Community Gardens retains 7 a.m. opening time

GRF BOARD HIGLIGHTS

by Ruth Osborn

Communications Director

The GRF Board voted Oct. 27 to keep the Community Garden hours of operation as they currently are—from 7 a.m.-dusk, seven days a week. The vote came as part of a larger overhaul of the GRF Communications policy.

The board was on the verge of ratifying a later 8 a.m. start time after Mutual 9 residents complained of early morning noise disturbance.

But during the 28-day public comment process, resident gardeners turned out for the September board meeting to express dismay at losing the early morning hour tending their plots.

An 11th-hour look at the issue revealed that community gardeners are not the source of noise, rather it’s commercial work, such as trash compacting and dumping.

In an effort to clarify the situation, GRF President Jeff Mulqueen and GRF Director Mike Banfield hosted two meetings Oct. 26—one with resident gardeners and one with Mutual 9 residents. Plus, GRF Director Kathy Jones went door-to-door in her Mutual 9 to talk to residents who live near the gardens.

“Only one Mutual member showed up (at the meeting) and had no complaints about noise,” said Banfield. “Several shareholder gardeners expressed a strong desire to maintain the 7 a.m. opening,” he added.

Mulqueen noted that complaints largely centered on “trash compaction and tractor noise, everything but the resident gardeners. If we contain [the commercial] noise to 8 or beyond, it would be of big benefit.”

To that end, contractors, vendors and Service Maintenance will have to wait until 8 before accessing the 1.8-acre site.

GRF Executive Director David Norvell told the board that Physical Property has already alerted vendors of the later start time for them, and Security has stationed a patrol vehicle at the entrance to monitor traffi c starting at 7 a.m. to ensure only resident gardeners are on site until 8.

The Community Gardens is open daily from 7 a.m.-dusk.

Paul Kryczko