Fiscal Note
The impact of the revenue generated through this lease ($200 one-time payment, $1 annually in subsequent years) is intended to have a minimal impact. No appropriation is required.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute a 5-year lease with Community Groundworks, Inc., with one 5-year renewal for various community garden sites on city-owned land.
Body
WHEREAS, Community GroundWorks (CGW), Dane County UW-Extension (UWEX), the City of Madison, along with garden leaders and other key stakeholders began meeting in March 2014 to explore the establishment of a new and improved community garden program; and
WHEREAS, the three partners envision diverse, productive, self-sustaining gardens that have strong leaders and communities connected by a shared purpose, by a sense of belonging and by a deep socio-cultural understanding; and
WHEREAS, CGW, UWEX, and the City, agreed to further explore partnering in support of a new and improved program for 2015, with a commitment to programming for low and moderate income areas, people of color, recent immigrants, and children and youth; and
WHEREAS, the City of Madison hired Forward Community Investments (FCI) in September 2014 to meet extensively with the aforementioned corporations and develop a business plan for a new community gardens program for 2015, termed the "Gardens Network;" and
WHEREAS, the City is in the process of executing a formal Memorandum of Understanding with CGW and Dane County UWEX to define roles for the parties, especially for fundraising, land security, and long-term sustainability of gardens programming; and
WHEREAS, the Memorandum of Understanding will define the governance structure of the so-called "Gardens Network" and that structure shall be housed at Community GroundWorks, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, CGW is under contract with the City to be the primary administrator of community gardens programming, including providing staff time and general leadership to the daily operations of the program, and to provide programming specifically to gardens within low and moderate income areas; and
WHEREAS, one of the important roles of CGW in the new programming is to serve as the lease and insurance holder for all gardens on city-owned land to ensure the security of gardens' land; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Clerk are authorized to execute a 5-year lease with Community Groundworks, Inc., with one 5-year renewal, on a form and in a manner that has been approved by the City Attorney and Risk Manager, for the community gardens sites listed on Exhibit A, subject to the special conditions as set forth on Exhibit B, which Exhibits are attached and incorporated on City property;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the City Clerk are authorized to execute any amendments to this lease to add or remove gardens, provided such changes are approved by the appropriate City Committees at that time;
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the director of the City Agency responsible for the land upon which a community garden is located may authorize amendments, on behalf of the City, to any site-specific special conditions, subject to any committee approval that may be necessary.