The Holbrook City Council returned to the discussion of the Holbrook Cemetery and the costs associated with burial in the cemetery during their Nov. 14 meeting. In presenting the discussion, City Manager Randy Sullivan stated that the city would like to do away with the perpetual maintenance fee and break the cost of plots to a three-tier system for residents, those living within a specific distance outside of the city and those who live beyond that range.
After a lengthy discussion by the council, they agreed on a rate of $375 for residents, a rate of $475 for non-residents living within a 15-mile radius of the city or who already have immediate family buried at the cemetery, and a rate of $575 for those who live outside of that area and have no family buried at the cemetery. Those rates would change the current rates from $375 for residents and $3,000 for non-residents.
In addressing the matter, the council asked for a clarification on the higher rate for those residing out of city limits. It was explained that the $3,000 was comparable to other cities that were looked into and served as a deterrent to people seeking to find an inexpensive plot without any connection to Holbrook. The concern being that those purchasing plots due to the price would quickly fill up the available space.
The council determined that a lower rate would be acceptable overall and told the city staff to monitor the number of people from out of the area requesting burial plots moving forward because, as Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle stated, “It would just take one meeting of the council to change that cost.”
Another concern by council was the limited number of plots left at the cemetery and if an expansion would need to be considered. Sullivan said that the city has an average of 20 burials each year, and with the latest expansion of the cemetery there are approximately 162 unused spaces available at the cemetery. “That will give us about eight years until we have to expand on the existing cemetery that we have now,” Sullivan estimated. He did provide the council with some potential options for land purchases for consideration of additional expansion. Sullivan proposed reaching out to Jay Williams who owns property adjacent to the cemetery and Dr. Andrew Maestas who owns the old hospital and the property surrounding it, also in the area of the existing cemetery.
Kester asked if the city owned land behind the American Legion where the cemetery could be expanded. Sullivan said the city did but that there could be issues with using that land. “It was used as a transfer site at one time so there is a little bit of concern about what is in the ground, we don’t know,” said Sullivan.
The cost for a child urn or gravesite is $100 to $175 for residents, depending upon the size, and at $600 to $1,050 for non-resident children. Those rates were not addressed during the council meeting.
The council also agreed to revisions made to the cemetery policy, which included allowing for wooden caskets, allowing for picnics on cemetery grounds and permitting upright headstones. It was also noted that aside from regular ground maintenance the city will clean the cemetery each fall before Veterans Day and each spring before Memorial Day. The grounds crew will remove and replace trinkets at the headstones for the cleanings but they will be replaced. It was noted that because the trinkets have been sitting out in the sun they can become brittle and break when moved but the crew will be as careful as possible. People are also welcome to temporarily remove the items prior to the cleaning if they prefer.
Sullivan noted that the biggest concern with the upright headstones would be if they have to be moved. “We currently don’t have equipment to do that. However, having said that, we recommend that we allow those headstones and agree that it adds to a cemetery,” said Sullivan. He added that he didn’t know how often they would need to remove a headstone.
No decision was made to finalize the costs of burial plots or where, or if to expand the cemetery grounds or the changes to policy. The city administrators were asked to create a final document with the input from the council for the next council meeting when a decision will then be made.
