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.
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
On Veteran’s Day, November 11th, the Parks Recreation & Neighborhood Services Adopt-a-Park folks, along with the Martin-Fontana Parks Association, coordinated a clean-up of the area we refer to as the Cotoneaster patch near Tree #13 in Jeffrey Fontana Park. Thanks to Adopt-a-Park’s Mollie Tobias and Sue Bowling, we had about 20 or more students from many local and not so local schools: Lynbrook High School, Pioneer High School, San Jose High School, Holy Spirit School, a young man from Cal-Davis (he was here on the weekend to visit his folks), Leland High School, Valley Christian High School and others. What a terrific Group! Combine this with a representation of local residents, MFPA members, and community leaders such as Scott Raley, Jane, Kelly, Sunny Wagstaff, Rich Grailou , Linda Wilson, Patrick Pizzo, and our MFPA photographer Susan Mosher, who took some great photos, and we had one efficient work crew! We did weeding, removed numerous Oak starts and saplings, planted a replacement plant and, in general,
made one HUGE of debris. Take a look and see if you don’t agree that the Cotoneaster patch is looking Sharp (no pun intended)!
Thanks to Pat Pizzo, the Project Director shown on the left.
Mollie Tobias, City of San Jose PRNS Program Manager, had this to say:
“As involved and ‘willing-to-sweat-and-get dirty’ neighbors and volunteers, you take ownership and pride in your local park! Thank you for sharing your time and energy! Your sense of pride is a great asset in improving the park and in turn, the entire community! Because of your help, the park is cleaner, safer and more welcoming to all! We appreciate all you do for Jeffrey Fontana and TJ Martin parks!”
Mulch was spread, weeding was done, along with trimming, and fertilizing. Tools were provided by MFPA and San Jose’s Parks, Recreation, & Neighborhood Services. Refreshments were provided by the Martin-Fontana Parks Association. Thanks to Orchard Supply Hardware for their donation of 15 bags of mulch. They were put to good use in the garden.
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*A special thanks to our MFPA Photographer, Susan Mosher and thanks also to Kris Myers for her photos.
Held at The Villas Clubhouse, light hors d’oeuvres were served along with wine and other beverages .
Volunteer bartenders Robert Braunstein & Greg Caillat
Awards were presented along with MFPA pins to the 55 volunteers attending
MFPA President Rod Carpenter presents MFPA Project Director Larry Sasscer his Volunteer of the Year award for his outstanding service
MFPA President Rod Carpenter presents SCCAOR Director Frank Cancilla with an award in appreciation for their ongoing service and support
Present for the event were San Jose Parks Commission Chairman, Rudy Flores and his wife Denise, and District 10 Councilman, Johnny Khamis
The MFPA Board of Directors all received Elephants from MFPA President Rod Carpenter. In case you were wondering, Rod’s favorite saying is “You can eat an elephant if you take a bite at a time“.
Gifts for the MFPA Board
Board members Linda Opp, Robert Braunstein, Richard Grialou, & Rod Carpenter
Richard Zahner helps Linda Wilson unwrap her gift
Surprise! It’s an Elephant!
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*Thanks to our wonderful photographer, Susan Mosher, for such great photos!
Linda Wilson signs in Mike Kalashian & his grandson.
Scott Johnson (in the big hat), Mike Kalashian, & Linda Wilson discuss the process.
Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, the fence got a new coat of paint.
The newly painted front side
The newly painted backside
Martin-Fontana Parks Association member, Scott Raley, directed the scraping & painting for the two days it required. We even had Fire Station 22 firefighters drop by to lend a hand.
Engine 22
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Stop by and you will notice a job well done!
A HUGE Thank You to MFPA member and realtor, Scott Raley, who led the project to restore the iron fence.Volunteers included firefighters from Fire Station 22 on Bose Ave., Kiwanis members, the Raley family, one grandson, and MFPA members.The fence looks great, thanks to: Scott, Susan, Daniel and Christie Raley, Ingrid Menafra, Mike Montanari, (Kiwanis), John Senkier, Kara Danielsen, Scott Fey, Tom Connelly (Station 22), and Sunny Wagstaff, Linda Wilson, Johnny Khamis, Rich Grialou, Jack Robertson, Mike Kalashian, Dennis Abad, Patrick Pizzo, Robert Braunstein, and Rod Carpenter (MFPA).
