The Stevensville Town Council on Oct. 9 tabled consideration of a proposal to establish a community garden at Dickerson Park until the first council meeting in February to allow further neighborhood outreach and logistics planning.

Council member Brown moved to table the item and Council member Barker seconded; councilors voted to table the proposal and asked staff and proponents to meet with residents and return with more information before the council considers the idea again. The motion to table will place the item on the council agenda for the first meeting in February 2026.

The motion followed about 40 minutes of public comment and council discussion focused on practical issues: who would pay for and control water use, how gardeners would access the site, parking, fencing and oversight. Residents and organizers said volunteers would build and maintain raised beds and supply hoses and labor; several residents said the park’s automatic sprinkler system is already on a town line and that a dedicated meter should be installed and paid for by garden users.

“Meter should be installed to bill the users of the park for the personal usage of the garden. We would pay for it,” a resident (Jeremy) told the council, asking that the town not subsidize private use of a public irrigation line. Other residents described the park access as narrow and potentially impractical: one resident measured the access corridor at “between 13 and 15 feet” and said existing yards and a narrow right-of-way could be trampled if the site were used for a larger community garden.

Council members voiced support for the idea in principle but urged more fact-finding. Council member Clark said she had visited the park and that “there is no fencing along the one house that’s there” and that she had not realized the park’s exact layout until reviewing the agenda. Brown told the council he had discussed the proposal with neighbors and with a town staff member (Ken) and recommended tabling so the parties could work through water, parking and management questions.

Organizers said they are open to alternative locations, including school property and a vacant plot across from a church that already has a meter and water. Proponents also said they had discussed outreach to local groups including the FFA and 4‑H and that volunteers and community organizations had expressed interest. The proponents said they would fund and build raised beds and provide labor.

The council’s directive was procedural: gather neighborhood input, investigate metering and access logistics, and return to the council at the first meeting in February for a fuller presentation. No ordinance, lease or contract was approved at the meeting.