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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/20/2004 • • MINUTES OF LEBANON CEMETERY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING July 20,2004-2:00 p.m. Apple Valley Municipal Center COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Wilt Anderson,Ranee Hadley,Bob Harvey, Gary Humphrey,Dave Kemp, and Gary Wagner COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: John Raiche OTHERS PRESENT: Public Works Director Neal Heuer, Public Works Superintendent Rod Rippentrop, and Public Works Administrative Manager Pamela Gackstetter Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: of Kemp, seconded by Harvey, approving the agenda for today's meeting as written. Motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: of Hadley, seconded by Kemp, approving the minutes of the April 20, 2004, meeting, as written. Motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Activity Report Ms. Gackstetter reviewed the Lebanon Cemetery Activity Report for second quarter. Second quarter lot/niche sales for 2004 topped sales for all other quarters since the City took over the cemetery. Of the 22 sales, there were 12 to residents and 10 to non-residents, and 16 were preneed and 6 were at need. There was a total of 9 burials, of which 4 were traditional and 5 were cremation. Grounds Mr. Rippentrop said they have planted the new and replacement trees. Chair Anderson said he thought one tree was still missing. Mr. Rippentrop said all the trees scheduled to be replaced have been installed. There are a couple places where trees will not be replaced due to the ground conditions. Mr. Rippentrop further said if the trees recently replaced do not make it this time, the landscape plan may need to be revised. • • Flowers were planted in front of the flag similar to last year, and three planters with flowers were placed in the rocked area in front of the corner sign. Next year additional planters will be placed in front of the corner sign. Mr. Rippentrop stated that everything was cleaned up and looking good for Memorial Day. Chair Anderson complimented Mr. Rippentrop and his crew on how nice the cemetery looks. Ms. Gackstetter said she also received several calls from families around Memorial Day complimenting the City on the nice job they are doing maintaining the cemetery. Committee Member Humphrey arrived at 2:12 p.m. Decorating Brochure � Ms. Gackstetter said included in the packet was a draft Plantings and Decorating brochure she developed to provide customers a handy reference as to the City's policy as well as answer frequently asked questions. Committee Member Kemp complimented Ms. Gackstetter on doing a nice job and said the brochure should help answer and prevent questions as to what is permitted in the cemetery. Committee Member Wagner questioned whether the number of bouquets permitted at the grave site should be reduced. Committee Member Humphrey asked how many were allowed. Ms. Gackstetter said seven sprays or bouquets are currently allowed. Committee Member Kemp said the members of the Twin Cities Cemetery Association have reduced the number of sprays allowed to two. Committee Member Hadley stated she has been to cemeteries where the flowers were required to be wired to the headstones. The Cemetery Advisory Committee continued to discuss what would be an appropriate number. Committee Member Humphrey suggested four as an appropriate riumber. Ms. Gackstetter stated that she does not believe the City has had a problem with an excessive amount of flowers being left at the gravesite, but said she could submit a revision to the Cemetery Policies, Rules, and Regulations at the end of the year which would restrict the number of permitted sprays and/or bouquets. The Committee agreed staff should review the matter and submit a change as it sees fit. OTHER BUSINESS Southern Dakota County Labor Council Memorial Ceremony Update Chair Anderson said he attended the Workers Memorial Day ceremony on April 28 at the cemetery. This was the third consecutive year in which the Southern Dakota County Labor Council donated a Black Hills spruce tree in honor of union workers who have lost their lives on the job. They have indicated their desire to plant one tree each year for ten years. Chair Anderson said there were approximately a dozen people in attendance including the Mayor, Council Members, labor leaders, and a chaplain. It was a nice ceremony and the cemetery looked good. Newspaper and City News Articles Ms. Gackstetter said copies of a newspaper article and City News article were included in the packet. The newspaper article addresses a recent push in promoting family mausoleums. The Citv News article is a rerun focusing on cremation. 2 � �.. � i Committee Member Kemp asked if the City has identified an area or areas where family or private mausoleums could be placed. Ms. Gackstetter said an area has not been identified but suggested adding it to the next agenda for discussion. Minnesota Association of Cemeteries' Publicity Campaign Committee Member Kemp reviewed the article in the MAC Quarterly titled "Ensuring the Future of Your Cemetery". As the article states, the Twin Cities Association of Cemetery Officials wanted to address the issue of cremation without memorialization and educate the public on available options and emphasize the value of the cemetery, its tradition, and importance to society. As a result, TV and radio ads were created and were run on WCCO. The program may be continued if additional funds are secured. The Committee watched the 30-second TV ad. Comments were favorable. Mr. Heuer asked if the ads were copywrited or if someone owned the rights to run the ads. If not, he suggested running the ad on the public cable channel. Committee Member Kemp thought running the ad on cable was a good idea and said he would investigate who owned the rights. ADJOURN MOTION: of Wagner, seconded by Hadley, to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 2:38 p.m. Approved: 3