Town Hall Meeting to Save the Hmong Community Garden 10/15

Hmong American Community Town Hall Meeting

· An invitation to speak for the preservation of the Hmong community garden in its present location

· Everyone is invited

· Fresno City Council Members and the Park and Recreation Department Director have been invited to listen and speak
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When - Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Where - Faith Community Religious Facility
1495 N. Chestnut Ave. (Between Olive & McKinley)
Fresno, CA 93703


This meeting has been called on short notice by concerned citizens who want to save the Hmong community garden in southeast Fresno on Belmont Ave. west of Clovis Ave. The City of Fresno has told the Hmong gardeners that they must leave November 1, 2008, so immediately action is required.

The purpose of the town hall meeting is to give residents an opportunity to tell city council members and the Director of the Park and Recreation Department why it is important to save the garden in its current location.

“We want everyone to come to the Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday. We are hoping for a good turn out of Hmong and members of the community at large. We are expecting several of the Hmong gardeners to be there to tell their stories and express their wishes. We want the community at large to explain why they support the garden and its gardeners,” said Summer Vue, a Hmong leader and Fresno Unified elementary teacher.

Following Diana Marcum’s October 1 Fresno Bee story (http://www.fresnobe e.com/263/ story/905324.html, video http://www.fblinks.com/pt6) about the Hmong garden, community members addressed the October 7, city council meeting. They asked that one of the council members carry a motion to “reconsider plans to demolish the 13 year old Hmong community garden in SE Fresno .” To date no council member has been willing to put this issue on the agenda for the next meeting.

More than 20 people showed up for a meeting at Cafe Corazon this past weekend about the garden. There were people from many different community organizations, concerned individuals, students from both Fresno City College and Fresno State, and Hmong community activists. The group agreed to support the 13 year old community garden in its present location.

Saturday night Summer Vue and Marina Yang brought the question of saving the Hmong community garden to Hmong listeners of KBIF 900 AM radio. For two hours listeners called non-stop with overwhelming support for the continuation of the garden at its current location.

“The Save the Hmong Community Garden group is calling on the community to contact city council members. Members Mike Dages, Henry T. Perea, and Jerry Duncan have voted against the current plan twice, but they were in the minority. We are asking them to put the item on the agenda again. Council members Blong Xiong, Cynthia Sterling, Brian Calhoun, and Paul Caprioglio have favored the current plan. We are asking them to listen to the community and hope they will change their position,” said Camille Russell, who addressed the city council regarding this issue on October 7.

Save the Hmong Community Garden organizers have plans to involve the community in the effort. Plans include flyering, announcements, contacts with community groups, a petition, and a call for attendance at the city council meeting at 8:30 AM on October 21.

Contact:
Summer Vue sunrisevue@yahoo. com (559) 761-4439

Camille Russell camille.russell@ att.net (559) 862-8763, (559) 276-2592