HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/12/2001 - Regular Minutes - Cemetery Advisory Committee
City of College Station
Cemetery Committee
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Parks Conference Room
10:00 a.m.
Staff Present:
Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Delmer Charanza, Cemetery
Sexton; Ann Marie Hazlett, Committee Secretary.
Members Present:
Katherine Edwards, Chairman; Ed Burns; Mary Lind Bryan;
Sarah Adams; Joe Wallace; Mary Bingaman, Alternate.
Members Absent:
David Chester.
1.Call to order:
The meeting was called to order at 10:08 a.m.
2.Hear Visitors:
There were no visitors present at the meeting.
3. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of absentee requests:
Sarah Adams made a motion to approve the absence of David Chester. Joe
Wallace seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed
unanimously.
4. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of June minutes:
Ed
Burns asked that the following statement be added to the minutes from the
June 14, 2001 meeting, under item #7: "The Cemetery is more than a temporal
facility such as jogging and bicycle paths, athletic facilities or other
entertainment areas." Sarah made a motion to approve the minutes with that
statement being added. Joe Wallace seconded the motion. All were in favor,
and the motion passed unanimously.
5.Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the sale of spaces
in Section "M":
Section "M" is the section in which Mr. W.D. Fitch paid to
have approximately thirty spaces surveyed and platted. His family owns
approximately seventeen spaces in that section. Joe Wallace asked if
Ms. Normand's (the daughter of Mr. W.D. Fitch), understanding is that Section
M is for their family only, with no additional cost to them. Katherine said yes,
because they paid for that section to be surveyed and platted. Joe continued
with a quote from the minutes of June 14, 2001 stating; "The agreement was
that this area, now Section M, would be opened up for Mr. Fitch and his
family only." A motion was made that, based on the 1989 agreement between
the City and the Fitch family, the Committee determined that the remaining
spaces in Section M would be available for use by the Fitch family only. Joe
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Thursday, July 12, 2001
seconded the motion. Ed Burns abstained from this vote. Of the members
voting, the motion passed unanimously.
6.Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the resolution of
sales prices for adult, baby, and cremate spaces:
At the meeting on
April 26, 2001, Charles Cryan had suggested that the Committee look at
raising the cost of adult spaces from $400 to $600, and increasing the cost of
baby spaces from $100 to $200. This increase would help the Cemetery move
towards the City's goal of 80% to 100% cost recovery. When the Committee
met on May 17, 2001, they passed a motion to propose to Council to set the
prices of adult spaces from $400 to $500, baby spaces from $100 to $250, and
cremate spaces from $100 to $200. Ross asked the Committee to keep in mind
that at present, most of the money generated from the sale of spaces came
from the sale of adult spaces. He went on to say that increasing those prices
would have a bigger impact on the Endowment Fund than anything else.
Sarah added that she would like to keep the cost of infant spaces as low as
possible. She feels that most of the time young families with unexpected
losses are affected by the cost of infant spaces. It was noted that there are only
about one or two infant spaces sold per year, and the sale of those spaces was
not going to affect the Endowment Fund by much.
Katherine made a motion to rescind the price recommendations from the
May 17, 2001 meeting, and to recommend to Council that prices for adult
spaces be $500, infant spaces be $100, and cremate spaces be $250. Joe
seconded that motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
7.Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding property for the
new Cemetery site:
Katherine stated that she had driven around and looked
at the properties that Mark McAuliffe had suggested for the new Cemetery.
(The following parcels indicated reference the June 14, 2001 handout from
Mr. McAuliffe). She reported that :
a. Parcel #1 is a big open pasture and a nice piece of property.
b. Parcel #2, on the south side of Rock Prairie Road, has an oil well and
storage tanks on it and is not very appealing. The other parcel two, on the
south side of Greens Prairie Road, is very heavily wooded and looks like
there could possibly be a creek running through it. Katherine felt that this
piece of property could pose a challenge.
c. Parcel #3 is a very nice piece of property, but it has an existing horse farm
on it and is probably not for sale.
d. Parcel #4 is mostly good, open pasture.
e. Parcel #5 also looks good, but it may be too expensive. There is a major
housing development going up there.
f. Parcels #6 and #7 might be good possibilities, but she was not sure that she
had been looking at the correct parcels of land.
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Thursday, July 12, 2001
g. Parcel #8 looks like it might be in Wellborn City limits. It is also across
the tracks, and is hard to get to.
h. Parcels #10 and #11 are across the tracks and are not easily accessible.
i. Parcel #12 twelve is very nice and open, and is easily accessible.
Katherine concluded that Parcels #1 and #12 appeared to be the two best
properties listed.
8.Report, discussion, and possible action regarding the presentation made
by Katherine Edwards to City Council concerning committee goals and
concerns:
Katherine handed out the final version of her annual report to City
Council regarding the Cemetery Committee. She reported that she had read
item #3, under Special Mention, to the Council. One of the questions that had
been raised by the Cemetery Committee had been "What effect would the Cost
Recovery Policy have on the Cemetery Endowment Fund?" The response
from Council had been that all of the proceeds from the sale of spaces would
continue to go into the Endowment Fund, causing it to grow more rapidly and
therefore ensuring that the future of the Cemetery would be taken care of.
9.Discussion of next meeting date and agenda:
The next meeting will be held
on Thursday, August 9, 2001, in the Central Park Conference Room at 10:00 a.m.
Katherine asked Ross to invite Mark McAuliffe to the next meeting. The
Committee would like to know which of the twelve parcels of land are for sale.
10.Adjourn:
The meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m.
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Cemetery Committee Meeting
Thursday, July 12, 2001