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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.