John Ventre presided in Cyndi Line’s absence.

Approval of May Minutes – May minutes approved

Treasurer’s Report (John in Deirdre’s absence)
• The general account started at $3434 and ended at $3609. June expenses were for dunks, PECO and planters, totaling $83. Dues of $175 were received. Four plots have still not paid dues. Donations of $70 were received and $50 for a wheelbarrow. The activity account has $2000. $2000 is set aside for the unresolved water bill and $2000 is in the rainy day fund.

Linda Witt gave a tutorial on deadheading and on Libbyfest, which will be on June 21 (Friday) from 6 – 9 PM. It is potluck byo. Linda needs setup and cleanup volunteers. Linda also reported that timers have been added to the soaker hoses, for the use of the community garden volunteers.

President’s Report (John in Cyndi’s absence)
• Elizabeth Coleman is moving to DC and a replacement recording secretary is needed.
• The Department of Health has offered to meet about lyme disease and west nile virus. The officers will explore if they can give a brief presentation at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Vice-President’s Report (John)
• Cleanup is Saturday 9 – 12. Lisa Zollinger will coordinate.
• Inspection of plots will be done in the next week of so. Weeds and overgrowth will be the focus.
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Committee Reports
City Harvest (Ed Mitinger):
340 pounds so far this year compared to 400 in 2012. Ed reminded gardeners about the pink flags for identifying crop donations.

Bees (Carolyn Scott):
One of the hives swarmed last week. The beekeepers harvested 130 pounds of honey last week and will harvest again in July. Barbara Seiple handles the jarring and sale of the honey. The price for small jars will be $7, and for large, $13.

Compost and Bugs Committee (Karyl Weber):
Start looking for bug eggs. Orange eggs on the underside of eggplant leaves are of the Colorado potato beetle. Harlequin bugs have started to show up. Squash borer eggs may not be in a bunch. They are brownish and make a hole near the base of a vine. If you catch it early, you may be able to slit the vine and extract the bug. If you have wood lice, you might be able to wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around the stem of your plants to prevent the lice from climbing
If you can help, the compost needs to be sifted.

Kids Lab (Frank): The plan and layout of the Kids Lab is posted online and the committee is progressing to select appropriate plants.

Water (Thom Hardenbaugh): Water use in May was about equal to May 2012.

Special Event (Jared Littman): His beer tasting night will be Sunday, July 23 from 4 – 7 PM. He is reserving 10 tickets for garden members at $15 per ticket.

BBQ (John): After discussion, the favored date is Saturday, September 28.

Submitted by Pauline Candaux.

Meeting Intro and approval of April Minutes – Cyndi

Treasurer’s Report – please see full report posted on the website. The PECO credit from 2012 has been exhausted. Four plots still owe dues. In June we will start paying for water usage but not the storm water run off.

President’s Report – There is a sustainability fair for Queen Village on June 1st. If anyone is interested see Cyndi.

Fundraising ideas: Christmas tree chipping in late December / early January. Bartlett can do it. Our job is to simply collect money and smile. We need to find out if Bartlett charges a fee.

Jared’s beer tasting on June 23 in the evening in the garden. 100 people are expected and 10 spots are reserved for gardeners. If anyone is interested in attending please see Jared Littman.

A discussion was held regarding proposed by-laws changes. The proposed changes were prepared by Garden Council and posted on the website prior to the general meeting. The primary substantive change is that each plot will now have one (1) vote which may be voted by either gardener where a plot has more than one (1) gardener.

The term “secession” will be changed to “succession”.

Concerns were expressed about folks circumventing the waiting list by becoming a gardener (formerly referred to as an assistant) and then taking over the plot if the other gardener (formerly the primary gardener) left the garden. It was decided that questions about succession will be handled by Garden Council. There was a strong desire not to “legislate” every possible scenario and leave discretion with Garden Council.

Thirty one (31) plots must be represented at a general meeting to form a quorum to vote on By-Laws changes.

The following language shall be added to the By-Laws regarding giving notice when leaving the garden: “If a gardener decides to leave the garden and give up his/her plot, the gardener shall give notice to Garden Council within four (4) weeks, or as soon as reasonably possible, after the gardener knows he/she will be leaving the garden.”

Motion was made and seconded to adopt the proposed changes to the By-Laws. Forty four (44) voting members were present. Forty one (41) voted in favor of the proposed changes, one (1) voted in opposition and one (1) abstained. The proposed changes were adopted.

Vice President’s Report – Clean up on Saturday from 8 am to noon. A punch list should be in the shed tomorrow. First inspection will be this Wednesday. Anne S, Linda W. and myself will head it up. Plots should be planted or ready for planting. Mulching will be noted for water conservation and weeds, as always will be noted. Hopefully a report on the inspection will be out to row captain by the end of the weekend.

Committee & Misc Reports –
Water Report – Thom – 618 cubic feet of water have been used which equals 4,624 gallons (for April). This is less than half of what was used during April in 2012. We are now getting monthly bills from the water department and will begin paying the monthly usage and service fee. The storm water runoff is still being disputed.

City Harvest – Ed – 39 lbs were harvested this morning. Five gardeners worked at Bartrams Gardens with other City Harvest volunteers.

Bees – Carolyn – We’re half way through the nectar season. Bees are doing well.

Woodpile – Carolyn – Several wooden boards with nails protruding from them were left in the woodpile. This is dangerous and not what the woodpile is for. The nails should be hammered in so not protruding and the boards left for the trash. The woodpile is also NOT for: lumber, bamboo and sunflower stalks.

Kid’s Lab – Don – Frank and Barbara donated a table and plants. Thom to add an arbor and raised beds.

Next meeting will be June 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm in the Garden.