A proposal by East Point Councilman Lance Rhodes soon may bring new blooms and crops to the city.
Rhodes brought his idea of a community gardens project to Monday night’s council work session. It was put on the agenda for a vote by the council at the next meeting on March 21.
The proposal would focus on freeing up areas in the city’s existing parks and providing space for residents to plant community gardens featuring flowers and vegetables.
“I’ve looked at similar projects in other cities and have not found a single one that failed,” Rhodes said.
The project initially would focus on land in the city’s parks, but eventually would expand to vacant or abandoned property.
“We would look at some incentives that would help the property owner who owns such land, such as an abatement of property taxes,” Rhodes said.
He emphasized the city would not be governing the gardens, but serving as a facilitator and offering the land for the garden sites. The gardeners would be responsible for maintaining, growing and harvesting the crops in each garden.
A prospective gardener would have to sign an agreement with the city and provide a site plan for the garden. Additionally, the gardener would have to provide a $250 bond to the city for restoration purposes in case the project is abandoned.
If the garden is a vegetable garden, Rhodes said the gardener would be responsible for distribution of the crops. “This is not a for-profit business, so it will be totally up to the gardener and the group how everything is distributed,” Rhodes said.
Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides made from synthetic chemicals would not be allowed in any community garden. Herbicides and insecticides made from natural materials would be permitted; the idea is for the garden project to make use of organic gardening techniques.
In the event a garden is not properly maintained, the city will contact the group behind it to determine whether they remain committed to the garden and wish to continue participating in the program, Rhodes said. If the group wants to continue, the city will notify it of any corrective action that must occur and the time frame in which the action must be completed.
Rhodes believes the program has the potential of beautifying many of the city’s parks.
“This will allow people to get energized about the parks and also provide good will to the community,” he said.
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