Minutes of the Brazoria County Master Gardener Association Board Meeting. September 13, 2013 TAMALES Conference Room

Transcription

1 September 13, 2013 TAMALES Conference Room In Attendance: Larry Pike, Ted Jagen, Carole Wenny, Debbie Pike, Sandra Lockhart, Judy Jobe, Barbara Bruyere, Billy Heck, Don Bushman, Carole Brennan, Calista Stewart, Gil Livanec, Beverly Straughan, John Gordy, Karen Bleakney, Charlie Hart, Michael Mayfield, Tom Biegel, Gerri Baccus, Lee Withers, Cheryl Barajas, Terry White, Shannon Greene, Lynette Reed, Don Gerard, Geo Mills Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am. Quorum Check: Larry Pike reviewed voting members, 4 out of 5 were present. Minutes: Presented and approved with one addition. Made on change concerning grants are being completed for projects at BEES. Motioned to approve by Barbara Bruyere and seconded by Ted Jagen. Motion approved. Action Register: Larry reviewed outstanding items on the action register. Rich is working on getting us a fence. He is currently in and out of town because of sick relative in Baltimore. Larry is updating the action register and will forward it to Ed Barrios. Financial Report: Ted will start collecting 2014 Annual dues in October. He will start collecting these dues next month because it takes several months to get completed. Don Gerard will be collecting dues of $16 for individuals, $26 for couples and $25 for Associate Members. Ted also discussed the Annual Budget Meeting that will be held November 1 st in the BEES Training Room. Ted asked that all Committee Chairs attend the meeting to request funds for All new proposals need to be presented at this meeting for funding consideration in See pages 6 & 7 for full report. Motion made to approve the financial report by Carole Wenny, seconded by Gil Livanec. Motion approved. Administrative Update: John Gordy ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 1

2 1. John and Sharon Trower have discussed the possibility of combining some Extension Programs with the Master Gardeners Spring Plant sale. Some possible demonstrations or booths will be cover topics Canning, Backyard Basics and Rain Water Harvesting. 2. On Thursday, Dec 5 th the Extension Office will conduct an evening event at 6:00PM. 3. The Extension Office will conduct some training sessions in John will discuss the plans with us as they develop. One possible work shop topic will be Rain Water Harvesting. 4. John wants us to move forward with implementation of the A&M MG database for tracking hours and events. This will be beneficial for us and the State. After some discussion John made a motion that we implement the database on a trail bases. The motion was seconded: Cheryl Barajas. Judy Jobe volunteered to work with John on implementation. Motion passed. 5. John also discussed the possibility of a sub-web site linked to our Web Site for Pearland Water Conservation with links to Water Wise Plants. John discussed the possibility of advertising this on the city water bill for residential service. 6. John said that he knows we have been without an Extension Agent for some time. He asked us to call him if needed. Instead of going to Becky he wants us to call him directly. His contact numbers are: cell: (940) ; office (979) X John wants to work with us on advertising in the local newspapers. We told him about Paula and how efficient her team is about getting our events advertised. He said that he will help as needed. Also John needs to proof read all documents that have the Extension logo on it that will be submitted for public use. 8. March 29th plant sale day. John proposed an Extension Office Expo inside the auditorium building at the same time as the plant sale. Could combine events and give a boost to both groups. John to work with plant team to work out details. 9. Extension Interpretation event for the County Commissioners at the end of the year, John would like to use the BEES facility. Tentative date December 5 th at 6 pm. 10. John proposed to have a Master Gardener booth at the various Extension events. The rain harvesting program is an example. 11. John wants to get started using the volunteer time database. John made a motion to use the database to adopt on a trial basis, Cheryl Barajas seconded. Motion approved. ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 2

3 12. Program planning for next year: seminars for rainwater harvesting, longer term get with Pearland water and set up a sub-website with low water plants. Longer term water conservation issues. Education Update: INEOS Training Paula Raeke has completed a preliminary proposal to be submitted to AISD. The proposal has been handed off to the Master Naturalists for review. Larry said it is a much larger training proposal, more sessions and more students, than the original training session. It is up to the Master Naturalists to help us reach a proposal that will be good for all involved. Project Updates: Rose Garden: Karen stated that the drip irrigation will be completed in October. There are a few other minor tasks to get the Rose Garden completed. The project should be completed by the Eco Fest. Orchard: Gil, Ray and Larry will complete a plot plan to the Orchard to identify all of the trees planted. When completed Ray and Gil will obtain trees from Brazos Citrus to be planted on the 4 th row. Container and Row Garden: Carole Brennan has approval to use rows in the large garden bed to use for growing cuttings. She needs a soaker hose and asked if there is a budget for this project. Mike Mayfield will work with her to make sure she gets what she needs. Ted says the Beds Maintenance Budget should cover what she needs. New Business: Ted talked to John Gordy about the Pecan Tree Committee line item in the Budget. After much discussion Ted and John will work to decided what to do about the funds and the need for this team. BCMGA will probably transfer the money to a special Extension account. ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 3

4 Ray has purchased the parts needed to repair the hoist in the barn. It should be repaired soon. We had a meeting with Richard Hurd from the Parks Department about the repairs needed on the barn. We are to take care of the inside of the barn. The 2014 Nominating Committee will be Ellen Pedisch, Barbara Bruyere and Jerri Baccus. Calista briefly discussed the upcoming Fall Plant Sale that will be held during the Eco Fest. She also discussed the need for donations of plants for the Spring Plant Sale. She will be conducting a Texas Super Star presentation during the Eco Fest. Ted reminded us to include tax in the pricing. He will pay sales tax on items sold. Plant donations need to be cleared before bringing them to BEES. Work sessions will be planned as needed to pot these donations. See pages 8 & 9. BeBe Brown Recognition: There was discussion about purchasing a plaque for BeBe to recognize her for all of her work at BEES. Judy Jobe will work with our engraving shop to get this done. The plaque will cost $40 and will be completing the day it is ordered. There was also some discussion about the need to add 4 plaques in the Memorial Garden. Billy Heck has a list of plaques needed. Judy Jobe will work to get these completed. Carole Wenny made a motion to buy the BeBe plaque and Mike Mayfield seconded the motion. The motion passed and Judy will get it made. Carole Farmer, Donie and Carole Wenny will present the plaque to BeBe. Lee discussed the need to replace the pond in the Herb Garden. She needs $200 to complete the repair. Lee made the motion and Ted Jagen seconded the motion; motion passed. Membership Coordinator: Judy Jobe has agreed to lead this effort. She will work with Ted and Don to keep the membership list current. Larry discussed the need to have all official documents on the Web Site. The Web Site should have the most current documents. ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 4

5 Larry discussed QR Codes. If you have the QR Code Reader App on your phone, ipad or tablet, clicking on the code will take you to a Web Site about that plant. Ed suggested that QR Codes be used in the Tropical Garden. The codes will be on the plant labels. Judy asked that members turn their hours in monthly. We had a lengthy discussion on frequency. The hours are due to be rolled up to the State at the end of January. There was discussion about Associate Membership and what it takes to be a Certified MG. Judy will form a team to develop policies and procedures for reporting volunteer hours. Debbie Pike will post the 2013 General Meeting Training Topics on the Web Site. Meeting adjourned: 10:58 AM ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 5

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10 BCMGA Action Register Item # Action Item Who? Due Date? Complete/Pending Comments Contact Kroger's PR person about volunteers to install remaining pavers. Ed Barrios 15-Feb On Going The PR person in Angleton has quit and is moving out of Texas. She will be 2-4 replaced sometime in the future. 3-3 Investigate converting west shade house into hoop house. Dana Arnold 10-May On Going Determine cost of printing flyers from local printers vs. printing Calista Stewart 10-May Pending 3-7 ourselves. 3-8 Send thank you letter to Gary Parker from the Fair Grounds. Larry Pike 10-May Pending 3-9 Send thank you letter to ASID volunteers. Larry Pike 10-May Pending Contact Mike Mayfield about the recognition signs that are needed for Larry Pike 14-Jun On Going 4-2 the gardens. Set dates for open houses and Eco-Fest. Dana Arnold 14-Jun On Going 4-3 Judy Jobe Donie Stowers 6-3 Develop list of people who have donated to the BCMGA Debbie Soderman 12-Jul On Going 6-4 Meet with project leaders to discuss timelines for completing items. Larry Pike 12-Jul On Going 7-3 Investigate a fence for the front of BEES. Rich Tillman 9-Aug Association members will be asked to submit ideas for a name for the Debbie Soderman 9-Aug 7-4 "Recognition Tree". Ideas to be sent to Debbie Soderman. 7-6 Contact Mark Snyder about getting Dow contact for railroad ties. Debbie Pike 9-Aug Cancelled Discuss the timing for training for phone banks for new intern class. Barbara Bruyere 13-Sep Complete 8-1 Donie Stowers 8-2 Send a list of BCMGA members to investigator looking into fruit thefts. Larry Pike 13-Sep 8-3 Call Neta Shingler about INEOS equipment to be donated. Ed Barrios 13-Sep Complete Contact AISD to see if they are interested in BCMGA hosting education Paula Reake 13-Sep 8-4 programs next school year. Complete Revise budget for irrigation system on berry patch based on electric Dana Arnold 13-Sep 8-5 timers. Make recommendation on security cameras for BEES. Jim Snyder 13-Sep 8-6 Shannon Greene Coordiante community service workers to move railroad ties and Ray Michalik 13-Sep 8-7 spread mulch. Cancelled Work with John Gordy to move Pecan Tree Committee money from our Ted Jagen 11-Oct 9-1 account. Get input from Carole Brennan to establish a budget for soaker hoses Mike Mayfield 11-Oct 9-2 on the cutting row in the large garden at BEES. Form a team to develop policies and procedures for reporting Judy Jobe 11-Oct 9-3 volunteer hours. 9-4 Post the 2013 MG General Meeting training topics on the website. Debbie Pike 11-Oct ED BARRIOS, 9/14/2013 PAGE 10