A nonprofit group called All Together Farming formed in June 2008 to do just that, but it has had nothing but trouble securing a lease of two vacant city lots on Garfield Avenue, even though community support for the project appears to be strong.
The group’s executive director, Alfredo Gomez-Beloz, blames much of the delay on city planning commission member Paul Donohue, who opposes the site, which happens to be a stone’s throw from his residence.
“I support All Together Farming; I would like to see Alfredo succeed,” Donohue said. “It’s just the wrong place for the garden. It’s not going to work there.”
Donohue said site problems include a lack of parking and the fact that a drainage ditch that channels stormwater from the east side of town is on the property.
City residents would be better served if those two lots were developed and the drainage system was reconstructed to current city stormwater standards, Donohue said. He said his opposition to the garden site has nothing to do with the proposed site being in his neighborhood.
The fate of the garden could come to a head at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. On the agenda is a motion to authorize Mayor Ken Jones to enter into a lease with All Together Farming for use of the two Garfield lots for a community garden.
But there’s a catch.
The city proposal calls for a monthly lease payment of $100, far from the $1 a year that city officials and Gomez-Beloz originally proposed. The $1-a-year lease was rejected on the advice of the city attorney, who said it would be an illegal gifting of city property, City Clerk Betty Garrison said.
“That’s a lot of money for us,” Gomez-Beloz said upon learning of the lease terms. “I think that would kill the project.”
Gomez-Beloz, 45 and an ethnobotanist by training, moved to Tenino with his wife and son two years ago. The Chicago native said he was drawn to a community-service project that would produce healthy, nutritious food and educate families and children about the benefits of eating fresh food.
All Together Farming also has begun working with young children on an after-school garden at Tenino Elementary School and a micro-farming project growing food for the needy on a 0.25-acre lot donated by a Rainier landowner.
The group first presented its community garden project, which would consist initially of eight 32-square-foot raised beds, to the Tenino City Council in October 2008.
Shortly after the meeting, Donohue approached Gomez-Beloz and suggested he look at other possible sites.
At the time, Donohue’s wife, City Council member Dawna Kelley-Donohue, served on the All Together Farming board of directors.
In February 2009, the ATF board voted to concentrate its efforts on the Garfield Avenue city lots. On March 23, Gomez-Beloz received an e-mail from Paul Donohue in which he voiced his opposition to the site.
The next day, Gomez-Beloz went to the City Council meeting expecting to enter into a lease with the city. Instead, the project was referred to city officials for further review.
A meeting was held March 31, and Gomez-Beloz was told to prepare a formal proposal by April 8. Meanwhile, on April 3, Dawna Kelley-Donohue resigned from the ATF board, citing a potential conflict of interest if the city entered into a lease with the group.
The project has been in limbo for several weeks while the terms of the lease were developed by the city.
With the growing season in full swing, the delays are frustrating, ATF board member Dennis Christensen said.
“It’s confusing to me,” he said. “Come on, we’re just trying to feed the people that are hungry.”
Without a major fundraising effort or outpouring of financial support from the community, the garden on city property could be doomed, Gomez-Beloz said.
“In order to make the project work, Alfredo needs to work with a private property owner,” Donohue said.
John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5444 or jdodge@theolympian.com">jdodge@theolympian.com.
