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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/10/2000 - Regular Minutes - Cemetery Advisory Committee MINUTES for the Cemetery Committee Regular Meeting Thursday, August 10, 2000 - 10:00 a.m. C.S. Parks & Recreation Conference Room Members Present: Katherine Edwards, Chairperson; Joe Wallace, Ed Burns, Mary Lind Bryan, Mary Bingamon, Greg Anderson Members Absent: Sarah Adams, David Chester, Helen Perry Staff Present: Ross Albrecht, Staff Liaison; Emily Baker, Secretary; Delmer Charanza, Cemetery Sexton Guests: David Mayo, Surveyor with Joe Orr, Inc. Steve Beachy, Director of Parks & Recreation I. Approval of June Minutes Joe Wallace made a motion for the June minutes to be approved as written; Ed Burns seconded the motion; all in favor. The June minutes were approved as written. II. Consideration & Approval/Disapproval of Absentee Requests Joe Wallace approved Helen Perry, Sarah Adams, and David Chester’s absences. Ed Burns seconded the motion. Helen has been sick. David Chester told the committee that he would be overseas all summer and Sarah Adams called in to say she was having car trouble. III. Discussion on any New Cemetery Property Steve Beachy thanked the members for their time and service that they put into this committee. There was $275,000 approved in 1998 to acquire land for a new cemetery and the size they were looking for was between 25 to 30 acres and could be expanded later on. There is a 30-acre site on Rock Prairie Road on the East Side of the Hwy 6 Bypass. This site is mostly pastureland. There is a pipeline that parallels Rock Prairie. Katherine asked the members to drive by the land site before the next meeting. This site meets our criteria that we came up with in May 1999. One area of concern is that there is a route of a proposed thoroughfare that might take away some of the land. Joe Wallace asked if we could find out if the adjacent properties were for sale and Steve stated that he could find out who the owners are and if they would be willing to sell. Ed Burns asked Steve if it would help in his report to the Council tonight if we looked favorably on this piece of property. Steve stated that it would help and Ed made a motion that the committee looked favorably on this piece of property; Mary Lind Bryan seconded the motion. Joe Wallace stated that this is the first piece of property that we have looked at and he feels that we don’t have enough information to look favorably on this piece of property. Katherine stated that we are not committing Cemetery Committee Regular Meeting August 10, 2000 Page (2) ourselves, but just going one step further in getting a piece of land for our new cemetery. Steve stated that the council meeting is not a final step in the process. We have a site that interests the Parks Board and they would like to proceed further with it. Katherine asked if we needed to amend this motion since Mr. Wallace was not agreeable to it. Ross said the easiest thing to do would be to vote what is on the table now and to entertain ideas to amend it after we voted on it. The motion says, “this committee looks favorably on this piece of property”; all in favor, none opposed; Mr. Wallace abstained. No amendment was made to this motion. We will put this on the agenda for next meeting. IV. Discussion on the Madeley’s Donation and Urn Garden Katherine Edwards contacted Rocky Choate, with Choate Monuments, and he sent Delmer Charanza (cemetery sexton) some information on columbariums. This is a marble-type structure that holds cremates in little individual drawers that can be engraved and locked and they run anywhere from $5,000-$12,000 for the structure. If we consider this type of structure, then we will need to take more money out of the donation for it. Katherine passed the information around for the committee to look at. If a person decides to cremate, they can buy a regular space and place their cremations in that space or there have been cases where there are two cremations in one space. David Mayo, surveyor with Joe Orr, Inc., was investigating underground burials for cremation remains. There are no standard size spaces for markers. Sizes vary from 5’x5’ to as little as 18” square. His recommendation is that the space size be 2.5’ x 2.5’. With that in mind, if Block L (back entrance) is replatted, there will be 64 spaces per lot. That would make a total of approximately 1900 individual spaces. They will mark the corners with 2” aluminum caps set on 5/8” rebar stakes. There should not be a maintenance problem because the markers will be flush with the ground. An estimate of the surveying costs will be approximately $4,500. Katherine Edwards asked if we should replat that many spaces. We will need to widen the back entrance when the front entrance is closed due to construction. Joe Wallace asked if we would continue to fill up the cremation area when we have the new cemetery operational. David Mayo will make a print of the cemetery, Section L with the road on it for Ross to bring to the next meeting so we can consider the options. Katherine asked the members to go to the cemetery before the next meeting and look at Section L. With the budget that we set aside, we could do this and also have a fountain in the area. We can replat a part of the section, also. Mary Lind Bryan asked if Section L could be used for regular spaces, too. If we decide that we want a columbarium, then we will need to go back and vote on that and take more out of the donation. Right now, we decided on $5000-$6000 to spend on everything. We will table this discussion until the next meeting. V. Discussion on Recent Vandalism Delmer stated that there have been some potted plants and figurines missing since Easter. The vandalism is sporadic and the cemetery cannot be locked up. This is just something that the cemetery committee needs to be aware of. Cemetery Committee Regular Meeting August 10, 2000 Page (3) VI.Discussion on MDG Development Joe Wallace gave us an update on what is happening with MDG. The A&M Board of Regents’ approval will be needed before MDG can go ahead with the land owned by the university. They came and did a presentation to us because they wanted our approval and they wanted our influence with city council. Whether or not an Aggie private cemetery gets off the ground directly impacts what kind of decisions we make about an Aggie section in our new cemetery. Mary Lind Bryan asked if a lot of Aggies come back to College Station to be buried here. Joe Wallace stated that several years ago there was a study done and the conclusion was that there was an interest in having a private Aggie-owned cemetery in College Station. MDG needs to get State Legislative approval in order to have a private cemetery located inside the city limit. Katherine said that one of the things that we are considering in the new cemetery, if space is available, is an Aggie only section. So whether MDG gets its’ Aggie private cemetery does impact the decisions that we make on our new cemetery. VII. Adjourn Ross Albrecht handed out a new member packet to our new members. There was some discussion on the money for the new cemetery. The $275,000 is to purchase our property and then we will have to have another bond election to get the money to develop the cemetery. Katherine said that our committee serves to advise the city council on cemetery matters. The next meeting will be at the Customer Service Center on 310 Krenek Tap Road on Thursday, September 14 at 10:00 am. Joe Wallace made a motion to adjourn; Ed th Burns seconded; meeting adjourned at 11:35 am. O:parks\84\cemetery\minutes\aug00.doc