A big THANKS to Michele LaPlante, our Martin-Fontana Parks Association (MFPA) Volunteer Coordinator, and Michele Dexter, the Community Relations representative from the District 10 City Council office for their coordination on a successful “Spring Cleaning” Saturday May 7th at the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden and the California native plant garden on McAbee Road.
Volunteers from the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS met for their annual spring clean up of the rose garden, as well as some weeding and pruning on the east side of McAbee at the CA native garden. They were joined by a large group of volunteers from the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The volunteers filled a large Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services (PRNS) dump truck twice, with green waste from weeding, pruning, and trimming the trees and plants in the gardens.
Thanks also, to the PRNS Volunteer Unit, who came out Saturday morning with all the tools and wheelbarrows needed for the cleanup effort.
PRNS Volunteer Coordinator, Sue Bowling, helped with the sign in and MFPA member Chris Reed was there to give guidance in the native garden work area. Together, all the helping hands put in a morning of great effort to create two garden spaces that all the park community can enjoy.
*Thanks to our new MFPA photographer, Jack Wollenweber, a Bellarmine College Preparatory school student for all the nice photos.
On Sat, July 10th., sixteen volunteers from the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors* came out in the 90°+ heat to refresh the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Garden. We were joined by Johnny Khamis, the past City Council member and now the Public Relations Consultant for SCCAOR, and a couple of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services staffers, Eddie and Lalo. All worked diligently to pull weeds, cut prune tree suckers, gently deadhead the roses, and feed each rose bush in the block long garden.
Chris Chen & Linda Wilson
Signing up
30 bags of mulch
Tools provided by Adopt-a-Park
Photo by Johnny Khamis
The work party was organized by the Martin-Fontana Parks Association working with San Jose’s Adopt-a-Park volunteer unit and PRNS maintenance workers from our District One Maintenance Dept. Funding from MFPA member donations provided the rose feed, and 30 bags of mulch that were spread to preserve the sprinkler water during the summer. Thanks to Johnny Khamis and PRNS staffers Eddie and Lalo who provided extra help and support.
Thanks also to MFPA member Dave Gonzalez (wearing the white shirt) who signed in the volunteers and provided energy snacks! And thanks to our MFPA photographer, Wayne Opp for all the photos.
This Saturday volunteers from the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors will be meeting at the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden to spruce up the area and feed the roses. We would love to see you join them Saturday, July 10 at 8:15 am to pitch in and lend a hand!
Linda Wilson and Kelly Shepherd will be signing in the volunteers, and Lalo from Parks, Recreation and Neighbor Services (PRNS) will have all the tools, gloves, and other necessary equipment on hand. Ice cold water and healthy snacks will be provided. A canopy will be set up to provide some shade for anyone who wants to take a break.
Volunteers from the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors meet twice yearly to work in the memorial garden and have helped the Martin-Fontana Parks Association keep this area as a fitting memorial for Officer Jeffrey Fontana who was killed in a nearby neighborhood nearly 20 years ago.
The Martin-Fontana Parks Association (MFPA) thanks all of you in the Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS® (SCCAOR) and the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Adopt-a-Park Program for your help in establishing the recent work day in the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden.
Thanks to the Adopt-a-Park for providing all the tools
This year, 2021, marks the seventh year since the realtors in SCCAOR adopted the rose garden, donated funds to help keep it up, and have recruited volunteers to work each spring and winter to keep Jeffrey’s garden a delight for all park visitors. Saturday, Feb. 6 continued this tradition, with 30 realtors and adopt-a-park volunteers spreading throughout the garden to pull weeds, remove ground cover choking out some rose bushes, and cutting out the prune tree suckers that spring up every year.
Abiding by COVID restrictions, the masked volunteers worked in the warm February sunshine to get the garden ready for spring and the new rose growth to come. Lots of mulch was spread to prevent weed growth, and plans for a June work day were set in motion. The rose bushes provided an abundance of thorns to keep everyone on their toes as they worked through the garden.
Photo by Matt Mahan
Off to work we go
Photo by Matt Mahan
Thanks for coming out
The event was set up and organized by Elisabeth Krienke of PRNS and Anna Lopez with the Realtor Group. Don Jessup and Neil Collins provided leadership for the realtors’ efforts, and Jose Ruiz from PRNS pitched in with much needed manpower to head up the green waste collection and clean up.
*Special thanks to Wayne Opp, our MFPA photographer, who captured the spirit of the day with his photos.
San José Parks and Rec needs volunteers to support San José parks during this challenging time. Volunteers can help their neighbors and get outdoors in places like Alum Rock Park and the Municipal Rose Garden. All volunteers must wear a face covering and keep a 6-foot distance from others. For more info & to sign up: bit.ly/32RGmOZ.
On Saturday the 25th of Jan, with the help of over thirtyvolunteers and a their hard work, the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden was pruned and weeded. Members of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (SCCAOR) provided most of the muscle along with other volunteers. Now the roses are all set for some beautiful blooms this coming season.
Linda Wilson, the President of the Martin-Fontana Parks Association, provided 10 bags of mulch and some rose food. MFPA member, Rosy Bowring brought along 2 dozen assorted doughnuts to feed the troops. Adopt-a-Park’s Sue Bowling was there with the Adopt-a-Park trailer and work supplies. Thanks also to Mollie Tobias, City of San Jose’s Program Manager for Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services for setting this all up.
Let us not forget who wasn’t there, Patrick Pizzo.
Pat was always there to show everybody how the trimming was done. We will miss seeing his smiling face and having him show us how to trim a rose bush Things just weren’t the same with out him being there.
A photo display of Pat was provided by MFPA member, Sunny Wagstaff, showing his many years of service and dedication in making our parks more beautiful with native plants.
President Rod Carpenter called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm last Wednesday, Feb. 13, addressing an overflow audience of members and guests.
Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services Deputy Director, Justin Long, summarized some of the changes that are being made to improve the efficiency of park maintenance. A new “Activate San Jose” plan will be the new parks’ guiding document and should be in available to the public in June for community review. MFPA will alert our members when it is presented.
Mr. Long and Dan Greeley, our Maintenance District Supervisor, spoke about the rodent problem affecting many San Jose parks, including ours. They outlined the action that PRNS will be taking to alleviate the problem, and then answered questions from the floor.
Outgoing President, Rod Carpenter highlighted the achievements of MFPA during his two-year tenure:
Completion of the native plant Five Islands Project
Construction of the “Surf Shack” tool shed
Repair of the Meridian fence at TJ Martin Park
The Planting of over fifty new trees in both parks
Completion of the “Beautility” Water Vault Painting project
Partnership with PRNS Adopt-a-Park Program and Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR), to maintain existing projects like the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Rose Garden
Perhaps the most significant achievement of Rod’s term was the completion of the “Right of Entry” agreement with PRNS allowing MFPA to hire qualified contractors to work in the parks on MFPA projects!
Outgoing Secretary, Rich Grialou was honored with the “President’s Award” and received a plaque in appreciation of his contributions to MFPA.
President Rod Carpenterwas presented with a plaque honoring his dedication and determination to oversee the accomplishments of the last two years.
The new Board of Directors goals for the next year include:
Ongoing maintenance projects with PRNS Adopt-a-Park and SCCAOR
The annual Heart of the Park Celebration on May 18, 2019
Continued collaboration with PRNS and the City to improve our parks
HATS OFF, and a BIG THANKS to all who joined the Adopt-a-Park, Pioneer High School, and middle school volunteers on Saturday Feb. 17th. to clean up the Jeffrey Fontana Memorial Garden and rake all the mulch at the east end of Fontana Park. They were a hard-working bunch, removing the Heliotrope that was choking out the roses, climbing the fence, and the trees, and then, marching down to the east end of Fontana to pull a mountain of weeds and spread all those piles of mulch.
Weeding at the Rose Garden
Huge pile of weeds taken out
For those who were not able, out of town, too busy, or just not into it, I urge you to at least visit the two sites to see the mountains of vegetation removed and the beauty of all the mulch spread.
Attacking the mounds of mulch
Thanks again, to all those who worked on Saturday!
MARTIN-FONTANA PARKS ASSOCIATION 