Adam, Thanks so much for your note and kind thoughts. The preservation of the Tommy Thompson Community Garden was a great victory for which we are very grateful.
I did want to clarify that the six Burlington City Councilors who opposed the land sale agreement did so on the basis of wanting the City to continue the current lease arrangement for the organic farms and community garden, rather than out of opposition to the Intervale Center or the Tommy Thompson Community Garden. There was fortunately no opposition from city councilors to the concept of long term land security for the community garden, although curiously there was some limited opposition from a few community gardeners who opposed the sale of city owned land to the nonprofit Intervale Center. During the public process, what astounded me the most was that at each step, support for the community garden was strengthened. The text of the proposed agreement started out in June with a brief mention of a perpetual commitment to community gardening; the final agreement passed in October with a perpetual community garden easement, retention of city ownership of improvements to the garden site, and a commitment by the Intervale Center and the City to explore future expansion of community gardening in the Intervale. Mayor Bob Kiss, who has community gardened at Tommy Thompson since the early 1980s, was instrumental in suggesting the easement for the garden and helping to build public support for the land sale, which includes not only the garden site but 194 additional acres of organic farms and wetlands. Through the land sale, the City of Burlington acknowledged that the nonprofit Intervale Center was the best entity to conserve and steward the land. As a fellow nonprofit, Friends of Burlington Gardens was happy to play an advocacy role in helping to support both the Intervale Center and the city managed Burlington Area Community Gardens program. While the community garden program in Burlington will always have challenges to face, the value of the garden program to the City of Burlington and its citizens was clearly affirmed and a new precedent for sustainabilty established. Best, Jim Jim Flint, Executive Director Friends of Burlington Gardens 33 Tracy Drive Burlington, VT 05408 802.658.5733 www.burlingtongardens.org ----- Original Message ----- From: adam36055 at aol.com To: jimf at burlingtongardens.org ; community_garden at list.communitygarden.org Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 10:43 PM Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Tommy Thompson Garden preserved in perpetuity Jim, Congratulations! Your gardener's active advocacy of the Tommy Thompson Garden, the support of the surrounding community, the Burlington Electric Dept., the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department, the Intervale Center and the City Council representatives that voted in favor of the garden were all part of this astounding victory. Burlington saved this garden. And it should feel really proud of what it has done. The real work is making those who voted against the garden your friends and supporters, and to continue to widen the circle of support that saved your garden. You've done it right - thank you for providing us a good example of how its done. Adam Honigman -----Original Message----- From: jimf at burlingtongardens.org To: community_garden at list.communitygarden.org Sent: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 11:04 AM Subject: [Community_garden] Tommy Thompson Garden preserved in perpetuity October 24, 2006 Dear ACGA colleagues, This past summer a news story circulated on the ACGA list serv regarding the potential sale of publicly owned land in Burlington's Intervale. The story was of particular interest as the parcel of land to be sold included the five acre Tommy Thompson Community Garden, which is the largest community garden in Vermont. During the past four months of advocacy, public input, and negotiations, an easement protecting the community garden in perpetuity at its existing location was added to the land sale Memorandum of Agreement. The easement is in addition to a larger farmland easement that conserves the organic farms located in the Intervale on the 199 acre parcel of land. The Tommy Thompson Community Garden, with its 150 plots, will continue to be managed by the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department. While the land for the five acre garden site will be transferred from the city owned Burlington Electric Department to the nonprofit Intervale Center, the Parks and Recreation Department will retain access to the land and ownership of all improvements on the garden site. The passage of the land sale agreeement, as highlighted in the article below in today's Burlington Free Press, represents a win-win partnership for organic farming and community gardening in Burlington. Previously, the Tommy Thompson garden had a nine year lease with Burlington Electric; as a result of last night's City Council vote, the community garden site is now protected in perpetuity. Jim Flint, Executive Director Friends of Burlington Gardens 33 Tracy Drive Burlington, VT 05408 802.658.5733 www.burlingtongardens.org Burlington City Council approves Intervale land sale http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061024/NEWS02/610240307/1007 Published: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 By John Briggs Free Press Staff Writer The administration of Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss won a solid victory Monday night when the City Council approved the sale of 199 acres of city-owned land in the Intervale to the non-profit Intervale Center. The vote was 7-5. The sale of the land for $200,000 seemed at times over the last two months to be headed for delay if not defeat in the council, as some complained that the price was too low and the sale unnecessary. Kiss won over the influential Friends of Burlington Gardens group by negotiating language in a memorandum of agreement with the Intervale Center that guaranteed the Tommy Thompson Community Garden, located on the sale land, would stay where it is "in perpetuity" and with a possibility in the future to expand. The Community and Economic Development Office made a question and answer sheet on the transaction available at meetings and on its Web site, also posted the agreement and created a newspaper insert. As the information about the sale became easily available to residents, much of the opposition melted away. Few residents attended the last public meeting, held Oct. 4 in Contois Auditorium. The land is owned by the Burlington Electric Department, and much of the sale land has been leased by the Intervale Center from BED since 1996. The Intervale Center, under the terms of that lease, had the right of first refusal when BED decided to sell the land. The land will continue to be used for agricultural development. The city won another concession from the purchaser by holding on to an undivided 1 percent ownership of the land, which means in practice that the city would be involved in a future sale of the land. The city would have the first opportunity to buy the land back. The council also will have a representative on the Intervale Center's board, and its management plan for the land must be approved by the council every 10 years. While opponents on the council argued that the city should retain the land and explore giving the Intervale Center a long-term lease, Kiss said BED couldn't give the city title to the land; instead, it must sell it for the benefit of BED ratepayers, meaning the city would have to find the money for the purchase. The Intervale Center argued in public meetings and in information sheets that ownership of the land would enhance its ability to raise grant money for continued agricultural improvements. Over time, the adjustments to the memorandum of agreement and the continued involvement of the public convinced a majority of councilors that the sale made sense. Monday, those voting in support of the sale were: Council President Ian Carleton, D-Ward 1; Jane Knodell, P-Ward 2; Cheryl McDonough, P-Ward 2; Tim Ashe, P-Ward 3; Clarence Davis, P-Ward 3; Russ Ellis, D-Ward 4; and Barbara Perry, I, Ward 6. Voting against the sale were: Kurt Wright, R-Ward 4; Bill Keogh, D-Ward 5; Joan Shannon, D-Ward 5; Andy Montroll, D-Ward 6; and Carmen George, D-Ward 7. Sharon Bushor, I-Ward 1, who supported the sale, and Paul Decelles, R-Ward 7, who opposed it, were absent. _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. 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