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Home My WebLink About08-12-2025 Minutes Cemetery Board CITY OF Regular Meeting ALJIITJJ .P4 August 12, 2025 - 2:00 PM Cemetery Office, Arrangement Room WASHINGTON MINUTES CALL TO ORDER • The Cemetery Board meeting of Tuesday, August 12th, 2025 was called to order by Judi Roland at 2:00pm. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • There was no public participation. ROLL CALL • Members present: Judi Roland, Jeanne Hicks and Bridget Jones • Members excused: Tim Pierce and Robert Rakos • Staff present: Immer Chevalier and April Shank Cerio AGENDA MODIFICATIONS • There were no modifications to the agenda. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION • There was no audience participation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Review of Minutes - Minutes from Meeting on June 10, 2025 • Minutes from meeting on June 10th, 2025 were reviewed, no corrections or additions were made and was unanimously passed to approve as printed. ANNOUNCEMENTS, REPORTS, AND PRESENTATIONS • A. Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Public Records Act (PRA) Training City Clerk Shawn Campbell • Deputy City Clerk, Hannah Scholl provided OPMA (Open Public Meeting Act) and PRA (Public Records Act) training to the board. These trainings are required every four years to ensure government transparency and accountability during all public board-type meetings. B. Budget update - June and July 2025 • June's revenue was closer to average and placements were a record number for the year to date. Plot sales were average. July's revenue was higher with property sales higher as well. Placements were average. Cemetery Sales June July Month-To-Date Receipts $154,651.78 $195,372.16 Ground Plots 9 19 Cremation Plots 6 6 Niches 5 5 forest Walk Ossuary Extended Land Use 1 1 Markers 7 9 Graves 15 25 Markers 7 9 Niches 5 5 Total Placements 34 22 Cremation 22 12 Ground Burial 12 10 • Question from the board - Is the board able to see an expenditure sheet for the month? Yes, the cemetery can provide this. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Burglary Incident Update • The burglary case from May was closed. A few of the stolen tools were recovered. The cemetery purchased a portable generator and drill to replace the stolen ones. The new shop door was replaced July 14th. B. Pioneer Fence / Parking Update • A meeting was held with the Parks Department regarding moving the large bricks to help with potential damage to the ornate iron fence. This takes a lot of equipment and hours, so the discussion continues about who is the correct department to handle this. The city is reviewing an old contract which was between the Auburn Sports & Marine Company and the City for who is responsible for the parking lot maintenance. There is also a chain-link fence on the south side of the cemetery that borders the apartments that keeps getting cut time after time. A discussion has started to replace the chain link with an iron fence, something that is harder to cut. The city may be able to apply for a grant to help with this. • Question from the board - Who is responsible for the care of Pioneer Cemetery? The city is responsible for the maintenance, such as grounds mowing and cleaning. Families are responsible for their respective family marker/monument as these are considered private property. • Question from the board - Who is responsible for the parking lot? This is being reviewed in the above mentioned contract. The City's legal department is very short-staffed so it may take a while to find a resolution. C. Lakehaven Leak Adjustment Request • After fixing the last irrigation leak, the cemetery applied for an adjustment on the Lakehaven water bill. This request was denied due to getting an adjustment last year after the first leak. Their policy is only one adjustment in a 24-month time period. Since the water was off for a while, the last bill wasn't too bad, luckily. • Question from the board - Is there a mandate that says the cemetery must water the grass? No mandate is known for watering. NEW BUSINESS A. 10th Addition Project - Contract Awarded • The 10th Addition project plans were sent out to 30 companies for the bidding process. Only two bids came in. CornerStone Construction & Landscaping Company was awarded the project as they were the lowest of the two. The city paperwork is almost completed, and the plan is to start in September. This area is about 30,000 square feet and will have full-size 4'X8' plots to include upright monument options. • Question from the board - Will this area have grass and is it shaded? The area will be grass with irrigation. It is primarily an open area with some trees at the back. No trees will be planted within the plotted areas, as when trees grow, the roots impede in the graves, which makes the digging very difficult and roots can also cause markers to tilt and become hazards. B. New Upright Monument Sections • The cemetery was in need of more upright monument plot options. The last two available in Memory Heights were recently sold and there are only four separate options in Plaza Estates. Families usually like two together for spouses. The cemetery was able to create 14 plots on the south end of 9B of which two sold immediately, and one burial was already completed. A second new area is also being constructed near Child's Place and the pond area. The water table is a little higher in this area and during a test dig it was agreed that no extended land use for this area can be done. • Question from the board - Why are there not more upright options throughout the cemetery? For mowing and maintenance reasons. The flat marker areas, the mowers can go over. • Question from the board - How would you know how far down a casket is buried to see if an urn can be placed? The staff will probe to measure the depth to determine if an urn of what size can fit. C. Equipment Need - JD Gator • The cemetery has three gators and these are used daily for transport of tools and flower pick-ups. Three months ago, one of them broke down. One employee is able to work on this gator and did a fix and then another problem occurred. This gator is over 20 years old, and the cemetery is looking into getting it replaced. This process is a request to the city and the replacement would go through M & 0, and then they would be responsible for any repairs. • Question from the board - Could the old gator be sold? Yes, and this would be done through M & O. • Question from the board - Is M & 0 the City's Maintenance and Operations Department? Yes. D. Seasonal & Temporary Employees • The cemetery currently has two seasonal employees. One will be leaving to pursue nursing school and his last day is August 15th. The other will be able to stay longer as he was hired as a temporary employee, and he enjoys being at the cemetery. E. Graffiti at Centennial Viewpoint Park • The Parks Department hired a Graffiti Company to help with all the graffiti that keeps happening within the City. When graffiti happens, it must be dealt with/covered up within 3 days. The cemetery helps maintain Centennial Viewpoint Park across the street, which is hit with graffiti often, so it was added to the same contract. Employees will report any new graffiti seen. F. Outside Marker Sales • Families can order markers from the cemetery directly or from an outside local vendor if they choose. The issue has been when families order markers online, this creates delivery and scheduling problems as they typically come in very large trucks that cannot maneuver the roads. If appropriate, the cemetery would like to notate on the marker policy that online order deliveries cannot be accepted. This may mean that if a family orders online, they must accept delivery at their home, then coordinate delivery to the cemetery. • Question from the board - Are there many that order online? A few a year. • Comment from the board - The board doesn't see anything wrong with adding verbiage of some sort and perhaps the City's attorney can help with final wording. G. 2026 Fee Schedule • The cemetery will only be increasing plot prices in the 9th addition by $50.00 for 2026. Most other fees were increased for 2025. SCHEDULE FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS A. Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 at 2:00 PM ADJOURNMENT • The meeting was adjourned by Judi Roland at 3:11pm. Prepared By !� j � pril Shank Ceno, etery Administrative pecialist Approved By Ju•;01'oland, Cemetery Board Chairperson