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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/18/2000 F � • MINUTES OF LEBANON CEMETERY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING January 18,2000-2:00 p.m. Apple Valley City Hall COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Wilt Anderson, Math Fischer, David Kemp, Reid Koepp, John Raiche,and Gary Wagner COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: David Quarberg OTHERS PRESENT: Acting Public Works Director Nea1 Heuer, Public Works Administrative Secretary Pamela Gackstetter,Public Works � Intern Andy Pederson,and Margaret Gillard. Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: of Koepp, seconded by Wagner, approving the agenda for today's meeting as written. Motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: of Kemp, seconded by Koepp, approving the minutes of the October 19, 1999, meeting,as written. Motion passed unanimously. Committee Member Fischer arrived at 2:10 p.m. NEW BUSINESS Election of 1999 Officers MOTION: of Wagner, seconded by Kemp, opening the nomination for officers. Motion passed unanimously. Chair Anderson asked for nominations for Chair. Committee Member Wagner, nominated Wilt Anderson. Hearing no others, Chair Anderson asked for nominations for Secretary. Committee Member Keopp nominated Gary Wagner. There were no further nominations. _ • � � � 'I � MOTION: of Raiche, seconded by Keopp, closing the nomination for the election of officers. � Motion passed unanimously. MOTION: of Raiche, seconded by Koepp, appointing Wilt Anderson Chair and Gary Wagner Secretary of the Lebanon Cemetery Advisory Committee for 2000. Motion passed unanimously. Set Regular Meeting Schedule Pamela Gackstetter distributed a tentative meeting schedule for the remainder of 2000. MOTION: of Kemp, seconded by Raiche, setting April 18, July 18, and October 17 as Regular Meeting dates in 2000; with meetings to begin at 2:00 p.m., at the Apple Va11ey City Hall. Motion passed unanimously. Lot Sizes and Layout Pamela Gackstetter presented a draft design for the layout of the cemetery. Ms. Gackstetter stated that staff proposed reducing the lot size from the current 4 x 10 foot in the historical portion of the cemetery to a 3.5 x 10 foot lot in the expansion area. By going to a 3.5 x 10 foot lot,the cemetery would gain one more lot for every six sold. Committee Member Fischer expressed concern that requiring two lots for a monument may force additional lot sales, where lots may not be used. Committee Member Kemp stated that there may be maintenance issues associated with monuments for sales of less than two lots; and that the cemetery he oversees used to require three lots for a monument. Committee Member Raiche questioned whether most monuments could fit on a lot 3.5-foot wide lot. Andy Pederson stated that the City currently requires a 4-inch wash on either side of a monument. Subtracting the wash from a 3.5 foot lot would only leave 2 feet 9 inches for a monument, and that does not a11ow for any green space from one monument to the next. Committee Member Fischer reiterated that he would like to see as many lots as possible used because land is so valuable. Committee Member Koepp stated the City cannot really control whether a lot is used after it is sold, even if they are sold in single-lot increments. Mr. Pederson stated staff is proposing 3.5 x 3.5 foot cremation lots. Committee Member Raiche asked if there was a monument size stipulation for cremation lots. Ms. Gackstetter said only markers would be allowed on these lots. Committee Member Raiche asked if there is still an intention to construct a separate service location. Mr. Pederson said the City is planning to build feature areas which will provide families an alternative location to a graveside service. The Committee continued to discuss the cemetery layout. Chair Anderson said it is clear that there are many issues to consider regarding requiring two lots per monument, including conserving land space, ensuring adequate pathways, asthetics, maintenance, and flexibility. Committee Member Wagner reminded the Committee that it may not be able to please everyone. 2 ` . • Mr. Pederson recommended staff revisit the issue to ensure the Committee's concerns as addressed by Chair Anderson have been adequately addressed in this plan. Number of Burials Per Lot Mr. Pederson reviewed the modifications staff is recommending to the policy regarding maximum burials per lot. Two of the modifications involved changing the wording from "infant vaults" to "infant cherubs". The third change added the combination burial of "one adult vault and one infant cherub". MOTION: of Wagner, seconded by Koepp, directing staff to modify Resolution 1998-224, Section II, subpart E,to replace"infant vaults"with"infant cherubs"and include a mixed burial of "one adult vault and one infant cherub". Motion passed unanimously. Construction/Expansion Update Andy Pederson reviewed his memo regarding the Lebanon Cemetery expansion and construction update. He stated the first items scheduled to be completed in spring are the installation of the bituminous roadway and the seeding of the graded area. He further stated the plans ca11 for two fire hydrants, one near the future mausoleum and one near the future maintenance building. Mr. Pederson said staff has begun working on the landscaping plan. He informed the Committee that the timing for installing the fencing and landscaping will need to be coordinated to follow the completion of the Pilot Knob Road project. Dakota County will be reconstructing Pilot Knob Road,which is scheduled for completion July 31,2000. Chair Anderson said he would really like the fencing and landscaping on the west side of the cemetery completed this year since it is such a visible area to the public. He suggested staff coordinate with the County as much as possible so this portion of the project can be completed. Database Update Andy Pederson updated the Committee regarding the database staff developed. The data.base will be used to create a Geographic Information System map which will link information regarding headstones, burials, and vital statistics. Chair Anderson recognized staff for the amount of time and effort that must have been spent to construct the database and organize the information into its current form. Accept Cemetery Report for 1999 Chair Anderson informed the Committee that it is responsible to submit to the City Council a report of its work during the preceding year. This is directed by Ordinance 653, Chapter 22, Section 5. Chair Anderson acknowledged the accomplishments and asked for approval. 3 � � • MOTION: of Raiche, seconded by Wagner, accepting the 1999 Cemetery Advisory Committee Report to the Apple Valley City Council as written and directing staff to submit it to the City Council. Motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Update on Dakota County Public Assistance Burial Policy Andy Pederson gave an update on Dakota County's public assistance burial policy. Mr. Pederson stated Dakota County currently provides the second highest burial assistance. He further said there are two sets of issues regarding the policy. One is concerning funeral homes and the other is concerning cemeteries. Due to the issues raised at the last County meeting, the County Administrator was directed to come back within six months with a recommendation to the County Board. Staff will continue to monitor the situation. Update on Rate and Fee Structure Mr. Pederson said staff incorporated the changes into the proposed rate and fee structure as directed at the October meeting. One change involved restructuring the columbarium niche rates so that the heart and eye levels of the columbarium niches were the highest priced levels. The second change requested a cremation vault be incorporated into the cremation opening fee. Upon checking with the City Attorney, it was suggested the cremation vault be charged separately. To accommodate this, staff split the suggested $350 combined fee into two parts: $275 for the cremation lawn opening and$75 for a cremation vault. It is not mandatory the cremation vault be purchased from the City. Mr. Pederson said staff presented the proposed rate and fee structure to the City Council for the first reading at its regular meeting on January 13, 2000. The City Council brought up three questions. First, is the price differential between residents and non-residents adequate to compensate the City's taxpayers who are already subsidizing the cemetery through the bond referendum. Second, what constitutes a resident. Is it someone who is living in Apple Valley at the time of lot purchase or at the time of death. And third, should there be an automatic inflationary measure for rate adjustments. The City Council passed the first reading. On behalf of staff, Mr. Pederson thanked Chair Anderson for his presence and vote of support at the informal meeting on January 13,2000. The Committee discussed the issues raised by the City Council. Committee Member Fischer said he does not want the City to sell off all of its lots to non-residents. Mr. Pederson reminded the Committee that the rates could be adjusted in the future. Depending on lot sales, it may be appropriate to increase the rate distinction for residents versus non-residents from $100 to $250 at some point in the future. Committee Member Kemp suggested retaining the current differential at this time. 4 � � � � The Committee further discussed creating an automatic price adjustment for lots. Ms. Gackstetter said that upon checking with the City Attorney, another method to increase rates should be sought, due to the fact that one City Council cannot bind a future Council. Members of the Committee suggested perhaps the City Council's concerns would be satisfied if the annual report stated the rates were reviewed. Mr. Pederson stated that Lebanon Cemetery is not a large cemetery and that perhaps the proposed rates should be tested in the market this upcoming year. MOTION: of Anderson, seconded by Wagner, recommending the Cemetery Advisory Committee review the rate and fee structure annually and make a recommendation to the City CounciL MOTION: of Kemp, seconded by Wagner, amending the motion to review the rate and fee structure in October of each yeaz. Motion passed unanimously. Main motion passed unanimously. Chair Anderson acknowledged visitor Margaret Gillard. Ms. Gillard questioned whether the City Council or the Advisory Committee hired the maintenance of the cemetery. Nea1 Heuer said that responsibility falls within the Public Works Department. The City currently contracts the mowing, but provides the plowing, tree trimming, and many other services. Ms. Gillard asked what the expectation for snow removal would be. Mr. Heuer said he would expect the cemetery roadway to be cleazed off similar to a sidewalk, or within 24 hours following a snowfall. Ms. Gillard asked about the removal of personal items. Mr. Heuer said it is staffls goal to cleanup the cemetery prior to and following main holidays. However, a set schedule has not yet been established. ADJOURN MOTION: of Wagner, seconded by Koepp, to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned. 5