Loading...
Minutes 10-10-00 MINUTES OF THE CEMETERY BOARD MEETING- HELD AT BOYNTON BEACH MEMORIAL PARK AT 6:30 P.M. AND IN THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON OCTOBER 10, 2000 AT 7:00 P.'M. PRESENT ALSO PRESENT Joan Kuehn, Chairperson David Nyquist, Vice Chair Sue Kruse, Secretary Tim Hensley Tereesa Padgett Ods Walker John Wildner, Parks Director Commissioner Bruce Black ABSENT Mack McCray, Alternate The Board convened at Boynton Beach Memodal Park at 6:37 p.m. for a brief discussion before the regular meeting. Matters discussed while viewing cemetery grounds: 1) Mr. Nyquist recalled that a discussion had taken place quite some time previously about the maintenance building needing to be painted. Mr. Wildner responded that it was a Facilities Management matter and that he would look into the schedule for the painting. 2) Facilities Management is in the process of changing the lights at the mausoleum to halogen type lights on the corners. 3) Glenda Hall is working on a landscape plan for the entrance to the cemetery off Seacrest. Mr. Wildner reported that she had been out of town and that this plan should be forthcoming in the near future. 4) There was discussion about the condition of the large Black Olive trees and Mr. Nyquist requested that the firm who trimmed the trees be present at the next meeting. 5) Glenda Hall also has some recommendations for hedges along the west side of the mausoleum building. 6) Mr. Hensley questioned the schedule for the fence installation and Mr. Wildner informed him that it would be about six weeks as it must be ordered after the contract is signed and then manufactured. 6) All the members commended the cemetery workers on how good a job Meeting Minutes - · Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 10/10/00 they have been doing and how the cemetery really looks good. Mr. Hensley questioned if the crew had any comments for the Cemetery Board members and Mr. Mark Aniki replied that they are down to one mower, which takes three days to mow the grounds. Mr. Wildner assured them the extra mower from the Parks Department is being repaired and with the parts replaced, it will last another ten years. The members departed at 6:50 p.m. to go to the Senior Center to continue the meeting. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was reconvened by the Chairperson at 7:07 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE The Secretary called the roll and it was declared that a quorum was present. III. AGENDA APPROVAL There were no changes, additions, or deletions to the agenda. Motion Mr. Hensley made a motion to accept the agenda as written. Mr. Nyquist seconded the motion that carried 6-0. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 Mr. Nyquist asked that the minutes be amended on page 4 and after $38,000 strike "that the City recently found" and replace with "for the ballfields there". Motion Mr. Hensley moved to accept the minutes as amended. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried 6-0. V. RECEIPT OF BALANCE SHEETS - JULY (TABLED) AND AUGUST 2000 Motion Mr. Hensley made a motion to remove the July 2000 balance sheets from the table for discussion and approval. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Motion Mr. Hensley made a motion to accept and place the July balance sheets on file. Mr. Nyquist seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 2 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board BOynton Beach, Florida 10110/00 Motion Mr. Nyquist made a motion to accept and place the August balance sheets on file. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VI. RECEIPT OF SALES REPORT--SEPTEMBER 2000 Motion Ms. Padgett made a motion to accept and place the September 2000 Sales Report on file. Mr. Hensley seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VII. CORRESPONDENCE (Letter to Funeral Directors) In addition to the letter mailed by this Board, the City Manager also sent a letter to the funeral directors. Out of twelve funeral directors, five would pass the fee on to the families. Mr. Hensley did not believe the City had ever instituted the fine and Ms. Kruse confirmed that this was so. As he understood it the communication had been very good. If anything, the funeral directors have been early and they call all the time. Ms. Padgett said she believed this needed to be left on the books. She hoped they would never have to use it and that was the consensus of the Board. The Board wondered how the City could prevent the funeral directors from passing the charges on to the family. Ms. Padgett said it was the funeral director's job to make the phone call. The Board believed that passing the charge on to the families would be wrong. The group discussed what to do. Mr. Nyquist stated he would like to have the City Manager here to see what he said about it. Chair Kuehn asked if the Board could possibly amend the resolution to make it more clear that any fine would be levied against the funeral home? Mr. Hensley asked if the funeral directors that said theywere going to pass the fine on to the families were the same ones that had been late in the past? Ms. Kruse said the Board had not been given that information. Mr. Nyquist said that they should get that information, leave it on the table, and get the City Manager in on it. Mr. Hensley stated that he believed a legal opinion was needed from the City Attorney. Motion Mr. Nyquist moved to put the issue on the table and asked that the City Manager be present at the next Board meeting and have additional information on the survey done by his office. Also included in the motion was that the Board needed an opinion from the Legal Department on the issue of how funeral directors could be restrained from passing along the fee. Ms. Padgett seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Survey of Surrounding Cemetery Prices (Tabled) Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 10/10/00 Ms. Padgett stated that it should be tabled until the Board decided whether it was going to stay in the cemetery business or not. The group agreed to leave the item on the table. B. Cemetery Expansion (Tabled) The group was waiting to hear from the City Manager. Ms. Kruse stated Mr. Bressner was going to find out about the well fields. Mr. Nyquist said Ms. Kruse should send him a note to remind him. The item remained tabled. C. Marker Fee Ms. Kruse reported that she had asked Mr. Nicholas Igwe, Assistant City Attorney about the marker fee issue. Mr. Igwe said there was no problem with a marker fee that covered the City's costs and that we were not selling markers. Mr. Hensley wanted Ms. Kruse to affirm that the attorney did not interpret the City's policy as a violation of the law and Ms. Kruse affirmed that he did not. D. Memorial Monumentfor Unmarked Dead (Tabled) Motion Mr. Nyquist made a motion to take this issue off the table. Mr. Hensley seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Mr. Wildner reported that he had gone to Lake Worth Monument and they had given him examples of types of things that they could do. He pointed particularly to a picture showing a blank free form granite memorial, which was brown and displayed the phrase Chair Kuehn had suggested. This example was $1500. Chair Kuehn said she had researched this on the Internet and found a bench with lovely plantings underneath it and she liked this. The Board discussed the potential location of the monument, citing the circle as you drive into the cemetery as one possible spot. There was also discussion whether plantings or bushes should surround the monument. The Board did not want to offend anyone who might have someone buried at the spot where they chose. The "pokers" would not work because of the material coffins were made of many years ago. Various members of the Board would talk to some old-timers to see what they knew of the situation. Motion Mr. Nyquist made a motion to put the item back on the table until Chair Kuehn and others surveyed the older residents of the town to try to find the best location for the monument. Tim Hensley seconded the motion that carried unanimously. 4 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 10/10/00 E. Use of Mausoleum Chapel Motion Mr. Nyquist made a motion to table this item until the City Attorney responded to the Board's request for a report on the issue. Mr. Hensley seconded the motion that carded unanimously. F. Sara Simms Memorial Gardens Sign Mr. Wildner stated that the previous plan to use a sign made in the City Shop was rejected by the City Manager as being inappropriate. Mr. Nyquist asked Mr. Wildner to ask Glenda Hall to check with the City Manager's office when she returns from vacation, and obtain a written report from her for the Board's next meeting. Motion Mr, Nyquist made a motion to table this item until a written report is received from Glenda Hall in the Parks Department, Mr. Hensley seconded the motion that carried unanimously. G. Reports on Cemetery Areas Assigned to Members Mr. Walker reported that several graves needed to be raised in Blocks X, Y, and Z, Mr. Wildner said he would take a look at them. Mr. Nyquist said that things looked pretty good at his location overall. He asked Mr, Wildner to get the tree people back for some more tree trimming. He mentioned that the bathroom building and maintenance building needed painting. He stated that the Board was waiting for a report from Glenda on more landscaping on the entrance off Seacrest. He said the crew had done a great job even though they had been shorthanded. Mr. Hensley stated he didn't see Sara Simms and Mr. Nyquist said it didn't look too bad and that the water system was working. Mr. Nyquist said the Board was waiting for some reports from the Parks Department about prices for landscaping at Sara Simms. Chair Kuehn reported that her section looked good. H. Parks Department Report Mr. Wildner reported that the contract for the cemetery fence was drafted by the City Attorney and the contractor had requested modifications. The contract has now been returned to the City Attorney for approval. The fence will take s~x weeks to make and install after approval of the contract. The specifications were not for stock items. As mentioned earlier in the meeting the sign for Sara Simms was cancelled and alternative s~gns are being researched. Glenda Hall is preparing a design and some preliminary pricing for additional landscaping at Sara Simms Cemetery. 5 Meeting Minutes - Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 10/10/00 He proceeded to detail the work that had been done by the Cemetery Crew. He stated there had been 10 burials and 10 entombments for the month. Motion Mr. Nyquist made a motion to accept the Park Department's report. Mr. Walker seconded the motion that was carried unanimously. IX. NEW BUSINESS Request for Transfer of Lot 150-A, Block W, Boynton Beach Memorial Park, Requested by Margaret A. Letellier Motion Ms. Padgett made a motion to approve the transfer if all the paperwork is in order. Mr. Nyquist seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IX. OTHER Ms. Padgett said the Board needed a budget, a record of expenditures for the Cemetery, -er-es, fimat~from the Parks Department for money going into the General Fund. She asked Mr. Wildner if he knew how much had been spent on the Cemetery this year and he responded negatively. Ms. Padgett stated that the Board was responsible for this money and would have to find a w~ay of tracking expenditures against it. She requested that separate records be kept for cemetery expenditures. Mr. Wildner said that right now, there was $55,000 from the General Fund and that it had gone well over that. He said the General Fund was paying for all the salaries of the people that are there. Ms. Padgett said that guesswork wasn't any good. Mrs. Padgett referred to the crew working elsewhere and Mr. Wildner agreed they spent a small amount of time at the park across the street. Mrs. Padgett requested a report detailing the actual dollar amounts and where it was spent. She commented that not much is being added to the fund and it must last a long time. Mr. Wildner stated that Mr. Osborne had been requesting additional services such as cleaning of the outside of the mausoleum building. We have from time to time cleaned the cobwebs off the outside of the mausoleum building, wiped down the marble, etc. We have sent a team from the Cemetery and Facilities Management down to Boca to observe their practices and techniques there. Mr. Nyquist asked that this team prepare a report in writing to present to the Board. Mr. Hensley stated that the building should be cleaned as a mark of respect to the persons buried within it. Mr. Wildner stated that the Facilities Management people had pointed out to him that the number of buildings in the City had continued tO grow but that staff had not. Mr. Nyquist also requested that Mr. Osborne be required to put his requests in writing and submit to the Board. The meeting was duly adjourned at 8:00 p.m. 6 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 10/10/00 Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (2 tapes)