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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-20-20CITY OF APPLE VALLEY LEBANON CEMETERY ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 20, 2020 Minutes of the regular meeting of the Lebanon Cemetery Advisory Committee of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota, held October 20, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. at Apple Valley Municipal Center. PRESENT: Nancy Anderson, Tim Anderson, David Brueshoff*, Tanya Grawe*, Jay Hoekstra, Dave Kemp, Alan Kohls. * Present via remote technology ABSENT: None City staff members present were: Public Works Director Matt Saam, Streets Superintendent Jeff Lathrop and Cemetery/Public Works Coordinator Wendy Davis 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 2:20 p.m. by Chair Kohls. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: of J. Hoekstra, seconded by N. Anderson, approving the agenda for today’s meeting as written. Roll call vote: Ayes - 7 - Nays - 0. 3. AUDIENCE – 10 MINUTES TOTAL TIME LIMIT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THIS AGENDA There was no one present to speak. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – July 21, 2020 MOTION: of D. Kemp, seconded by T. Anderson approving the minutes of the July 21, 2020, meeting. Roll call vote: Ayes - 7 - Nays - 0. 5. NEW/CONTINUED BUSINESS A. Activity Report MOTION: of D. Brueshoff seconded by T. Grawe, accepting the Activity Report for Third Quarter. Roll call vote: Ayes -7 - Nays - 0. B. Cemetery Development Update Memorial Shelter – Mr. Saam informed the committee that bids were solicited for the Cemetery Memorial Shelter, 11 bids were received but all received bids were over budget. The budget for the project was estimated to be $550,000 Bids ranged from $700,000 to $1.1 million dollars. Due to this, staff did go to Council to reject all bids. The costs of the granite portions of the shelter was the main reason that the bids came in high, so the architect is looking into different granite options. Staff plans to work with the architect to rebid in early 2021. The private donor has also committed to increasing their donation to this project. Some of the alternate bids included removing the proposed screens or walls. The skylight will remain. Discussion was had by the committee on the drawbacks of removing the movable screens which included increased wind in the shelter and increased noise as well. Boulder Area – Mr. Lathrop provided the committee an update on the boulder area. 13 trees have been planted in the new boulder area, varieties included Magnolia, Crab and River Birch. In addition, pins have been installed in the two open areas to identify where boulders will be placed. The area is ready for sales to those on the waiting list. County Road 42 Entrance- Dakota County plans to remove the driveway apron and restore the area. Once restored, this will open up the area to more above ground options such as a feature area or a columbarium. A water line exists underground that does not make the area feasible for in ground burials. C. Maintenance and Grounds Update Mr. Lathrop discussed that prior to the snowfall, a fall cleanup took place that cleared out leaves and performed restoration to the cemetery. Volunteers have worked pulling weeds and completing other cleanup tasks to the cemetery grounds. An additional fall cleanup is planned. Regulations Review – Discussion occurred regarding the current cemetery regulations. The committee opted to remove the section regarding dogs not being allowed in the cemetery. The committee determined that no further review of the regulations was needed. MOTION: of T. Anderson seconded by N. Anderson, accepting the removal of “No dogs allowed” from the Cemetery regulations. Roll call vote: Ayes -7 - Nays - 0. D. 2021 Meeting Schedule Ms. Davis went over the proposed meeting schedule for 2021 which included the dates of January 19, April 20, July 20 and October 19. All Meetings will be held at 2pm in the Regent Conference Room at the Municipal Center and/or virtually as Covid-19 restrictions dictate. E. Review Proposed Revisions to General Price List for 2021 Mr. Saam reviewed the updates to the General Price List for 2021. A pricing survey was completed in 2020 that took into account rates at area cemeteries. This pricing survey is completed every three years. Lebanon Cemetery was found to be substantially lower than average. Due to the survey, most cemetery rates received a 15%-20% increase with some of the rates only increasing 3% to 5% as an inflationary increase. Mr. Anderson suggested reviewing the list of cemeteries surveyed to ensure that pricing changes are reflective of the average market rates for similar cemeteries. Mr. Anderson also requested a revision of the increased traditional burial fee from a proposed increase of $110 to an increase of $25. MOTION: of T. Anderson seconded by N. Anderson, accepting the approving the proposed revisions to the General Price List. Roll call vote: Ayes -7 - Nays - 0. 6. COMMUNICATIONS / UPDATES 7. OTHER BUSINESS 8. ADJOURN MOTION: of D. Kemp, seconded by D. Brueshoff, to adjourn the meeting. Roll call vote: Ayes - 7 - Nays - 0. Meeting adjourned at 3:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________________ Wendy Davis, Cemetery/ Public Works Coordinator Approved by the Cemetery Advisory Committee on 1-19-21