<p class="MsoNormal">I was stunned when I first saw this e-mail, but I understand
how easy it is in this community to get inaccurate information.<span style> </span>The developer who bought the purchase option
for the land along Rt 13 is a developer who supports the community and
community values and wants local businesses installed in this parcel of land. <span style> </span>The developer has spent their money searching
for other suitable gardening sites in the city.<span style>
</span>I believe they have found at least double the space of gardens that
Project Growing Hope has (PGH is one of many community gardens in Ithaca) and hopes
to open up gardening – community gardening -- to many more people than PGH presently
serves.<span style> </span>(PGH has a waiting list.)<span style> </span>The developer’s goal is to expand gardening
opportunities, and to say anything different is to misrepresent the facts. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
Pat Dutt, local veggie gardener<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 3:10 PM, Shira Golding <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:shiragolding@gmail.com" target="_blank">shiragolding@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px">
<font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>From: </b></font><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" face="Helvetica" size="3">"Sheryl N. Swink" <<a href="mailto:sns7@cornell.edu" target="_blank">sns7@cornell.edu</a>></font></div>
<div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px"><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>Date: </b></font><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" face="Helvetica" size="3">July 24, 2012 1:21:12 PM EDT</font></div>
<div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px"><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>To: </b></font><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" face="Helvetica" size="3">SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L <<a href="mailto:SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L@list.cornell.edu" target="_blank">SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L@list.cornell.edu</a>></font></div>
<div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px"><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>Subject: </b></font><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>[sustainable_tompkins-l] Help keep the Ithaca Community Gardens!</b></font></div>
<div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px"><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3"><b>Reply-To: </b></font><font style="font:12.0px Helvetica" face="Helvetica" size="3">"Sustainability in Tompkins County" <<a href="mailto:sustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edu" target="_blank">sustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edu</a>></font></div>
<div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;min-height:14px"><br></div> </div><div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;word-wrap:break-word"> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">
<br> </div> <span> <div> <div style="font-size:14px;word-wrap:break-word"> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><b><font face="Verdana">Do you believe the Ithaca Community Gardens are an important role in the vision of a sustainable Ithaca? Have you or your friends/family ever gardened there or dream of doing so in the future? </font></b></div>
<div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><b><font face="Verdana"><br> </font></b></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><b><font face="Verdana">If so, a show of your support is ugent at the City of Ithaca's Administration Committee meeting tomorrow at 6:00 PM, City Hall's Common Council Room (3rd flr). The future of the Gardens is at stake!</font></b></div>
<div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><font face="Arial"><br> </font></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><font face="Arial">Your presence is important to demonstrate that Ithacans care about maintaining a community garden site within walking and biking distance of downtown Ithaca that serves more than 150 gardeners and households each year. </font></div>
<div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><font face="Arial"><br> </font></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><font face="Arial">Be even more supportive/bold and share why you support the Gardens during the public comment period at the beginning of the 6:00 PM meeting – you have up to 3 minutes to speak on the value of the Gardens to you and/or your community. Not much time, but even 1 minute can make a huge difference!</font></div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:Calibri"> <div style="font-size:14px"><span style="font-family:Arial"><br> </span></div> <div style="font-size:14px"><span style="font-family:Arial">If you have just assumed that the more than 30-year-old Ithaca Community Gardens are already a permanent part of the sustainable vision, time to take another look at what is happening in the notes below my signature.</span></div>
</span></div> </div> </div> </span> <div><br> </div> <div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hope to see many of you on Wednesday at City Hall – Common Council room!</div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">
<br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sheryl Swink</div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Community gardener and gardening advocate</div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">
<br> </div> </div> <span> <div> <div style="font-size:14px;word-wrap:break-word"> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">WHAT IS HAPPENING</div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The current 20-year lease of the Gardens' land with the City of Ithaca expires at the end of next year. Just as Community Gardeners have approached the City about renewing or extending the lease for the site, a resolution has been put before the City Administration Committee to stop the process before gardeners even get a chance to present their case for renewal.</div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The developer that owns the land adjacent to the Community Gardens and holds an option to purchase the land from the city if the Gardens' lease is not renewed is asking that the City Admin Committee (and ultimately Common Council) vote <b>tomorrow</b>, July 25th, on a resolution, the final and key statement of which is</div>
<div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><span style="font:normal normal normal 12px/normal Times"><b><br> </b></span></span></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><span style="font:normal normal normal 12px/normal Times"><b>"RESOLVED, </b></span>That Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor, upon the advice of the City Attorney, to proceed to a closing with the option holder on the sale of Carpenter Business Park Tax Parcel 36-1-3.4 in an expeditious and timely manner after receipt of Notice of Intent to exercise the Option and further directs the Mayor not to execute a new lease with any party for that parcel."</span></div>
</div> </div> </span> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is the city parcel that is leased for the Ithaca Community Gardens (under the auspices of Project Growing Hope, Inc, the Gardens not-for-profit organization).</div>
<span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> <div> <div style="font-size:14px;word-wrap:break-word"> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><br> </span></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'">The full resolution is in the Agenda for the meeting to be held this Wednesday, July 25th, 2012:</span></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><br>
</span></div> <div style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="http://www.egovlink.com/public_documents300/ithaca/published_documents/Agendas/City_Administration_Committee/2012/07-25-12%20City%20Administration%20Committee%20Meeting%20Agenda.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.egovlink.com/public_documents300/ithaca/published_documents/Agendas/City_Administration_Committee/2012/07-25-12%20City%20Administration%20Committee%20Meeting%20Agenda.pdf</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Read the full resolution in the Agenda for the meeting and ask your Common Council members to diligently verify every statement in the resolution and give opportunity to supporters of the Gardens to make their case before any vote is taken on this resolution. </div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">How many vacant parcels do you see in downtown Ithaca residential neighborhoods and walking/biking proximity?</div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> <div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Neither Cooperative Extension nor the Board of Project Growing Hope/The Ithaca Community Gardens can see how scattered neighborhood gardens, something we both support and have tried to make happen over the years, could possibly serve as a replacement for the number of plots currently serving a diversity of gardening households at the site located near the Ithaca Farmers' Market if that is lost. Small neighborhood gardens would be a wonderful complement to the large Garden site, however, increasing rather than decreasing available plots in the city.</div>
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br> </div> </div> </div> </span> </div> </blockquote></div><br></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><br><a href="http://ithacawest.org" target="_blank">ithacawest.org</a><br><a href="http://plantcycle.net" target="_blank">plantcycle.net</a><br><a href="http://independentsciencenews.org" target="_blank">independentsciencenews.org</a><br>
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