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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/09/2001 - Regular Minutes - Cemetery Advisory Committee City of College Station Cemetery Committee Thursday, August 9, 2001 Parks Conference Room 10:00 a.m. Staff Present: Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Delmer Charanza, Cemetery Sexton; Ann Marie Hazlett, Committee Secretary; Connie Hooks, City Secretary; Mark McAuliffe, Land Agent. Members Present: Katherine Edwards, Chairman; David Chester; Mary Lind Bryan; Joe Wallace; Mary Bingaman, Alternate. Members Absent: Ed Burns; Sarah Adams; Neal Nutall. 1.Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. 2.Hear Visitors: There were no visitors present at the meeting. 3.Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of absentee requests: Joe Wallace made a motion to approve the absence of Sarah Adams. David Chester seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 4.Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of July minutes: Joe made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 12, 2001 meeting. David seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 5.Swearing in of Committee Members by Connie Hooks, City Secretary: Connie Hooks swore in the following board members: Katherine Edwards, Joe Wallace, Mary Lind Bryan, David Chester and Mary Bingaman. 6.Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding identifying potential sites for a new municipal cemetery: Ross answered some questions that had been previously asked by the Committee regarding the list of potential Cemetery properties that Mr. McAuliffe supplied the Committee. The first question was regarding properties that were close to Wellborn. It was asked if a cemetery could be established close to or in Wellborn. The answer is yes. Wellborn is not incorporated; therefore that is not a problem. Another question that was raised was regarding the property on Jones road. There was some concern that the property might lie in the City of Bryan's ETJ. However, it was found that it actually is in the City of College Station. Page 1 of 3 Cemetery Committee Meeting Thursday, August 9, 2001 Mr. McAullife reported that property #1 is probably the most aesthetically pleasing. It is difficult to get to now, however, the City is extending Greens Prairie Road, which will make this property very accessible. It is a flat, wide- open property and looks like a good possibility. Katherine asked if it was for sale. Mark responded that he thinks it would probably be for sale, however it would not be easy. Property #2 (the Ritchie property) offered good possibilities as well. That property is near the two landfills in which the City will soon take over the maintenance of. The City also just purchased a 62-acre tract that is contiguous with the Ritchie property. It will become a community park. Because of these facts, the City will have a strong maintenance presence in that area, which in turn would be good for the cemetery. Properties #4 & #5 are nice pieces of property, however Ross stated that he had a concern that there are several housing developments around them. Property #12, although it is aesthetically pleasing, has many strikes against it. It has highway access and there is a lot of heavy traffic. It could also be dangerous trying to turn into and from the cemetery. In addition, there is no maintenance presence around which could pose a problem. Ross asked the Committee to make a narrow list of properties in which they felt would be best for the Cemetery. After the list is submitted, it will then be the responsibility of City staff to see what can and cannot happen with the properties. The Committee ranked the properties as follows: 1. Property #1 - NEC of Greens Prairie Road Extension (proposed) and Tonkaway Lake Rd. 2. Property #2 - South side of Rock Prairie Road, East of SH 6 Bypass, near intersection of Bird Pond Road. 3. Property #4 - North and south side of Greens Prairie Trail, east of Wellborn Road. 4. Property #5 - East side of Wellborn Rd., North of Greens Prairie Trail. 7.Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding information items handed out and discussed at the Citizen Advisory Board Orientation held July 30, 2001: Ross handed out a copy of the power point presentations that were discussed at the Citizen Advisory Board Orientation meeting on July 30, 2001. He informed the Committee that the meeting was held in order to let members know what their role is as a Committee Member. He also reported Page 2 of 3 Cemetery Committee Meeting Thursday, August 9, 2001 that there was a break out session for each Committee. At that session, Ross handed out the new member packet to Mr. Neal Nutall, which consisted of rules and regulations, historical facts, and resolutions for the Cemetery. This was an informational topic and no motion was made. 8.Presentation and discussion of two cemetery related agenda items set for the City Council Meeting of August 9, 2001. These two items are: 1) the space sale price recommendations, and 2) the recommendations for additions and revisions to Chapter 1, Section 29 of the Code of Ordinances containing the rules and regulations for the cemetery. The Cemetery Committee has already made recommendation on both of these Council agenda items: Ross handed out copies of the Cemetery related agenda item cover sheets for the City Council Meeting on August 9, 2001. Ross explained that the agenda item regarding revisions and additions to Chapter 1, Section 29 of the Code of Ordinances (deals with the Shiloh and Salem sections of the Cemetery, and providing for the sale and use of cremate spaces), were a consent agenda item. Those items would be voted on in a block, first thing at the 7:00 PM meeting. The second Cemetery related agenda item, regarding the resolution establishing the sales price of spaces, would be on the regular agenda at 7:00 PM. Ross explained that he would be making a presentation to Council in which he would cover the difference in pricing suggestions between the Committee and Staff. The Committee and Staff are in agreement with the infant spaces at $100 and the cremate spaces at $250. However, the Cemetery Committee would like for the adult spaces to be placed at $500, and Staff is recommending setting the price at $600. His presentation would also include the fiscal and budgetary policy in which the Cemetery is placed in an 80% - 100% cost recovery range. This was an informational item and no motion was made. 9.Discussion of next meeting date and agenda: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2001, in the Central Park Conference Room at 10:00 a.m. 10.Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Page 3 of 3 Cemetery Committee Meeting Thursday, August 9, 2001