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Garden volunteers urge board to restore funding and clarify $16,000 figure after budget update
Summary
Master gardeners and volunteers told the Parks board the community garden delivers thousands of pounds of produce and called for transparency after staff said the garden line was reduced to $16,000; staff agreed to put the garden on the next agenda and to scrub the budget numbers.
Gardeners and volunteer coordinators pressed the Parks & Recreation Board for clarity and relief after staff described reduced budget support for the community garden. Garden leaders said the garden produces several thousand pounds of organic produce for residents and local food banks and that the proposed reduction has left volunteers scrambling to cover labor, water and supply shortfalls.
One volunteer described urgency among garden participants: “I’m getting desperation from 50 people,” the volunteer said, noting community reliance on the garden’s output. Members of the board and staff acknowledged confusion about how the city arrived at the $16,000 figure (which gardeners contrasted with an earlier $33,000 allocation) and agreed to return the garden as a discrete item on the next board agenda so staff can present a detailed line‑item budget.
Staff told the board operations such as water payment support were the likely extent of continued city involvement and committed to bringing Mark and other staff to a future meeting to answer detailed questions about labor allocations, water costs and supplies. The board instructed staff to produce documentation and to schedule a follow‑up discussion.
