​​KCCSS
2018 Calendar of Events
​Most meetings are held at the Loose Park Garden Center (52nd and Wornall Rd.) starting at 1:30 p.m.​​

August 11 & 12  
Annual Show & Sale

August 9 & 10 (Thurs & Fri) – Show Set-up 

August 11 & 12 - Annual Show & Sale 

September – Tri-City Meeting (Omaha?) 

October 21 – 1:30, General Meeting,  Fern Room 

November 18 – 1:30, General Meeting, Rose Room 

December 9 – 12:00, Holiday Party

The Kansas City Cactus & Succulent Society Welcome! 

Update on Loose Park

Mike Hisey and I met with Colby Biswell and Judy Penner today at the garden center.  And this is a report on all the latest developments
Much to our amazement, the Parks & Rec folks have actually decided to go back to “the way we were” for the rest of 2018 and put the new fee structure in place for 2019. !!!!!!!
So what this means in terms of our regular meetings — at least right now — is that we can continue to hold them on Sundays without paying any facilities use fee.  The waiver of the fee is considered to be part of our “partnership” with the Parks Department in maintaining the hardy garden.  We still need to keep track of our hours and turn them in at the end of the year because the number of hours will be figured monetarily to determine how much our fees for 2019 will be.  Colby suggested more than once that we should consider changing our meetings to Saturday (because apparently next year the fees for Sundays will be high), but we kept telling him that we had discussed doing that, and we preferred sticking with Sundays, even if we need to find another place to meet.
In terms of the show and sale, the news is also good. We will not be charged any fees at all for use of the two rooms, even on Sunday! We will, however, need to pay 5% of our gross intake to Parks & Rec.  At first, Colby said it would be 10%, but when I read him the numbers I had put together previously (and sent out to you all), he lowered the amount to 5%. This will probably come out to between $400 and $500, if our sales are similar to last year’s.  
So Mike and I thought the best course of action was to keep our plans for the show/sale dates the same as we had originally planned:  setup on Friday, Aug 10, and the event on Sat & Sun, Aug 11-12.  We can even hold it at the same hours we have always used:  9:00-5:00 on Saturday, and 11:00-4:00 on Sunday, with cleanup from 4:00 to 5:00 Sunday.  This will make everything so much simpler, especially in terms of the signed contracts we already have with the vendors. 
Our Memo of Understanding (MOU) will be available by the end of June for our review and signing.  Colby took notes on everything we agreed to during the meeting, and he will put it all in the MOU.
The fee schedule for 2019 will be written up and sent out — according to Colby — with the reservation packets that go out to the groups in September.  I wish we had it now, so that we could make plans for next year, but people keep reminding me that the wheels of government turns slowly.  At any rate, we may want to put together a small committee to start checking out alternative venues for next year’s show and sale.    Just sayin’…..
As I informed everyone in yesterday’s email, I already made a reservation for our July 15 meeting at the Trailside Center at 99th and Holmes.  We decided to go ahead and hold the meeting at that location because we think it will be good for people to see the facility, which we might want to use next year for Sunday meetings, depending on how the fee schedule works out.  Our meetings in October, November, and December will take place at Loose Park, as scheduled.

About the Kansas City

Cactus and Succulent Society

Started over 40 years ago the KCCSS has offered Kansas City a wealth of knowledge to its members and through the events and programs the group brings to the gardening community here. This group is known for the spectacular judged show it has sponsored for many years, along with the hardy cactus and succulent sales it has hosted.  The club encourages visitors to attend meetings where you'll find plenty of hands-on workshops, beautiful slide presentations plus knowledgeable and interesting speakers. Meetings are a forum for information on growing, identification as well as a place where as much can be learned from the novice as from the seasoned old-timers.  Check out our events schedule and join us. Visitors are always welcomed!

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