Human Resources Commission Minutes 2010 12-15-10
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
Human Resources Commission
Committee Meeting
City Hall Conference Room
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
6:30pm
Call to Order:
Chairman Scott Gengler called the meeting to order at 6:30pm.
Establish a Quorum:
Present:
Scott Gengler, Chairman
Margene Westlund
Anna Schwein
No quorum established
City Officials Present:
Glory Spies, Community Relations Director
Scott Sleezer, Superintendant of Parks
Introduction of Guests:
Scott Sleezer was recognized.
Citizen Comments:
None
Approval of Minutes
None
Mayor’s Report
:None
Staff Reports:
None
Committee Reports:
None
Old Business
1. Community Gardens Update
Mr. Gengler introduced Mr. Sleezer; then went out of Agenda sequence, in case he had to
leave early, and asked him to update the committee on the Community Gardens. Mr.
Sleezer. Mr. Sleezer offered several suggestions as to where the Community Garden
could be planted. Of special interest, he said he felt it would be worthwhile to meet with
Mr. Steve Riley Moore from Cross Lutheran Church regarding a true community garden;
whereas the community would work together to produce food from one garden to either
sell or give to the Food Pantry for distribution.
Ms. Schwein said she had been in contact with the Illinois Extension Service extensively
and some of the things they mentioned were some concerns about what kind of chemicals
have been put down; and is that an issue the Committee even wants to deal with. Also, if
crops have been planted there year-after-year, the soil is usually pretty much depleted and
would need to be enriched, preferably with organic material. If a lawn-type area was
chosen, the participants would need to be informed about upcoming weed issues, and the
concern would be possible previous use of weed killers, etc.
She also said Mayor Burd told her she would be able to get “grey water” to the site for
watering purposes; however, the Committee was concerned about using grey water on
edible products. The three main concerns regarding the site would be chemicals, weeds
and water.
The next issue that came up was what exactly is the purpose of the Community Garden?
Is it for people to work together toward a common goal or to provide a garden area for
residents who don’t have access to a yard for a personal garden? It was decided that the
best case scenario would be to find some land that has not been cultivated (preferably not
a corn or soy bean field); has been mowed regularly; has not been mass-planted; and
something that has not been inundated with weed killer or fertilizer for grass. Then there
was some discussion on the possibility of ‘raised bed’ gardens – especially for
accessibility.
Mr. Sleezer said he would get in touch with Mr. Moore from Cross Lutheran Church to
see if some of the HRC members could sit-in when they meet to discuss the Community
Garden for possible collaboration.
New Business
1. A.I.D. Telethon 2011
:
Ms. Spies and Ms. Westlund were hoping to volunteer together to help man the phones at
the Telethon on Sat. February 19, 2011 at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar
Grove, IL. Volunteers work for approximately 2 hours trying to get pledges over the
phone.
2. Volunteer Community Networking Day
Ms. Spies has already sent out invitations for the January meeting to take place in the
Yorkville Library at 6:30p.m. They are going to encourage people to bring brochures for
a sharing table. Each individual group will be asked to give a 5 – 10 minute presentation
on their organization. Ms. Spies told the group that she often gets phone calls from
people asking for organizations they can contact to offer to volunteer. The meeting will
be open to the public.
3. Volunteer Community Appreciation Day
Nomination forms are due in December, 2010 for the January, 2011 meeting. Ms. Spies
will email the nominations to the HRC committee and voting will be done by email. The
nominations are starting to come in (the forms are on-line).
4. Other Business
Ms. Schwein stopped by the REC Center to pick up coats and take to the Food Pantry.
Mr. Gengler added he would like the committee to not meet in July and August.
Next meeting Jan 19, 2011. Meeting adjourned at 7:38pm.