Scott Johnson, the manager of the Central Texas Electric Lawn Mower Program (www.cmpbs.org/electriclawnmower) talked about the benefits of replacing a gas mower with an electric one, if one is committed to keeping a lawn. Filling the gas tank of mowers is a big source of ground-level ozone. Carbon emissions from gas-powered mowers are high. Pollutions from oil and gas spills accumulate across the city and end up in the lake a runoff. The cost of regular tune-ups for a gas-powered mower are more than the cost of replacement batteries for battery-powered mowers.
On April 7th, 8:30am-3pm, at the Home Depot off of 51st St., you can trade in a gas mower to get a 25% discount on a corded electric mower (ending up less than $200) or cordless mower ($319 comes to $255 after discount). There is a 10% discount without a trade in.
Scott is hoping to also get groups of 4 or more neighbors in the neighborhood to give up all of their gas-powered mowers in exchange for a single FREE electric mower to share. Contact him on his web site.
Emily Wilson spoke about vegetable gardening and landscaping.
- Austin Eco Lawn is a company that uses non-powered mowers and electric hedges.
- The City of Austin Invasive Species Management Plan puts out a list of invasive species. Native species are assisted in growing by native pollinators.
- She turned the area around the fire station into a wildlife area.
o To get rid of burmuda grass, before summer, water the area, put down wetted newspaper and cardboard or black plastic, weigh down to prevent the wind from blowing and prevent sun exposure, and come back in a year.
- Good native (drought-resistant) grass to use- Hyperturf, available at the Wildflower Center, Native American Seed.
- Bird netting is good to keep squirrels and birds away from tomatoes.
- Can search “watering during drought Texa Forest Service” on Youtube for tips on protecting trees through the summer, and search “grow green mulching” for tips on mulching.
- Travis County Master Gardener Garden Guide – A highly recommended book, available at any nursery
- Grow Green Guide – recommendations for landscape plants in our area.
- The City has a program where you can get permission to water a vegetable garden during watering restrictions (community gardens can get a waiver).
- Urban Patchwork as 14 yards in the Violet Crown area, 30-40 volunteers, many from condos and apartment work the plots, and everyone splits the harvest evenly.
Executive Committee Meeting
A company wants to redevelop the Argosy Apartments on Justin near Lamar as affordable housing. The County staff recommends approval of the bond request. Affordable housing is defined as 20% reserved for people with 50% of the median county income, and 50% reserved for people making 120% of the median county income. The median income of Travis County for 2012, as estimated by HUD, is $75,900. The committee did not feel it necessary for Deanna to attend the hearing on the 13th.
Treasurer’s Report
February start: $14,877.38
+$40 memberships
+$722 ads
-$412.92 printing costs
February end: $15,226.46
Renewal Notices
Denise sent out the first batch of renewal notices. Tim suggested giving the person in charge of the membership committee access to the association mailbox so that they could pick of the membership checks instead of waiting for the treasurer to record them first, and possibly compensating the person financially for the work. Tim also suggested adding the on extra time of people’s memberships if they renew early. Full discussion was tabled until time allowed.
NOTE: Tim requested that Don return the bank statement that he was given to start on the on-line membership renewal account with PayPal, before it was decided to table that, at the next meeting.
We planned the April volunteer appreciation dinner.