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Agenda Item 8AAGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 CITY COMMISSION MEETING STAFF REPORT AGENDA ITEM: Request from Beaches Habitat for Relief from Lien on Dutton Island Road Lot SUBMITTED BY: Jim Hanson, City Mana DATE: April 14, 2011 BACKGROUND: Beaches Habitat for Humanity has recently acquired a vacant lot on Dutton Island Road upon which the City of Atlantic Beach has previously issued liens for tall grass and weed abatement. Habitat is requesting that the City grant relief from these liens so that they can create a community garden on the property. Letters from Ralph Marcello, Executive Director for the Beaches Habitat and Jade Carlin are both attached for your consideration. This vacant lot was brought to staff's attention almost two years ago by the COPS Officers indicating that this was one of a few lots in the neighborhood that were creating problems because of their overgrown and rundown condition. City crews had previously cleared some of the tall grass and brush, although there were several old trees on the property, some of which had fallen into the street. The lot has never been built upon, probably because of its size measuring approximately 50 feet by 50 feet. Tax records show that it was sold in a tax auction in 1974. This lot, along with some others, was brought to the attention of the City Commission in November of 2009 at which time the Commission authorized filing foreclosure suits to recoup the city's cost for maintenance and to cause the lots to be sold or otherwise cleaned up by the owners. Since November 2009, the City Attorney has worked on the foreclosure. There have several problems involved on this particular lot revolving around notification of the owners. It was in the name of a land trust and the only address on file by the county was a post office box. Further, no one would respond to the City's repeated letters. When the issue was finally approaching foreclosure, the owner of the property quick claimed it to Beaches Habitat. Habitat staff has since determined that it is too small to build a house upon, and have proposed creating a community garden. If a community garden were successful at this location, it would be not only an asset to the neighborhood, but would eliminate a blighted lot which has brought down property values in the area. However, it is not AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 assured that a community garden would be a success and the long -term status of this lot is unknown. BUDGET: The City's current lien amount on this lot is just over $5,800. As long as the lot is owned and maintained by Beaches Habitat, the City does not anticipate any further costs for maintenance. RECOMMENDATION: A community garden on this property could become a real asset to the neighborhood and the recent ownership of the property by Beaches Habitat certainly brings some assurance that there is a responsible property owner with the best interest of the community in mind. However, because a long -term success of this project is not yet known, it may be best for the City to keep the lien on the books for awhile but take no action to foreclose on the property to collect the lien. This would provide a time for the Beaches Habitat project to make the project work without having to overcome the additional burden of paying off the City's lien. Consequently, the recommendation is to maintain the lien, but agree to take no further action as long as the lot is owned and properly maintained by Beaches Habitat. ATTACHMENTS: 1) Letters from Beaches Habitat (2) 2) Picture of the property from November of 2009. 3) Property map showing location. hi -114 iL' MEL' AL R MAL dA �� IH ;I 4 - 71 4;66A r it a 101 An, L , -- Mlloill Al la I l d ' =rA. A "J.4 IL AM p Pk ALI if Igo OL �IUME A A I I Ir op no" Jr. r �'L- IV I t W6 T 1. �??�o!,�R �. �T �47• �.,} r�:�.fie� "` fS�.Yr: 9, '.Tff' LN �rF- 7-7-, � rr &NT N as 0 ® S, tr Imi 1 4 . ., . - . 6, , " , ; *4 -A Ar i 6 4 1 � �hl,'y�R�y:'� *�r�v -rti ' r �'L�lii',. ii I��r'.�� 51:�';v.. 1�L:, t rl F „ r {;:_�i'• :Ili: �IFll. •II�:� AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 these youths will help plant a variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. After its inception, we will make weekly trips to the garden to teach the students about upkeep, nutrition, growth and nature. In addition to the assistance of the children, we will incorporate the homeowners and offer them community service hours to help care for the garden. In order to qualify for a Habitat home, potential applicants must pledge allegiance to the organization in a willingness to partner. This means homeowners must dedicate a certain number of hours before achieving eligibility to move in. Working in the urban garden will provide them with a sense of ownership and responsibility within their community. Aligning the youth and adults as caretakers of the landscape will foster a strong relationship between parents and their children, a major focus of this year's after school program and part of our Parents and Children Together (PACT) initiative. Also, it will generate a sense of belonging and ownership within the community. Our goal is to create not just a plot of land, but a neighborhood. To coincide with the mission of Habitat's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), this aspect will build a unified community with the ability to sustain itself via the growth of nutritious produce. Short Term Goals We aspire to teach the students of the After School Program about self - sustainability and gardening. They will each be given plants to care for. These will be planted in I 0-gallon buckets (found on the worksite) and will later be transplanted into a lot. Each student will monitor their plant and learn about the different phases of plant growth. After their plant has harvested, they we will host a dinner to teach recipes that incorporates each of their produce items. This will include both the parents and the children to promote a more nutritious diet and emphasize our PACT (Parent and Children Together) initiative. Long Term Goals Create a full plot with fruits and vegetables. These will be chosen according to season. Once the plants bear fruit we will harvest them. Harvesting will be done on an ongoing basis and whoever volunteers will be permitted to take home the fruits and vegetables. This will all be decided by the Garden Committee. Finally, the extra produce will be sold at Jarboe Park or another local farmer's market. This money will be used to purchase more supplies for the garden. Supplementary funds and their use will be decided on at the discretion of the committee. Management and Organization We will implement a Garden Committee. Roles and duties include: AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 Chairperson • Plan and chair meetings in effective manner • Ensure everyone has the chance to speak • Be a leader and public face of the group when the group needs it • Be fair and open in all dealings • Make sure people do the things they agreed to do at meetings • If the group employs staff ensure proper support and management systems are implemented to support them. • May also have financial responsibilities as a check signatory for example. • Keep up to date with what is going on that might help your group Secretary • Make sure everyone receives all the information they need to make decisions • Plan meetings • Keep a roster of all members • Create agendas for each meeting • Send members the agenda, the minutes of the last meeting and any relevant reports • Deal with letters, phone calls and questions about your group • Keep and share information you find which might be useful for the group Treasurer • Keep a record of all money paid and received by the group • Collect money from all sales of produce at Farmer's Markets or other ventures • Ensure financial procedures are in place, adhered to and regularly reviewed. • Provide regular financial reports for Committee members • Budget for all group activities • Look after the group's bank account Staff Liaison • Beaches Habitat staff member who can communicate with the office staff and ED • Coordinate volunteers • Keep up with timesheets and sweat equity hours given to home owners • Monitor volunteer sign -in PR and Fundraising • Write out press releases for important events • Come up with new ideas to generate interest in the community • After a few years, help plan (along with other committee members) a fundraiser or annual event. Members at large • Spend at least 2 days a month or 4 hours in the garden • Decide on produce to plant in keeping with the seasonal guidelines • Vote on where to spend revenue The Lot AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 We hope to obtain use of the lot on Dutton Island Road before George Street in Atlantic Beach, FL. This lot has a $5,000 lien. We are appealing to the city to waive this lien as the project will be community based and benefit all the residents. Clearing the space Following acquisition of the lot, we will ask Beaches Habitat volunteers at the construction site, to clear the lot of unwanted weeds and prepare it for planting. At most this should take one day. We are willing to recruit and oversee volunteers if the construction crew cannot accommodate our need. Acquisition of Water Water on the site presents a problem. We will get rain barrels for most of the water. We will approach the neighbors to make use of their gutters in order to capture the most rainfall. If the rain barrels do not provide sufficient water or there is an extended dry spell, we will acquire water from a neighbor or from Donner center. In these extreme cases, water can be transported. We are in the process of contacting the landowner next door, Rev. Marvin Nash — 904.246.1426 Budget Seeds Donated by America the Beautiful Shovels Watering cans Hose Hand trowels Soil Fertilizer Compost bins Fruit Trees Plants Plant Food Rain Barrels Labor Volunteer based Many of our supplies have been donated Awaiting response from grant applications Estimated budget $2,000 Implementation To be completed in the early morning or early evening Weekly chores: o Watering AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 o Weeding o Fertilizing o Pest control o Harvesting Watering Watering is best done in the in the early morning or late evening, when you will lose the least amount of water to evaporation. Watering with a drip line (a hose or tape with holes in it) will help you minimize water loss as well, because it will deliver the water exactly where it is needed, at the roots. In sunny weather, you should do your best to keep water off of leaves, fruits and flowers, where it will do little to benefit the plant and may lead to scorching. Because water resources are valuable, you should try to conserve water whenever you can, and there are a few strategies that are useful to know. Water conservation tactics include: • Plant species well- adapted to the average rainfall in your region • Apply mulch to the soil to help hold in moisture • Weed regularly, because weeds will pull moisture from your plants • Install a rain catchments system to make the most of rainfall • Use drip irrigation to minimize evaporation • Avoid planting or transplanting during dry spells • Enhance sandy soils with organic mater, to improve moisture retention Knowing how much to water depends on the types of plants you have in your garden, because all have different moisture needs. It is most efficient to give your garden a good soaking once a week, which will penetrate deep into the soil, rather than watering just a little bit each day. As a general rule of thumb, a few types of plants need extra attention to ensure their watering needs are met: transplants, seedlings, flowering vegetables and fruits, and container plants. Also keep a close eye on plants that are in exposed parts of your garden, who receive high levels of sunlight and /or wind. Weeding Pull out unwanted plants. Preferably during a time when the weather is hot and dry so they are easy to pull out. Be careful not to disturb any of the surrounding plants. If using a hoe, brush shallowly along the surface to avoid disturbing the roots of your garden plants. General Maintenance Collection of any litter or yard debris (branches, twigs, etc) Sweeping or raking up stray leaves on walkways /paths Trimming/mowing any areas of turf Keeping walkway edges clean Raking gravel paths Upkeep of sheds, fences, sheds, etc. through the occasional coat of fresh paint Clearing moss from stone or brick walkways, which could become slippery Maintaining any water features AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 Fertilizing Completed once every 3 -5 months. Spread the compost over the area. Preferably between seasons. Pest Control We are going to attempt to avoid using any kind of spray -on bug killers that may use harmful chemicals. Harvesting Gently detach the fruit and vegetables that are ready for consumption. Who will take the produce home or to the market is yet to be determined. To organize these chores, we will have a monthly sign -up sheet. Hours will be signed off by our staff liaison or any Beaches Habitat employee who chooses to oversee the lot at any given time. AMA jl _j6 3 it 2d 21047 AGENDA ITEM # 8A APRIL 25, 2011 2o3z --125 — 21020 2014 2016