Commission accepts donated community garden for Marsh Oaks, adds $6,560 cap to bury power line

The City Commission voted to accept a donated community garden for the Marsh Oaks Community Center, authorizing the city manager to execute a donation agreement with Nature Connect Florida and attach a not‑to‑exceed estimate to bury the main power line.

The garden proposal, presented by Judith LaRue of Nature Connect Florida and Lisa Goodrich of the Arts, Recreation and Culture community group, envisions 32 plots, including six wheelchair‑accessible beds and six community‑managed beds, corrugated‑steel raised planters, a small pond and native plantings for pollinators. LaRue said the garden’s primary benefit is social: “The most important thing that community gardens grow is connection and community.”

Commissioners discussed one specific addition before the vote: burying the main power line from the street pole to the building so conduit can be run to the garden outlets while the parking lot is reconstructed. LaRue offered to include an amount to cover that work; staff identified an estimate of $6,560. The commission voted to amend the donation agreement to include the buried‑power‑line work as an exhibit with a limit of $6,560, then adopted the resolution as amended by voice vote.

City staff said the garden will be coordinated with the recreation department (CivicRec) for plot sign‑ups and that the city plans a ribbon cutting tied to the Marsh Oaks Community Center opening and grand‑opening activities later this year. The agreement authorizes the city manager to accept the in‑kind services and execute the paperwork needed to implement the garden.