THE EVENING
o Vandalism (MINIMAL)- stole a jar of tomatoes and gardening tools OVER THE YEAR
o Greenhouse- add electric starting (NOTE?)
Old Shed
o RELOCATE 2 refrig.
o Large doors, pair - FOR POWER MOWER, ETC ACCESS
o same foot print ON EXISTING FOUNDATION
o scale is OK - do not need ADDITIONAL height
Compost Pile /Mulch Pile
o Leaf mulch from city
- NEED TO ORGANIZE AREA AROUND
o holder for the mulch
o tomato blight PERSISTED FOR 3 YEARS. CAUSED NO LONGER MAKING THEIR OWN
o No pesticides
o Green waste -take it home (no official city pickup) will pick up, only clean ups SEMI-ANNUALLY WILL BE CARTED AWAY IN CITY-PROVIDED CONTAINERS
o HONOR SYSTEM removal OF YOUR OWN WASTE FROM YOU GARDEN PLOT
Budget - SOURCES OF INCOME
o nonprofit, MEMBERSHIP FEES (NOT CONSIDRED "DUES" WHICH WOULD BE FOR A PRIVATE CLUB)
o matching grants
o fundraising events
Path
o recently done- Stairs and paths
o Privacy of the path- a little removed
o Border "Green Fence" - KEEPS Dog walking AT THE EDGES, NOT INSIDE
o Flagpole - NEVER USED, DO WE WANT TO CELEBRATE?.
NEXT MEETING ON SITE - TWO WEEKS, 9/23/11.
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