The Community Garden Society will have to wait a little longer to find out where they will be able to move to and how much funding, if any, the Town of Barrhead will contribute.
On Nov. 13, councillors stated they were not willing to commit to a site or contribute to the estimated $30,000 required cost to move the garden without a more detailed breakdown of its relocation budget.
Administration believed they will have the information ready for council’s Dec. 11 meeting.
“I don’t believe the two-acre parcel by the water cells [water reservoir in Beaver Brook Estates] is the right location,” said Coun. Don Smith. “Nor am I happy with the $20,000 to $30,000 estimate [provided by the public works department] just for topsoil, then there is how much it is going to cost to move the garden and prepare it, which could be another $20,000 to $25,000. Without knowing those numbers I can’t support moving the garden to that spot.”
Relocating the garden became necessary after Town of Barrhead councillors gave the society notice that they were looking to have the land developed.
For the last five years the garden has been located on a five-acre parcel, commonly referred to as the Schneider Lands, on the west side of town.
The garden is just north of the apartment buildings along 53rd Street and south of the Shepherd’s Care facility.
In previous issues, it was published that the garden is located on the five-acre parcel the town purchased for the construction of the pool. However, the garden is on the adjacent parcel of land they purchased from the Schneider-Schmigelski family for $318,500 in October 2017.
The location, near the water reservoir, is the second alternative the town has presented the society. The first location suggested was in Millennium Park, behind the United Church in Beaver Brook Estates, in what used to be the home of the town’s Japanese garden. Town staff started looking for an alternative after they received a petition from area residents opposing the location in September.
Chief administrative officer Martin Taylor noted the petition did not meet the guidelines set out under the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
In a letter to the town, society secretary/treasurer Marilyn Flock inferred that in an Oct. 11 meeting with Taylor and mayor Dave McKenzie, they had been presented a third alternative of using several small parcels around town for the gardens. Given the options, Flock said the society’s preference would be for the parcel near the reservoir, but they couldn’t make a final decision until they spoke with their supporters, something they were reluctant to do until they knew what duration they would have the parcel for.
Coun. Rod Klumph believed public work’s estimate is too high and wondered if it included the topsoil the Alliance Church offered the society.
Finance and administration director Kathy Vickery said it does, but it will not be enough.
“From what he [public works director Brant Ross] understands it is the equivelent of one-acre, and it still needs to be hauled. The figure includes the cost in moving dirt that is over there, plus there’s still more that needs to be done.”
Klumph said it was his understanding that the County of Barrhead had agreed to contribute $15,000 of in-kind services, which he believed topsoil hauling to be part of.
Vickery said from her understanding the county’s efforts would be in preparing the new site for the garden, i.e. using an excavator to level the ground and not moving topsoil.
On Oct. 2, county council voted 6-1 to approve about $15,500 of in-kind work by the public works department to help relocate the garden — Coun. Bill Lane was opposed.
The work would include preparation of the site at a cost of $4,500 and the moving of topsoil to a new location at an estimated cost of $11,000. The expenditure would come from the Recreation Organizational Reserve.
However, on Oct. 16, county councillors reserved the right to reverse their decision, pending a decision on the garden’s final location citing they were concerned that they would be throwing good money after bad if the garden was forced to relocate again in a few years.
And it’s something McKenzie admitted is a possibility as the two-acre parcel near the reservoir is zoned R4 residential.
“Anticipating the growth of the community, the possibility of someone coming in and developing it, in the foreseeable future is remote, but there are no guarantees,” he said. “Nor are we in the position to say to the Community Garden [Society] that they will have that spot indefinitely . . . I hope they understand unless they purchase the land, it is always going to be temporary.”
That is why McKenzie, both in council and with his meetings with the society, suggested that they should approach area farmers asking them to donate a portion of their land for the garden, something he believes they haven’t done.
He also questioned the need for the six inches of topsoil public works is suggesting, noting the property was taken from farmland so ‘it should be arable’ with relatively little effort.
Klumph said the garden is an asset to the community and suggesting they consider granting the society a long-term lease, perhaps up to 15 years.
“I would think of it as a park that is being used on a regular basis, so I would be in favour of giving them this parcel of land because they have shown what they can do with a parcel of land once they set their mind to developing it,” he said.
McKenzie and Coun. Shelly Oswald agreed the garden is an asset that benefited more than Community Garden members.
“The garden has been a huge success, the socialization, visitation, for our seniors, the education opportunities for our youth, however, when we have an approximate cost of $25,000 to $30,000 it is hard for us to allocate those funds, and it could be more than that because that money is needed in other areas. We need to nail down those numbers before we can come to a decision,” Oswald said.
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