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Minutes 08-08-00 MINUTES OF THE CEMETERY BOARD MEETING HELD IN THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON AUGUST 8, 2000 AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT David Nyquist, Vice Chairman Sue Kruse, Secretary Oris Walker Mack McCray, Alternate ABSENT Tim Hensley Joan Kuehn, Chairperson Tereesa Padgett ALSO PRESENT John Wildner, Parks Director Kurt Bressner, City Manager I. CALL TO ORDER In the absence of the Chairperson, Joan-Kuehn, David Nyquist presided over the meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:15 P.M. I1. A'n'ENDANCE Ms. Kruse called the roll and it was declared that a quorum was present. Ms. Kruse acknowledged the presence of Mr. Kurt Bressner, City Manager, at the meeting. II1. AGENDA APPROVAL There were no COrrections, additions or deletions to the agenda. Motion Mr. McCray made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IV. MINUTES APPROVAL, JULY '11, 2000 MEETING There were no corrections, additions or deletions to the minutes. Motion Mr. McCray made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 11, 2000 meeting. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August8,2000 RECEIPT OF BALANCE SHEETS, MAY 2000 (Previously Tabled) and JUNE 2000 Motion Mr. Walker moved to remove the Balance Sheets from May 2000 from the table for discussion and approval. Mr. McCray seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Mr. McCray asked for an explanation of the invoice from Lake Worth Monument Company for $95.00. Mr. Wildner stated that there was some evidence that the staff may have hit a marker with a lawn mower, so the bill was paid as a courtesy to Lake Worth Monument Company. Mr. McCray asked if the check order and deposit slips had been for the Cemetery Board and Ms. Kruse replied that they were. Mr. McCray voiced concern about the internal labor charge of $160.00 for Edmund Brenner. Mr. Wildner stated that this was supposed to have been part of the price of the tree-trimming and removal job and that he would investigate and provide the Board with a written report on the subject. Vice Chair Nyquist was concerned about the water bill at the mausoleum, believing it to be too high. Mr. Wildner stated that you pay for the previous one-month period and that month there had been a drought. Vice Chair Nyquist asked Mr. Wildner if the plants from Forest Hill had come out of the Parks & Recreation budget and Mr. Wildner replied that they had come out of the Cemetery Board budget. Mr. McCray asked for an explanation for the reduction in the Cemetery Trust Fund on the May 31, 2000 statement. Ms. Kruse responded that this had been due to the semi- annual transfer from the fund. Mr. McCray questioned the amount of $3,506.37 for the 8-Month period. Mr. Wildner responded that this included vehicle services for eight months, gas, repairs, insurance, and money towards vehicle replacement. Motion Mr. Walker moved that the Balance Sheets from May 2000 and June 2000 be accepted and entered into the record. Mr. McCray seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VI. RECEIPT OF SALES REPORTS - JULY 2000 The Sales Reports for July 2000 were reviewed. 2 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2000 Motion Mr. McCray made a motion to accept the Sales Reports for July 2000. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that was carried unanimously. VII. CORRESPONDENCE - A) City Manager's Letter of 7/11/00 to Sarah Williams Mr. McCray asked Mr. Bressner what had transpired in his meeting with Sarah Williams. Mr. Bressner stated that there had been two topics pertaining to the cemetery, the late fee and the future plans for cemetery expansion. Late Fee Mr. Bressner stated that there was some confusion surrounding fees vs. fines and misunderstanding about the intention behind the fine. Mr. Bressner appreciated Ms. Kruse's chronology of the events surrounding this and he provided this to Ms. Williams. The feeling of the community, as expressed in the Forum meeting, was that the late fee would probably be passed on to the families and not paid by the funeral directors. The group also felt that the imposition of the fee had been unfair and that it had been directed against the African-American community. The Board reiterated that the communication between the funeral directors and the cemetery had definitely improved and that there had been no problems concerning late arrivals with no notice. Vice Chair Nyquist also stated that it had never been the Board's intention to single out the African-American community in regards to the late fee. The issue was with the funeral home directors who were going to be late and failed to notify the cemetery. The funeral homes have been making the attempt to call the cemetery with notice of arrival time and are following the policy drafted by the Cemetery Board, even though it had not been formally adopted by the City Commission. Mr. Bressner questioned whether the City Commission had the authority to approve or deny a Cemetery Board policy, referring to the Charter of the Cemetery Board. He believed that the City Commission's role was to appoint and replace members of the Cemetery Board and to approve the budget. Policies and practices, he believed, were the province of the Cemetery Board. If the City Commission is not satisfied with the performance of the Cemetery Board, they can signify by not reappointing a member to the Board and not approving the budget. Mr. Bressner has asked Mr. Cherof, City Attorney, to look into the matter. However, right or wrong, the City Commission did adopt a resolution in January pertaining to the cemetery late fee. As to the issue of the family being the final recipient of the bill in the case of a late fee, Vice Chair Nyquist stated that the issue would be referred to mediation by Mr. Wildner, Parks Director. Mr. Bressner stated that the very fact of receiving the bill was viewed as an insult in the African-American community. Vice Chair Nyquist stated that, in talking to various funeral home directors, he was told that the funeral home directors were willing to absorb the fee if it were levied and would not pass it on to the families. 3 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2000 The Board believed that the resolution should stand, even though it would probably never have to be used. After much discussion it was decided that the issue of the funeral home's responsibility for the bill needed to be clarified and put in writing, in an attempt to elicit the cooperation and understanding of the funeral home directors on the protocol in this matter. It was decided that staff would draft a letter to the funeral home directors, reaffirming that any late fees, if assessed, would not be passed on to the families, and asking for their position on the issue. Once their responses were received, the protocol would become a matter of record and Mr. Bressner could reassure the Forum members that the funeral home directors were not going to pass any bills on to them. The draft letter will be brought to the next meeting, of the Cemetery Board for review and action. Vice Chair Nyquist stated that the funeral home directors should be reassured that the fee would only be levied if there had been repeated instances of failure to communicate. It was suggested that the tone of the letter should be that things have been working smoothly and that the problem had apparently been resolved. Motion Mr. McCray made a motion that staff was to prepare a draft letter to the funeral home directors, reaffirming the Cemetery Board's expectation that any late fees, if assessed, would not be passed on to the bereaved families, and that the draft letter be brought to the next meeting of the Cemetery Board for their review and approval. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that was carried unanimously. All agreed that the issue had created an increased awareness on the part of the funeral home directors, the clergy, and the public about the importance of communicating the arrival plans of funeral parties to the cemetery. Cemetery Expansion See discussion under VIII.B. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. SURVEY OF SURROUNDING CEMETERY PRICES (TABLED) Motion Mr. McCray made a motion to table this item until the full Board is present. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. B. CEMETERY EXPANSION (PREVIOUSLY TABLED) Mr. McCray made a motion to remove this item from the table for discussion. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 4 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2000 Various alternatives for cemetery expansion were discussed. Mr. Bressner asked about the possibility of acquiring an existing cemetery in an adjoining area that may be annexed in the future. It was believed that this would require a great deal of money. The Quantum Park land was mentioned and also the possibility of using some of the 30 to 50 acres of agricultural reserve land acquisition out west. Vice Chair Nyquist stated that the Board had been asking the City Commission to put the Cemetery Expansion on the agenda for a long time. Mr. Bressner responded that it was now on the Future Agenda item list. Mr. Wildner stated that he believed the main reason the City Commission had not considered this item to date had been money. Also, he believed that the Board could explore expansion possibilities on its own. He did not believe it was necessary to get a "green light" from the Commission before exploring alternatives. The consensus was that the best alternative of all would be expansion to the Little League Ball Park next door to the cemetery. Mr. Bressner will discuss the matter with the Utilities Department and ask that they elaborate on the status of the well head issue. Vice Chair Nyquist wondered if these wells were being utilized to their full potential and if they were priority wells? Mr. Bressner stated that the City's utility service area was vast and that the water plant out west was operating on a very thin margin. He was not aware of the position of the east water plant and thought that it may be a "paper" issue if the wells were reserve or standby. He wanted to know how that would affect the City's water supply if the wells were abandoned and capped and the cemetery expanded into the area. Vice Chair Nyquist asked if the wells out west could pump water into the main east plant or vice versa. Mr. Bressner did not know if there was an interceptor between the plants but did not believe that there was. He believed they were two separate systems. He stated that he would ask Mr. Sugerman about this matter. The idea of raising the level of the ground up to accommodate two graves on top of one another was discussed. Mr. Wildner spoke of something he had seen in the Bahamas, which was individual mini-mausoleums, a vault that was somewhat above the ground and could be placed on any particular plot. The fact that no more above the ground monuments had been edicted was brought up as a deterrent to this idea. The Board decided to put the idea of expansion out west on the agenda for the next meeting when the full Board was present. It was thought that a separate crew would have to be designated for the western cemetery but Mr. Bressner said that this work could be out-sourced. Mr. Bressner believed that the Cemetery Board deserved a definitive response from Utilities about the wellheads at Little League Park and offered to pursue it on the Board's behalf. C. MARKER FEE (TABLED) The Board decided to leave this on the table until the full Board was present. 5 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August8,2000 D. MEMORIAL MONUMENT FOR UNMARKED DEAD (TABLED) The Board decided to leave this on the table until the full Board was present. E. USE OF MAUSOLEUM CHAPEL (TABLED) The Board decided to leave this item on the table until the full Board was present. F. PRICES FOR SARA SIMMS MEMORIAL GARDENS SIGN (TABLED) The Board decided to leave this item on the table until the full Board was present. G. REPORTS ON CEMETERY AREAS ASSIGNED TO MEMBERS Mr. Walker was not able to get to his area so he had no report to give. Mr. McCray said that his area had no problems. Vice Chair Nyquist said that overall everything looked good. He stated that the area behind the wood fence near High Point could use a little policing and Mr. Wildner said he would look into it. The members agreed that overall the cemetery looked very good and asked that their remarks be passed on to the crew. H. PARKS DEPARTMENT REPORT Mr. Wildner stated that he did not have a written report to give the Board. He mentioned that he thought the Board wanted separate reports from the different departments and asked that he be allowed to give the Board one report that incorporated information from all areas. He said that the cemetery looked good and that the staff had worked very hard. He thought that when the fence bid issue was resolved, the hedge removal could commence and the cemetery would look even better. Motion Mr. McCray moved that Mr. Wildner would give one written summary report to the Board, incorporating comments from all pertinent areas. The motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and passed unanimously. FENCE BID REQUEST (PREVIOUSLY TABLED) Motion Mr. McCray made a motion that this item be removed from the table for discussion. The motion was seconded by Mr. Walker and carried unanimously. Vice Chair Nyquist said that they had been ready to bid before but had discovered that there was a bid that they had not received. He asked Mr. Wildner why they had not received the other bid? Mr. Wildner stated that normally, when they make recommendations, they present the Iow bid, and he was not aware that the Board would 6 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2000 want all the bids. The Board indicated that in the future they would like to review all bids and backup and Mr. Wildner stated he would be glad to oblige. The Board commenced its review of the bids. Vice Chair Nyquist mentioned that the Lawrence Fence Corporation bid did not include guarantees and warranties that the bid request had specified. Mr. Wildner stated that since the bid package had required it and the company had submitted a bid, they would have to be governed by those requirements whether they mentioned them in their bid or not. Vice Chair Nyquist stated that Tropical Fence, Inc. had mentioned a 10-year warranty, which would still require some maintenance by the City in order to keep the warranty valid. Vice Chair Nyquist preferred Tropical Fence, Inc., having heard good things about them. The consensus among the Board was that the two companies were equally competent and reliable. Mr. Bressner stated that a lot of people had been asking when the fence was going to go up. Motion Mr. Walker made a motion to accept the Lawrence Fence Corporation bid for the fence installation at Boynton Memorial Cemetery. Mr. McCray seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IX. NEW BUSINESS Motion REQUEST TO TRANSFER LOTS 241 & 242, REPLAT, BOYNTON BEACH MEMORIAL PARK, FOR JAMES & MARILYN CARR Mr. McCray made a motion to accept this transfer. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. X. OTHER The Board expressed regret that the full Board had not been in attendance at a meeting attended by the City Manager. The City Manager offered to come back to the September 12 meeting. Vice Chair Nyquist asked Ms. Kruse to direct Ms. Sangi to let everyone know that the City Manager would be at the meeting when she calls to confirm attendance prior to the meeting. He also asked Ms. Kruse to include a note in the packets mailed to the members before the meeting, announcing the City Manager's intention to be at the meeting. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was duly adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (two tapes)