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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-11 Cemetery Advisory Board Minutes z LINKED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SUNSET HILLS CEMETERY ADVISORY BOARD FEBRUARY 10, 2011 >�q ' 1.00 PM THE LINDLEY CENTER - 1102 EAST CURTISS BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Russ Tuckerman, Chairperson Katherine Ball Gene Brooks Carl Craft Don Derby Absent: Lowell Springer Carson Taylor, Commission Liaison David Cook, Park& Recreation Board Liaison CITY STAFF PRESENT: Ron Dingman, Director of Parks, Cemetery& Recreation Thom White, Park& Cemetery Superintendent Shane Surber, Cemetery Foreman Michelle Dipzinski, Cemetery Board Secretary GUEST PRESENTERS: Anna Rosenberry, Finance Director COPIES OF THE RECORDING ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. 0:00:18- Item #1—Call the meeting to order: • Chairperson Tuckerman called the meeting to order at 1:00pm. Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 0:00:55 - Item #2—Public comment period, limit 3 minutes per speaker: 0:01:11- Tom Olsen—Bozeman Granite Works: • Appreciates the way Requests for Deviations are handled, that they are brought to the board. He was hoping there would be some debate and that the board would either approve or deny. He was under the impression the board had executive authority. • Requested clarification on flush mount stones not requiring a wash, he wanted to verify that it was strictly for flush mount stones and not out of ground stones and upright stones. • It is his understand that the deviations are now attached to 4022 as part of the rules and regulations of the cemetery. 0:03:09—Richard Newman—American Legion Post 14 and the new Scout Master,for troop 614: • They are putting together an American Flag Retirement Ceremony for February 26th and found that they cannot retire the rayon and nylon flags in the traditional method of cutting and burning. They would have to bury them. • He is proposing burying them in the Veterans Section by the flags: he also said they should be burying the ashes from the cotton flags that were burned. He suggested having a ceremony on Flag Day which is June 14'h and they could bury the flags and ashes at that time and possibly making it an annual event. • There was discussion with the board as to how many flags there would be and the options for location and ways to do the burials. • He will discuss the issue further with Superintendent White. • Chairperson Tuckerman will add it as an action item for the May meeting. 0:10:50--1oVice Schmidt: • Was going to give update on tree donation program—it is listed as an agenda item so she will update then. 0:11:46—Mary Keck—Tree Advisor Board: • Introduced herself and stated they are trying to coordinate with some of the boards that have similar interests. 0:12:27—Deborah Ditemon: • Asked if the new mowers with the bumpers have come in: o Superintendent White explained the rotation schedule for the mowers and the training that the crews go through. The bumpers are part of the purchasing agreement whenever a new mower is purchased. All mowers have bumpers • Suggested requiring stones that have a smooth surface to be set in a wide concrete base: o Superintendent White said they would make sure it follows the resolution and then talk with the setters 0:17:35—Public Comment closed. Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 0:00:47 - Item #3—Approve November 4 2010 meeting minutes—Action Item: • No public comments were received. • Changes requested: o Don Derby was listed in both present and absent section of the minutes, he was absent. Motion: Boardmember Craft motioned to approve the November 4, 2010 minutes with the requested change. Boardmember Ball seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The Board agreed to move Item#7 to be discussed next. 0:45:30-- Item #4—Veterans Wall Update: • Boardmember Derby gave the update: • There are 12 more plaques going up. • There is $16,263.50 in the bank. • The Patriot Guards performed "The Wreath Across America" ceremony in December. The wreaths were put up all across America at the same time. • All repaired panels have been installed on the Vietnam Veterans Wall. • They are planning on painting the cement blocks that are exposed sometime this spring. 0:51:38—Item.#5.—Tree Donation Program—Joyce Schmidt: • Is still working on the brochure. • She is coordinating with Cashman's Nursery,she has questions that she will need to talk to Foreman Surber and Superintendent White about. • She has a graphic artist that has agreed to help with the brochure. • She would like to have a color coded map for the vegetation that will survive in different areas of the cemetery; she will talk with City Forester Ryon Stover regarding the trees. • She can work with Mary Keck from the Tree Advisory Board on the project. • She will have something together before the next meeting. 0:53:40—Item #6— Requests for Deviations update: • There have not been any requests for deviations since the last meeting Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 0:18:50— Item #7— Fee Increases— Director Anna Rosenberry: • This item was moved to be discussed first. • Director Rosenberry provided Power Point slides regarding the cemetery financial picture. • The majority of the funds for cemetery operations come out of the general fund. • The Perpetual Care Fund is a trust fund where a small amount of the money collected from the sale of the lots is put in a special account, the interest earnings from that account go back into the general fund to help with operations. o The fund was set up to maintain the cemetery once all lots have been sold. o Our fund has a little over$500,000. o $64.00 of each lot sold goes into the fund and stays in the fund, only the interest is moved to the general fund. o The money is invested in the Cities pool of investments; it is restricted by state law as to what can be invested in. • Revenue is collected from the sale of lots, admin fees, grave permits, monument setting fees, disinterment fees and the interest from the Perpetual Care Fund. • Expenses include personnel, operations, and capital items such as mower and replacing water lines. o Personnel costs have gone up but the operations budget has gone down. • The difference between revenue and expenses for the 2011 budget is $314,500; the City Commission pays attention to that number and has questions on what can be done to lower that amount. • Currently there are 15,500 occupied lots—the Perpetual Care Fund gets about$1.03 per lot each year; annual revenue is $6.93 per lot, including interest; annual costs per lot is $27.13; and the annual General Fund Support per lot is $20.20. • She thanked Chairperson Tuckerman for lending her the Cemeteries Should Be Forever book by Llewellyn. • The book says that the fund should keep up with inflation; our fund is not doing that. • The only income in the Perpetual Care Fund is from the sales of additional lots. • Need to look at how many lots are still available to be sold and look at how much needs to be put into the Perpetual Care Fund in order to sustain the operations of the cemetery once all lots have been sold. • The $64.00 that is currently going into the Perpetual Care Fund is a percentage of the lot sale, it increases when the lot sales fee increases. No increases have gone strictly into the fund only a percentage. • The figures should be ready for the May meeting in order to get the increase to go into effect July 1St • It was suggested that fee discussions happen every two years. 0:54:07--Item #8—Superintendent/Foreman Update—Thom White and/or Shane Surber: • Foreman Surber said: o Crews have been busy plowing snow. Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 o They have been working on getting the requested information to the City Commission meeting regarding operations. o The map kiosk has not been put up yet, there is 1 % feet of frost in the ground so they are going to wait. • Superintendent White said: • He has gotten compliments on how well the Cemetery and Parks crews have worked well together. • He and Foreman Surber have been talking to other Cemeteries on how their operations and fees are done. • Each cemetery task has been assessed and they know how many hours are used for each task. • Chairperson Tuckerman asked: • If any progress has been made on the maps for the Kiosk coming from Boardmember Springer—they have not heard from him. Chairperson Tuckerman said he would contact Boardmember Springer regarding the map. • Asked how many burials for the year--the burials are counted for a calendar year not a fiscal year. Currently they are a little higher than normal but will not have a firm number until the fiscal year ends. o Asked what the numbers are for ash burials compared to full body burials—it is about 63%to 67% ash burials. 1:02:33--Item #9—Commission Report—Carson Taylor: + Commission Taylor was not at the meeting—no updated was available. 1,:02:41—Item #10— Recreation & Park Board Undate: • David Cook was not at the meeting—no update was available from him. • Director Dingman said the ski program seems to be doing well,the new ski trails are well received. o He has heard some concerns regarding crossing Highland at Ellis to use trails on both sides of Highland. 1:05:32—Item #11— Master Plan Item—Scattering Garden discussion: • Boardmember Ball provided the following information; o Scattering gardens are areas designated for ash burials, there are several different ways to approach this such as a trench for the ashes, or holes,some ashes are raked in. o Not all of the ashes need to be scattered, sometimes only partial remains are scattered so there is a record within the city of this person's life. o Markers or plaques with names can be put up. o Scattering Gardens are beautiful settings with benches for people to go to. o There is a survey that says over 50% of the people like scattering gardens but only about 20% used them. The reason for that was that people wanted something to hang onto or a place to go as opposed to scattering the ashes on a mountain or in the ocean. o She didn't find any scattering gardens within the State of Montana. Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 • Fees range from $224 to $500. • The board needs to decide if this is a service that should be provided; she talked to a funeral home and was told they didn't have a lot of requests for this. • Pets needs to also be discussed, some people want to be buried with their pets, it was suggested that if they allow pets that it be in a separate area. • There was discussion on how the scattering garden would work, if ashes would be mixed together or if they would plot out the area. There would be staff supervision and people would not be able to just scatter ashes without a permit. • It was suggested that the MSU Architectural students add the Scattering Garden to the Master Plan. • The area used would be the old nursery. • This item will be added to the May meeting for more discussion. • Boardmember Ball will contact MSU to see if they are interested in working on the project; if they are they should contact either Superintendent White or Foreman Surber for a tour of the area. 1:28:22--Item #12-- Columbarium Acquisition letter to the Commission —Action Item: • No public comment was given. • The letter written to the City Commission requesting a second columbarium purchase be approved was read by Boardmember Craft. • Changes requested were: o State what the budgeted amount for the columbarium is - $40,000 o Include the statistics of the ashes to full body burial ratio. o Change the word on to the word of in the sentence that says "We believe the need for approval on the next columbarium". o The changes will be made by Chairperson Tuckerman and sent to Secretary Dipzinski for distribution to the Commission. • Director Dingman asked to be updated and for clarification on the letter because staff was not included in the email to the board members. Motion: Boardmember Derby motioned to send the letter with the requested changes to the City Commission. Boardmember Craft seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 1:3,4:44—Item 13—Change August meeting date— Lindley Center not available until August 25th: • The Recreation Dept has events scheduled for the Lindley Center through August 19th,the building is not available until after that date • Chairperson Tuckerman is usually out of town until that date • The August meeting is changed to August 25th _f Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,February 10,2011 1:35:40— Item 14— Board Vacancy: • Per the City Clerk's office there have been no applicants for the board vacancy, all board members are encouraged to recruit applicants. • Tom Olsen said he had applied and that Scott Crowder and his wife as well as Joyce Schmidt all had applied. • Secretary Dipzinski will contact the Clerk's office and ask them to call Tom Olsen regarding his application. 1:37:17— Item 15—Confirm next meeting date— May 12, 2011: • The next meeting date is set for May 12`h, at the Lindley Center from 1:00 to 3:00pm • Superintendent White reminded everyone that fee increases will be discussed and that he will bring updated figures to the meeting • Board members were encouraged to attend the February 22"d budget meeting with the Commission. 1:27:03— Item 16—Other Business: • Boardmember Ball suggested limiting the amount of items on the agenda because the budget will be discussed and fees will be listed as an action item • There are agenda items that the board has requested be listed on the agenda for every meeting, because there may be time restraints the budget and fee items will be listed first and then if time runs out all other items will be tabled at the next meeting Adiournment• Motion: Chairperson Tuckerman motioned to adjourn the meeting. Boardmember Derby seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 3:02pm. Michelle Dipzinski, the recording secretary,will contact Chairperson Tuckerman, Superintendent White, and Foreman Surber approximately three weeks prior set up the agenda. v Russ Tuckerman, Chairperso Linked Minutes of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting,xebruory 10,2011 ATTEST: i' Michelle Dipzins i, rd Secretary PREPARED BY:f 4 r , Michelle Dipzinsk , B a d Secretary Approved on l