Committee members and public commenters told the Parks Advisory Committee on May 21 that Sunrise Park’s community garden needs clearer management and more consistent maintenance; parks staff said they will meet with the garden manager and the gardeners and revise the manager and gardener agreements.

Resident Jeremy Lager, who lives adjacent to Sunrise Park, urged the city to address heavy invasive vegetation that encroaches on private property. “I live in I abut Sunrise Park… the south side of the park is just overwrought with invasive species,” Lager said during public comment and offered to help organize neighbors and volunteers.

Parks Superintendent Jonah Jacobson acknowledged long‑standing communication lapses and said the city will take a more active role next season. He said the garden manager is a volunteer position, that there are 19 plots in the garden (two not currently utilized), and that the plot fee is $25. Jacobson said he will schedule at least a pre‑season and a post‑season meeting with the garden manager and pursue amendments to the garden manager agreement and gardener agreement to clarify responsibilities.

Garden users described problems with weeds, compost management and a lack of storage for donated tools. One gardener said paths between beds and the perimeter gate area are particularly overgrown and asked whether wood chips from other parks work (for example, from recent fuels‑reduction work) could be used between beds; Jacobson said that wood‑chip application after weed removal was a viable idea.

Jacobson acknowledged that seasonal delivery of mulch and soil amendments has been inconsistent and traced part of the problem to a long lapse in active management: staff records and long‑tenured workers recall a decade without consistent soil deliveries. He apologized for the oversight and pledged a more organized approach for next year, including clearer contact information for gardeners and a plan to enforce the gardener agreement if plots are unused.

The committee did not take a formal vote but asked staff to return with updates and invited staff to present revised agreements to the committee or to gardeners as appropriate.