GROW OUR GARDEN GROUP

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING

May 27, 2025

Minutes

Mary called the meeting to order at 6:05pm.

Present:  Mary Gollakner, Bonnie Rochefort, Colleen Weinert, Gordy Lownds, Jen Szydlik, Polly Belcher

Secretary's Report  Minutes of the previous meeting had been accepted as written and posted on the GOGG website. 

Treasurer's Report  Colleen reported a current balance of $9,054.88.  GOGG has received $725 in donations so far in 2025.  It was agreed that the sunflower meter helps a lot with donations. 

Old Business

1)  Flower boxes, hanging flower brackets, tree/flower watering. We will be picking up our flowers tomorrow at Chenier’s, and will transplant the flowers from the flats into the pots for the wooden boxes this Saturday at 11am under the Pavilion.  We have 14 hanging plants to pick up at Chenier’s and will pick out flowers for the 10 boxes as well.  Gordy suggested using Happy Frog potting soil.  Polly will check with Dan re hanging them on Sunday. 

Watering starts Monday, 6/13/25, three times a week.  Mary is working on the schedule.  Jen and Steve Szydlik will be the first waterers, through June 13th.  They plan on using the watering trailer for now.  One of the tires has a leak.  Gordy noted that tightening the lug nuts on the tires seems to have helped.  He also reported that the pump for the bay water still isn’t working. 

2)  Banners, brackets, signs. We will stop tomorrow on the way to Chenier’s to pick up the new brackets from Rich in Rapid River.  Sue Lawrence is working on the order for the banners. 

3)  Fall Festival Updates - music, pumpkins, raffle baskets, children’s games, cake walk, cider press, chili, pickleball, drumming aerobics, etc.

Music.  Our request to the Village Board to have the time extended for live music to 9pm was approved.  Per Colleen, Sara & John will play, and she will ask Eric & Tony about singing.

Pumpkins.  The group discussed the idea of having children paint rocks instead of pumpkins.  It was noted that the paint on the pumpkins doesn’t dry fast enough.  Polly brought up the idea of using the painted rocks for the edge of a walkway if we get a pollinator flower garden planted.  It was agreed to continue to use pumpkins for decorating, but the group decided to leave it up to Colleen for now regarding whether to use pumpkins and/or rocks for painting.  

Raffle baskets.  There was a discussion regarding how much to allow each member to spend on the raffle baskets.  Mary suggested that each member make up 2 baskets, and get $25-50 to spend on each.  Mary is looking into getting gift cards, and will ask Sue Lawrence about providing cellophane wrap. 

Children’s games.  Nancy & Gail ran them last year.  Mary noted that the games went much longer than expected, mostly due to someone going to the store and buying more prizes. 

Cakewalk.  Mary would like to have it twice, since people liked it so much.  Polly will discuss it with Sue Mueller. 

Cider press.  It is not known yet whether the Williamsons are going to do it again this year.  Gordy reported that he had acquired a bigger press that could be used. 

Games.  Pickleball.  Marsha LaTulip was discouraged at the lack of participation in pickleball in 2024.  The group discussed possible solutions, such as painting a pickleball court outside.    

Cornhole.  Mary said that people missed cornhole so we should bring it back. 

A suggestion was made to have an adult scavenger hunt in the park.  Jen Szydlik does it with friends every year.  They are given an old photograph and work to recreate the picture.  There could be a route that would take people to various events, like pickleball, and would end at the Village Artisans to redeem prizes.

Other games/activities were discussed, such as baseball, kickball and drum aerobics, but no final decisions were made.  It was agreed that we need to pick games and create a schedule for the festival soon.

License renewal for prizes.

Festival name – not discussed.  

4)  Improvements to the children’s area in the park.  No updates. 

5) Float for GOGG in the 4th of July parade.  We hope to work with Linda Ranguette to have a float for the parade, which is Saturday, July 5th.  Jen Szydlik volunteered to help decorate it. 

7)  Kayak-a-thon, Walk-a-thon, tee shirts.  At this time GOGG will not be participating in either “thon”.  Tee shirts are still on the table.  Mary will work with Sara to pick out tee shirts that will have the GOGG logo on them. 

8)  Shed repair/painting.  It was decided to wait on any major shed work until after the gazebo is installed, as it will also need work.  The gazebo is supposed to be moved soon.  We will pay Matt Kelly $400 to move it.  It needs power-washing and may need repairs.  Gordy will help Matt with moving. 

9)  Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup Schedule for 2025.  The spring cleanup was completed.  Approximately 10 bags of litter were picked up, along with miscellaneous junk.  Polly still needs to file the report with MDOT.  The next cleanup is scheduled for July 12-20.   

10)  WAM grant.  Applications are usually due by end July, up to $1250.00.  WAM stands for Wildflower Association of Michigan.  Polly will work with Sue Mueller to decide what native pollinator plants to put where, and Polly will look into the process of applying for the grant. 

New Business

1) Watering schedule – see #1.

2) Installation of brackets – see #2.

3) Planting under pavilion – see #1.

4) There was a general discussion about comparing prices at the Mini Mart to prices at other businesses to save money on food (Gordons, Walmart, e.g.).  Mary could also talk with Jake re matching prices from other places.  It was decided to look into prices before making a decision.   

5) GOGG has been gifted an old boat to use for flowers in the island.  The group discussed plans for refinishing the boat and putting flowers in it.  Colleen will find people to work on it.  We also need to investigate how to preserve it.