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To the editor:
It has come to my attention the Board of Directors of the former Monk Botanical Gardens is meeting Monday to discuss the ramifications of the recent ‘dumpster fire’ they created by the garden’s name change. Let’s hope the name is restored, and the family is afforded the public apology it most certainly deserves.
Assuming the board does the right thing, there are still a number of questions that remain. Who, if anyone, will be held accountable for introducing and/or supporting this travesty? Will members of the board who publicly and knowingly misrepresented the family’s support for the gardens resign? Will leadership of the gardens be disciplined for neglecting the memorial site of their benefactors, Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Monk III. This site, and it’s maintenance, is prescribed and protected by an easement on the garden’s deed. Will Monk family members be invited to join the board to provide an historical perspective? Will they be consulted on future plans for development. Time will tell.
It is not enough to just change the name back to Monk Gardens, and go collectively ‘whistling down the road’ as if nothing happened. Without making a thorough and public examination of the debacle they caused, they are doomed to repetition. Let’s all hope the answers to these questions are forthcoming.
Robert W. Monk IV
