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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/2005 • � MINUTES OF LEBANON CEMETERY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Apri119,2005 -2:00 pm. Apple Valley Municipal Center COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Wilt Anderson,Ranee Hadley, Bob Harvey, Dave Kemp;John Raiche COMMITTEE MEMSERS ABSENT: Gary Wagner OTHERS PRESENT: Public Works Director Neal Heuer Public Works Superintendent Rod Rippentrop Public Works Assistant Jean Bryant Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. Chair Anderson stated for the record there was not a quorum at the January 18, 2005, Cemetery Advisory Committee meeting. No official action was taken. A verbal role was called for today's - meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: of Kemp, seconded by Hadley, approving the agenda far today's meeting as written. Motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINLJTES MOTION: of Raiche, seconded by Hadley, approving the minutes of the October 19, 2004,meeting, as written. Motion passed unanimously. NEW/CONTINUED BUSINESS Fire Fighter Memorial Update (Fire Relief Association) Stew Shepard and Dave Ganfield of the Firefighters Relief Association presented the proposed Fire Fighter Memorial. The memorial is composed of a statue of a fire fighter with helmet held over heart, two black granite monoliths on both sides, and memorial pavers at the base. The monoliths will be engraved with the names of fire fighters who have served Apple Valley. Coldspring Granite is doing the monoliths; Apple Valley Redi MiY is donating concrete. Twenty-four memorial pavers .have been sold so far. The Firefighters Relief Association anticipates sales will pick up quickly once work on the memorial begins. They hope to have the granite in place by August l, the walkway by September l, and landscaping by September 1 l. Comments and questions followed. The 13-foot memorial was noted as simple and very attractive. A total of 880 pavers are planned. Each monolith will have space for 280 names (to be engraved on two sides) for a total of 1,120 names. When a firefighter earns 1 � • his or her badge, which takes one to two years, the firefighter's name will be engraved. To date, there are 270 names to be engraved. It will take appro�mately 160 years until the memorial is full. Funds will be available for later engravings. The Apple Valley logo and Maltese cross are the only symbols allowed. The Firefighters Relief Association has a system in place to track donations and send thank you notes. The Apple Valley Firefighters Relief Association is a nonprofit organization; it is not the Fire Department. Stew Shepard is a captain in the Apple Valley Fire Department and is the president of the Apple Valley Firefighters Relief Association. Dave Ganfield retired from the Apple Valley Fire Department in 2001 and joined the administration of the Fire Relief Association. Election of 2005 Officers MOTION: of Hadley, seconded by Kemp, opening the nomination for officers. Motion passed unanimously. Chair Anderson asked for nominations for Chair. Coinmittee Member Kemp nominated Wilton Anderson. � Hearing no others, Chair Anderson asked for nominations for Secretary. Committee • Member Anderson nominated Robert Harvey. There were no further nominations. MOTION: of Raiche, seconded by Kemp, closing the nomination for the election of officers, and appointing Wilton Anderson Chair and Robert Harvey Secretary of the Lebanon Cemetery Advisory Committee far 2005. Motion passed unanimously. Council, Commission and Committee Member Terms and Contact Information Chair Anderson asked members to verify their contact information. Mr. Heuer announced there are four applicants so far for the vacant committee seat. Applications are being accepted until April 30, 2005. It is expected the applicants will be presented to the City Council at the May 12, 2005,meeting. Meeting Schedule Chair Anderson presented the 2005 meeting schedule and asked members to please try to be present at all meetings. Meeting dates are January 18, April 19, July 19, and October 18. Activity Report Ms. Bryant reviewed the Lebanon Cemetery Activity Report for fourth quarter and end of yeax. There were 11 lotlniche sales in the fourth quarter: 4 to residents and 7 to non- residents; 1 niche sale was a single and 1 a double; 8 sales were preneed and 3 were at need. There were 4 burials, of which 3 were traditional and 1 was cremation. There was 1 transfer. 2 • � For 2004, there were 59 lotlniche sales: 34 to residents and 25 to non-residents; 42 were preneed and 17 at need. There were 29 burials: 19 traditional and 10 cremations. There were 5 transfers and 1 retuxn. Ms. Bryant then reviewed the Lebanon Cemetery Activity Report for first quarter, 2005. There were 13 lot/niche sales in the first quarter: 5 to residents and 8 to non-residents; 1 double niche sale; 11 sales were preneed and 2 were at need. There were 5 burials, which were traditional. There were no transfers. Ms. Bryant said the figures under "Sold" were inaccurate on the report included with the agenda. A new activity report was handed out. The correct figures are: Traditional Lot— 1,128 of 2,551; Cremation Lot— 17 of 589; Columbarium Niche— 19 of 76. Chair Anderson noted the cemetery had record sales. Ms. Bryant stated that many people purchasing lots comment on how nice the cemetery looks. That and the fact the City will provide continuing maintenance influenced their decision to be buried at Lebanon Cemetery. Maintenance and Grounds Mr. Rippentrop reported on cemetery maintenance. Pilot Knob is closed south of County Road 42 for road construction. This has not caused a problem. Stellar Concrete will be out next week to repair the block pillar damaged last year during a car accident. When that work is finished, Dakota Fence will install the missing fence. The damaged tree will be replaced. Mr. Rippentrop said black dirt was added where needed and hydroseeding is being done at the cemetery. Hydroseeding blends in with the green grass and provides for better growth. The effects of fertilizing last fall are evident. Mulch is being laid down around trees. Mr. Rippentrop stated all trees appear to have survived the winter. Chair Anderson said a couple of trees on the east side died and were not replaced. Mr. Rippentrop will look into it. He said bushes have been trimmed and weeds pulled. Flowers will again be planted by the flag pole and corner monument. The cemetery will be looking good for Memorial Day. Eligibility for Interment Mr. Heuer said staff has been working on how to satisfy the City Council's concern with preserving Lebanon Cemetery for residents. Restricting eligibility to residents or certain relatives of residents was considered by sta.fF and the committee. Staff feels this approach may cause future problems. A lot of work has been done with rates including the right-of- second-burial fee. Currently, non-residents are charged an extra $300 for a traditional lot. �Zather than restricting eligibility, staff would like the committee to consider increasing the rate for non-residents to 150 percent of the resident rate. A $700 lot would be $1,050; a $1,000 lot would be $1,500. A change to the ordinance is minimal versus eligibility restrictions. An ordinance change can be done with a change to the price list and can be easily adjusted at any point. StafF believes eligibility restrictions won't affect the duration of the cemetery because many non-residents purchasing lots already have fasnily 3 � • . connections to Apple Valley residents. The additional cost for non-residents is justified by the fact they pay no taxes which support ongoing maintenance of the cemetery. Discussion included discomfort with excluding non-residents, a resident could buy lots and transfer them to non-residents, transfer fees may be raised to compensate for time doing paperwork, and attractive property draws business. Maintenance costs are at�least $50,000 each year. The rate structure can be easily changed as compared to changing eligibility. The question was raised what if a church wants to buy 50 lots? Staff will check with the attorney, and find out if it is feasible to prohibit sales to organizations,institutions, etc. Chair Anderson posed the question what can we do to satisfy the City Council that staff is comfortable with, to keep it simple, and to put the issue to rest. Corrunittee Member Kemp would like to leave the ordinance as it is. Mr. Heuer asked if we should look at 150 percent of the resident cost. Committee Member Harvey suggested 200 percent. Committee Member Raiche agreed. Committee Member Kemp asked what about employees who are not residents. Mr. Heuer said if they are non-residents, they would have to pay the non- resident fee. According to the State Auditor, employees cannot receive favorable � treatment. Chair Anderson asked how the comxnittee can help. Mr. Heuer recommended a � motion changing the current non-resident fee to 200 percent of the resident fee. MOTION: of Harvey, seconded by Hadley, to change the current non-resident fee to 200 percent of the resident fee. Motion passed unanimously. Rate and Fee Structure Update Mr. Heuer said the grave digger has requested an increase in his fee from $250 to $350 in summer and $350 to $450 in winter. He has not increased his fees for six or seven years. Staff feels this stability justifies the increase. Staff is asking for an increase in the " Interment/Opening Fee from $650 to $750 to cover the grave digger's $100 increase request. Mr. Rippentrop stated the grave digger has done a great job and responds promptly. Chair Anderson said he is careful and doesn't cause damage. MOTION: of Anderson, seconded by Hadley, to raise the Interment/Opening Fee $100 to $750. Motion passed unanimously. 2004 Accomplishments/Cemetery Report Mr. Heuer explained the Lebanon Cemetery 2004 Accomplishments is part of a booklet compiled for the City Council which contains accomplishments of all departments. Lebanon Cemetery is part of the Public Works Department. The Cemetery Report is an annual responsibility of the Cemetery Advisory Committee, due March l. Council was informed the Cemetery Committee did not have a quorum in January so the report would be submitted after the Committee approved it. The 2004 Report includes promotion of the cemetery, new brochures, and alignment of gravestones. Feature Area guidelines to regulate feature areas were finalized, allowing the Fire Relief Association to move forward with their Firefighters Tribute and Memorial. (Another city is interested in the guidelines for their cemetery.} The Report includes a paragraph on the committee's discussions on 4 � � eligibility. Development of the GIS program is ongoing. If approved, the 2004 Cemetery Report will be sent to Council. MOTION: of Hadley, seconded by Harvey, to approve the 2004 Cemetery Report. Committee Member Kemp stated that, in the fifth paragraph, "Fire DepartmenY' should read"Fire Relief Association" as they are the ones developing the feature area. The Report can be accepted with the correction, Motion passed unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS Donafion by Southern Dakota County Labor Council—Evergreen and Ceremony Chair Anderson explained that each year the Southern Dakota County Labor Council has a ceremony observing Workers Memorial Day when the AFLCIO honors those who lost their lives or were injured on the job. The Labor Council has again donated an evergreen tree which will be dedicated Apri127. All are invited to the ceremony. Pilot Knob Road Closure Mr. Heuer reported Pilot Knob Road was closed in February for reconstruction. There should be no impact on the cemetery except to limit access. Construction can cease or move during a funeral. The exit to Pilot Knob Road will open when the left hand turn lane is don�. The project should be completed in November. Newspaper and Newsletter Articles Chair Anderson remarked there are copies of articles in the agenda packet from ThisWeek (11-27-04), Sun Current(11-25-04), and Ci . News(Spring 2005). ADJOURN MOTION: of Hadley, seconded by Harvey, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 3:44 p.m. 5