Winslow officials have been fielding questions about the condition of the Desert View Cemetery for some time. At a public work session held July 11, Deputy Public Works Director Tim Westover presented a plan to improve the grounds.
Westover explained some of the issues he has observed. Among them are trees blocking sprinkler heads, new headstones blocking sprinkler heads and not enough working sprinklers to cover the nearly 23 acres of ground. In his presentation, Westover displayed slides from 1997, 2007, 2009 and 2012 showing the condition of the cemetery each of those years. In all of the slides, no grass was growing on the east side of the cemetery and the grass throughout the park was spotty. In the 2007 slide, it was shown that irrigation improvements did improve vegetation conditions, but not to the degree that the city had hoped.
Desert View Cemetery includes nearly one million square feet of land. Within that space there are approximately 7,238 graves, making it the largest municipal cemetery in northern Arizona. Also included are 230 trees, and 84 evergreens and bushes.
To water it all the city uses two irrigation pumps with timers and 1,300 sprinkler heads. The city has already taken steps to improve the condition of the cemetery, including replacing four of the six timers on the irrigation pumps, replacing 10 sprinkler heads with the intention to replace even more and bringing in soil from the Vargas Field project to spark grass growth.
Also in the improvement plan is more emphasis on employee training on timer systems, irrigation repairs and general ground maintenance. Westover and his crew have also already begun mapping the irrigation system.
“I would like to add another pump at each station, totaling four pumps, and begin watering the grounds in the mornings and the evenings. This will allow for less evaporation and ensure that no sprinklers are on during services or during visiting times,” he explained.
Many citizens have expressed a disinterest in a proposed plan to xeriscape the cemetery, which was briefly mentioned in previous council meetings.
Westover noted that the park will have some xeriscaping, but only on the south and east sides near the frontage roads where sprinklers are not currently reaching.
Councilwoman Judy Howell commented that she is “totally against xeriscaping. It is the ugliest thing you can put in any yard. We need to get water there and get it green.”
Councilman Harold Soehner noted, “Xeriscaping is not just dumping rock, but also includes indigenous plants and maintenance.”
Winslow business owner Tom McCauley added, “As we go forward, we need to keep in mind that our system that waters the cemetery needs to grow with it.” He also suggested pumping water from the Little Colorado River or Clear Creek, noting that, “nearly six million gallons of water run past Winslow each day.”
To address that suggestion, Public Works Director Allan Bolding explained that pumping water to the cemetery would be a costly undertaking and the cemetery is located too far up hill for such a project to be successful.
Mayor Robin Boyd commented, “We need to treat the cemetery as a serious park, and put manpower and resources into it. We have the manpower and the budget to make improvements this year.”
Westover said improvement would keep going if the city continues to utilize the entire parks department instead of just one employee as it had done in the past.
“I will admit that the cemetery has been overlooked in recent years,” said Westover, “and we’re not doing as much as we should with fertilizer and other things.”
Concerns continued to be voiced by residents throughout the discussion.
Marie Lamar reminded the council that in the 1960s, community members bought plots at the cemetery for nearly $100. “We did buy into perpetual care,” she said, asking them to “keep the green.”
As resident Chris White pointed out, community members should also show interest in maintaining the grounds. He explained that he has been maintaining nearly 14 plots for 15 years, including the one where his son is laid to rest. He said, “I think we can all work a little bit harder.”
Funeral home director Royce Greer explained that he fields calls weekly from upset citizens. “The cemetery needs to be a priority,” he said. “You could use some of the land dedicated to the roads as areas for more burial plots, and there needs to be a place for cremains.”
Greer also noted that employee training has been subpar, saying, “We’ve been out and a grave was dug too small; that is not acceptable.”
Because of scheduled time constraints, the public comment portion of the discussion was called to an end, leaving Lamar at the podium. She had been suggesting the use of volunteer pools to help with park improvement.
Both the public works department and the city council assured citizens that the cemetery will become a high priority.
Plans are in place to utilize Arizona Department of Corrections crews and a rotating schedule of city parks employees to make sure Desert View Cemetery receives the attention and reverence it deserves.
Later in the regular council meeting, business owners Laurie LaShomb and Michelle Pennington pointed out their disappointment with the council during the public hearing regarding the cemetery. LaShomb said, “I don’t feel we should schedule public meetings and then cut off comments for time. There’s no other way to talk to you (council members and mayor) except at these meetings, and if someone cares enough to come to these meetings, you should listen to them.”
Pennington agreed, saying, “I thought it was a good thing when the council scheduled this meeting, but I am so disappointed. This meeting was scheduled for 45 minutes and 30 minutes of that time was spent on a presentation. People just want to be heard, instead, you’ve said, ‘Here’s what we will do’ instead of hearing the people.”
Mayor Boyd reiterated, “We are making the cemetery a high priority.” Westover’s plan is already being implemented at the cemetery and is expected to continue as presented.
Councilman Soehner closed with an invitation to the public to submit comments and questions regarding the cemetery in writing. To contact council members on this or any other topic, constituents may visit the city website at www.winslowaz.gov.
