HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-08-2023 MinutesMOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
A. CALL TO ORDER
Cemetery Board meeting of Tuesday, August 8, 2023 was called to order by Judi
Roland at 2:17pm.
Members present: Judi Roland, Arnie Galli, Robert Rakos & Tim Pierce
Members absent: Jeanne Hicks
Staff present: Immer Chevalier & April Shank Cerio
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes from meeting on April 11, 2023 were reviewed, no corrections or
additions were made and a motion was made, seconded and unanimously
passed to approve as printed.
Minutes from meeting on June 6, 2023 were reviewed, no corrections or additions
were made and a motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to
approved as printed.
C. ForestWalk Flower Policy Discussion
The cemetery office has been approached in the last six months asking to install
permanent flower vases. ForestWalk is a unique option for the natural beauty it
provides. According to the policy “grave decorations will be fresh cut flowers
(no vases)”. This inquiry was brought up to the cemetery board members and
the consensus from the board was to leave the policy as is.
D. OPMA/PRA Training
Stands for Open Public Meeting Act & Public Records Act. This was a 13 minute
video put on by the City Clerk going over rules and regulations that pertain to
record keeping, governing bodies and meetings.
E. Old Business
Memorial Day Weekend – After the lightning strike issues earlier in the Spring
which kept the maintenance workers VERY busy, the days leading up to
Memorial Day Weekend were rather stressful to get everything all ready. We
ended up having to hire a new company for trimming of the markers as the old
company increased their pricing dramatically. The new company did a great
job and it was a good price. There were 2 black markers that ended up with
some scratches but were unsure if that came from the trimming crew or staff.
We are having to replace those stones as the scratches would not buff out. We
had 2 Boy Scouts of America troops place flags on all of the Veteran marked
graves the Saturday prior to the holiday and we supplied them with a BBQ lunch
afterwards to thank them. The big ceremony was on Monday with the mayor,
honor guard did a bell ringing and a fire Chaplain to say some words. It was well
attended.
Mowing season/Flower pick-ups – We started a little later than normal due to the
lightning strike issues that kept us busy. Mowing is going good and the schedule
is Monday & Tuesday every week. We do wilted flower pick-ups on Mondays
prior to mowing. We have had a couple families decorate graves with fencing
and non-permitted items which we remove and store at the shop where they
are welcome to pick up.
Irrigation Fixes - We continue to have and fix irrigation issues as they arise. There
was a big underground break on Memory Lane. We are waiting for an asphalt
company to complete the patch work. Maintenance worker Zach has been
able to fix all of the issues so far which is a big savings. None of the fixes due to
the lightning strike have been covered under insurance since it didn’t happen to
a structure.
New Mower and Backhoe – We received 1 new mower in March that is part of
the fleet so M & O will do any maintenance on it when needed. We kept the old
mower as a back-up and the others are the cemetery’s so we complete the
maintenance on those when needed. We received a new John Deere Backhoe
in July and Pape Machinery provided training. We switched out the new bucket
with the old one as it seemed to fit better for the jobs needed. We have ordered
a guard. The old Backhoe went to the Parks Department.
F. New Business:
New Chapel Shutters & Screens – The chapel has had some exterior vandalism in
the past that got us thinking more security INSIDE the chapel is needed. The
inside are glass niches which could be a huge mess/issues if vandalism
happened inside. We spoke with the director and are working with a company
to get a large motorized shutter for the entry . Our gates are locked at dusk. We
have had gas siphoned from the trucks in the past. We have looked into security
cameras and was quoted $5,000 for 1 camera for the cemetery.
ForestWalk Phase III – First meeting with the architect Fred Glick was in March
with another meeting in July and one on the schedule for August. 13 trees were
removed in March for the area that were potential problem trees. This new
addition (ForestWalk Phase IIIA) we were hoping to start in 2024 but more likely
2025. It is about 1 acre in size and will have gravel walkways, trees & bushes,
bridges to connect areas, possibly a small waterfall and will have about 1200
cremation plots. Columbariums will be added in the future. Fred Glick provided
an example blueprint of the area which we viewed. The project will go to
bidding first. In the future there are plans for a ForestWalk IIIB and a 10th addition
for full size plots with upright monument options that will have a Mt. Rainier View.
G. REPORTS
Budget Update – April through July this year have been good especially May
which ended with $209,838.77 with July a close 2nd with $203,970.52. The
revenues come from pre-need sales, at-need sales and markers. May & June
had several vault sales and July had a lot of liners.
Cemetery Sales April May June July
Month-To-Date Receipts
$122,263.20
$209,838.77
$159,082.25
$203,970.52
Ground Plots 2 16 11 23
Cremation Plots 4 6 3 3
Niches 3 5 5 5
ForestWalk Ossuary 2
Extended Land Use 2 4 2
Markers 13 28 18 14
Graves 6 22 14 26
Markers 13 28 18 14
Niches 3 5 7 5
Total Placements 20 21 37 29
Cremation 16 7 25 15
Ground Burial 4 14 12 14
H. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by Judy Roland at 3:15pm.
Approved Date
Immer Chevalier
Cemetery Manager
August 14, 2023