MCMGA Board Minutes for December 3, 2024

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6:00pm via zoom

Attendees:
Cynthia Chase, Lorna Schilling, Mike Rutherford, John Jordan, Heidi Nichols, Jack Lazareck, Rich Becker, Carole Hardy, Jen Hazen, Jennifer Nottingham, Valentina Chau, Susan Marcus

October 22nd meeting minutes:
Motion to approve - Jen Hazen
Seconded - Mike Rutherford
Approved by all

Discussions:
Sparrowhawk. Request for the demo garden to receive the Sparrowhawk plant sale funds was approved by the board.

Membership Dues. Heidi reported that in 2024 almost everyone who renewed paid $20 or more; only one or two people renewed at $0. General discussion about and support for continuing to offer a sliding scale of $0-$30 for membership dues. Let members know that MCMGA pays $5 OMGA dues per member. Lorna made motion to approve, Mike seconded, and confirmed by all.

2025 Budget/Board Positions. Jen just emailed revised budget which reflects actual insurance premium, reduced communications budget, and increased member events. We can’t budget for cash donations because they’re unknown so actual income expected be higher than projected. New bottom line is just under $10k in the red. Cynthia asked if board members are comfortable with a deficit budget. Rich mentioned that we budget a deficit every year, but always end up positive. Jack talked about our cash reserves. Susan asked about the $2,500 budgeted for PPS Restoration Project. Carole said the money would be used to buy plants and educational signage about the restoration. Carole is applying for a PCEF grant for funding for this project over the next five years, but because we won’t know if grant is approved for another six months Carole is requesting MCMGA funds. PPS has an initiative to ‘green’ their school yards so this project could be a great initial model for that work. Budget approved by all board members. Budget will be sent to MCMGA members with information about our budget process, cash reserves, and anticipated but un-budgeted cash donations. eNews will include links for the draft budget and list of board officer candidates. One email to MCMGA members with a ballot and a budget. Mike is creating the ballot as a Google form. Heidi and Carole will come up with wording for eNews which describes who is eligible to vote. Valentina will join/renew membership online so she’s eligible to vote and be on the board. Ballots will be sent on 12/11 and are due by 12/18. Jen will put a pdf version of our budget on the drive and work on budget explanation to go along with the ballot. Once board is officially elected, Rich needs to report names/contact info/position to OMGA.

Speaker Series. Cynthia proposed a special speaker meeting w/Alyssa Shiel regarding the following Oregonian article: Old lead-sheathed telecom cables found in nearly half of Portland neighborhoods so far; health risks unclear. Regular speakers are already scheduled through May, so this would have to be in addition to that schedule. Cynthia contacted Nadine Menashe and Alyssa Sheil/OSU professor about possibility of speaking; waiting to hear back. Rich reported that Weston Miller addressed this topic several years ago and held a meeting in SE where people could bring soil samples for testing. Carole voiced concern about having such a meeting; thinks it should be directed by the program, not the association. General agreement that purpose of presentation would be to educate MGs about the issue, but any information MGs present at farmer’s markets, etc. on this topic would have to come from Extension.

  1. Demo Garden. Last official work day for 2024 was held and regular hours will start up again in February. Carole will host some Saturday volunteer work days in the meantime since we still have some things growing like radicchio.

  2. Member Events. Holgate event was great, but very labor intensive for planners. Cynthia proposed Steeplejack Brewery for afternoon of January 19 (date subsequently changed to Jan 18th by Steeplejack). MGs can buy their own drinks and food. General discussion about member events - we need a theme or some kind of draw to get MGs to events. Carole discussed presenting a garden design tool that helps people decide how to plant water-wise plants together. Jennifer suggested using the theme of jumping into the new year/prepping for the new garden year. Other ideas are to use meeting to explain how membership renewal fees are used, talk about seed catalogs and selection. Maybe a few door prizes, but not as many as last time. Carole would like to post the educational events that will be held at the DG and see if we can get more volunteers to help with those. Valentina suggested we diversify location of events to pull more people in. Cynthia will book Steeplejack for January. Save the Date will go into this month’s eNews. Initial planning session for event will be at noon on 12/13 via Zoom. Carole will send Zoom link to Jennifer, Mike, Susan & Cynthia.

  3. OMGA. Rich discussed how MCMGA/Metro deals with things very differently than rural communities. Lorna mentioned OMGA retreat scheduled for 12/6 for anyone who wants to attend.

  4. Recertification. Jack asked if as anyone submitted hours and heard anything back. No one has heard back. Rich responded to a request for volunteer hours info from IE Sale. Program is trying to validate hours which seems to be taking a long time.

Next Board Meeting:
January 7, 2025

Meeting led by: Cynthia Chase
Adjourned at: 7:28pm
Notes taken by: Susan Marcus
Minutes approved on: 01/07/25