SAGE Executive Meeting — 22 February, 2011

Attendance
Stuart Whitelaw, Janet Kohler-Bond, Fraser Bayley, John Bourne, Penny Cook

Apologies
Stuart Scobie

1. Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted by Stuart Whitelaw and seconded by Fraser Bayley.

There were no matters arising.

2. Financial report
Janet reported a balance of $23,532 as at 15 February noting that $17,605 of that amount is the balance of the grey water project money.

3. Allotments
It was agreed that the present allotments could be larger with wider paths between and this will be looked at in the future. Discussion about the possibility of having more allotments along the western boundary of the property, however; it was agreed that this area should be kept as a demonstration house garden. Stuart W. will complete a plan and send to executive for input. It was also agreed that members will be invited to take responsibility for parts of this garden if they wish. Penny will ask for expressions of interest from members for allotments.

4. Commercial beds
Penny will call for expressions of interest from members who would be interested in working the commercial beds. Fraser will then develop a plan for the beds with those people as managers. Members will be called upon to assist at busy times which could also incorporate workshops. The plan will also include methods for rewarding those who work on the rows (managers/helpers/etc.). The following points were also discussed:

• For ease of purchasing equipment, etc. it was agreed that each member will be issued with a SAGE membership card for identification. Stuart W. will produce these.
• John Bourne raised the importance of looking after our new members as some people went away empty-handed from the recent working bee. Penny agreed to be the PR person who will liaise with members at the working bees ensuring everyone knows the ropes and is justly rewarded for their hard work.
• It was agreed that there needs to be a ‘lawnmowing/whippersnippering group’ who can do those jobs more frequently than just the working bees. The leader of this group will organise fuel at SAGE’s cost on the days it is needed. Penny will call for expressions of interest from members who would like to be part of this group.

5. Slow Food Celebration
Following Carole Carlson’s proposal at the Saturday forum that SAGE takes on the management role of this weekend, there was further discussion regarding the pros and cons of doing this. It was agreed that we would be spreading ourselves too thinly given the amount of work necessary to stage the event. We are reasonably resource poor at the moment and we need to be channelling those resources towards developing the SAGE block and the education side of the venture. Penny will email Carole advising her of SAGE’s decision not to accept the proposal.

6. Any other business

• John raised a number of concerns regarding taking on the commercial organic trial for the council. Stuart has contacted Belinda with our concerns and questions and she will be responding as soon as possible.
• Janet advised that Walter is happy to offer a number of courses during the year which will take care of a large part of our education program. He will email details to Penny to circulate to members. She will also call for expressions of interest from members for someone to be the ‘Education Officer’ who will manage the program for the year.
• It was agreed that John Bourne will post the latest SAGE news on noticeboards at the book shop, Stuart Scobie’s new shop and the Rustic Pantry when it opens. This highlighted the need for an information sheet for new members and Penny will work on this.
• here was discussion about raising funds for the roof of the ‘house’ which is seen as a high priority. Stuart W. will investigate the idea of interest-free loans from ‘Angel Investors’. Penny will also ask members to think about ways of fund raising.

Meeting closed at 6 pm.