JPA to discuss options in a closed-door meeting with legal counsel

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  Dr. Michael Hager, President, Friends of the Water Conservation Garden, and Lauren Magnuson, Interim Director of the Garden

January 30, 2024 (El Cajon) – Friends of the Water Conservation Garden and the garden’s new interim director, Lauren Magnuson, made impassioned pleas at a January 23 meeting,  asking the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to allocate additional funds through June to help alleviate a financial crisis.

The Water Conservation Garden is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year. Magnuson. said, “We supported the community during the pandemic. Now we are hoping that the community will support us.”

The Garden has over $1 million in financial obligations, including large loans taken out during the pandemic and some smaller grant funds slated to be returned. Questions have been raised by the JPA over years of inaccurate record-keeping practices and borrowing by Friends to cover the Garden’s operating expenses, among other concerns.

“The Garden has significantly cut our monthly budget by more than half,” Magnuson told ECM in an interview earlier this month. “We unfortunately had to furlough a good portion of our staff and lean on current staff to absorb those furloughed positions.” She has pledged full transparency and open communication with staff and volunteers, scrambling to pull together financial records and options to help the garden grow and thrive in the future—though the task is daunting.

Photo:  John Bolthouse, at San Diego Concert Band performance in the Garden

November 7, 2015 (El Cajon)--The Water Conservation Garden today announced the departure of John Bolthouse, who has served as the organization’s Executive Director since February 2012. The Garden’s board of directors extends its deepest gratitude for Bolthouse’s innumerable contributions to The Garden over the years.

“John has truly been a visionary for our organization, leading The Garden into a new era,” said The Garden Board of Directors President Elyssa Robertson. “His planning, forethought and efforts over the past 3 years have provided us with the framework and clear vision for The Garden’s continued success. On behalf of the board of directors and Garden staff, we wish John the absolute best for his next exciting venture.”