City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: James Pease, Public Works Director
Date: 10/08/2024
Subject: Ripon Garden Club Donation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Accept the donation for the development of a rose garden near Stouffer Hall from the Ripon Garden Club and authorize City staff to assist with modifying the existing irrigation, installing an irrigation controller, grading and soil preparation (Donation value: $9,800; City cost and funding source: $10,000 from the General Fund).
BACKGROUND:
The Ripon Garden Club is proposing to create a rose garden near the front entrance of Stouffer Hall. The area where the rose garden is proposed is mostly bare dirt with a small portion of camellia plants along the perimeter which were donated to the City of Ripon by the City’s sister city in Japan sometime in the late 1980s.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
The Ripon Garden Club rose garden donation will enhance the front entrance to Stouffer Hall and provide an enjoyable space for residents within the park. The attached form and drawing outlines the specifics of the donation including a refresh to the existing camellia plants, adding rose beds, creating a decomposed granite walking path, benches, arbor, fence, irrigation and additional plants.
The Ripon Garden Club will be responsible for all pruning and grounds keeping maintenance within the garden once established similar to the existing butterfly garden also located at Stouffer Park. City staff will assist with initial labor to make modifications to the existing irrigation system, add a separate irrigation controller, grade the site and prepare the soil for planting. All other installation of the amenities and planting will be performed by the Ripon Garden Club.
Due to the amount of maintenance involved at the rose garden, staff has discussed with the Ripon Garden Club that if maintenance can no longer be provided in the future by the Ripon Garden Club, modifications to the garden would most likely need to be made in order for City staff to maintain the area including replanting with lower maintenance type plants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The one-time initial labor expense from the City to assist in preparing the designated area for the rose garden will cost $10,000 and be paid for through the General Fund.
Attachments:
1. Rose Garden Donation
2. Rose Garden Donation Plan