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Minutes 01-27-05MINUTES OF THE CEMETERY BOARD SPECIAL MEETING HELD AT THE ART CENTER, '125 SE 2nd AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2005 AT 6:00 P.M. Present: Michael Enkoff, Chairman Teresa Frazier, Vice Chair Janet Prainito, Secretary Susan Morrison Jody Rivers, Parks Supervisor Tom Balfe, Parks Manager Absent: Karilyn Norem Hohner Also Present: John Wildner I. Call to Order Chairman Enkoff called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m. II. Attendance Secretary Prainito reported that all members were present and introduced John Wildner, Jody Rivers and Tom Balfe. II1. Agenda Approval Secretary Prainito asked to add an item to the agenda, a letter from Karilyn Norem Hohner, Funeral Director, containing a correction to the December 16, 2004 meeting minutes. Ms. Hohner felt that her opinion would be better stated as follows: "Ms. Hohner was totally against allowing a body to be entombed in only a Ziegler case. She felt that a Ziegler case was not a suitable container when the existing rules require a casket." Secretary Prainito read the entire letter and the Board members agreed to accept it as a correction to the minutes. The minutes will be corrected accordingly and her letter will be attached to minutes in the Office of the City Clerk. Mr. Balfe wished to add to the agenda under New Business: D) Perpetual Care, E) Vault Deliveries, and F) Expenditure Approval for Cemetery Office. Motion Ms. Morrison moved to approve the agenda as amended. Secretary Prainito seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3anuary 27, 2005 IV. Approval of Minutes - December 16, 2004 Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the minutes with the amendment as stated. Motion seconded by Ms. Morrison and unanimously carried. V. Receipt of Revenue/Expense Sheets - December 2004 Chairman Enkoff inquired if the cost for the purchase of the sod was included in the expense sheets. Mr. Balfe responded that it was not. Motion Ms. Morrison moved to accept the December 2004 Revenue/Expense Sheets as presented. Ms. Frazier seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VI. Receipt of Sales Reports - December 2004 Motion Ms. Morrison moved for approval. Motion seconded by Ms. Frazier and unanimously carried. VII. Unfinished Business A. Parks Division Report Mr. Balfe presented this report, noting that the title should have been January 20, 2005. There were twelve (12) Mausoleum entombments, twenty-one (21) full-body burials, and no cremain burials, for a total number of funerals of 33. There were no disinterments or disentombments. Cemetery staff participated in a walk-through of the Cemetery with the new landscape company, Vila & Sons, in order to note any existing damage. Vila & Sons will assume the maintenance responsibilities as of February 1 and will be responsible for any damage not mentioned during the walk-through. Mr. Balfe believed that having Vila & Sons perform the routine grounds maintenance would free the Cemetery staff to attend to other necessary work such as the resetting of headstones. B. Update on Cemetery Survey Mr. Balfe reported that he had sent a letter to three companies who were asked to quote on replatting portions of the Cemetery. One company turned the job down because they Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3anuary 27~ 2005 were too busy. A quote was received today from O'Brien Sutter & O'Brien, who quoted a fee of $7,500 and 60 days to complete the replatting. Chair Enkoff thought that this was a reasonable fee. Mr. Balfe outlined the nature of the replatting: 2. 3. 4. Driveway number 2 to be platted 2 rows of 3 foot by 3 foot plots (Blocks K & L) Driveway number 4 to be platted 1 row of 5 foot by 9 foot plots, with the 9- foot section running east and west. Driveway number 10 will be platted 1 row of 5 foot by 9-foot plots, with the 9-foot section running east and west. The two walkways running from the east side of driveway number 7 to the west side of driveway number 1 to be platted I row of 5 foot by 9 foot plots, with the 9 foot section running east and west. Mr. Balfe stated that the driveway between Blocks I & J would yield 44 5 x 9 burial plots. The driveway between Blocks M & L would yield another 44 5 x 9 burial plots. Between Block K and the Infants Section, the replatting would create two rows of 3 x 3, or 72 infant burial plots, which was very much needed. The grass walkways running east to west in Blocks B through F would create 80 burial plots. Removing the roadway between Block D and E would create 55 5 x 9 plots, creating space for 110 burial plots. The total of new burial spaces after the replatting, including the walkways, would be 350. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to request the City Commission to transfer $8K from the Perpetual Care Fund into the Cemetery Maintenance account in order to cover the anticipated expense of replatting the Cemetery. Ms. Morrison seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Status of possible rule change reqardin.q protective caskets (TABLED ON 12/16/04) Chair Enkoff noted that the Cemetery professionals he had asked to come to this meeting to assist the Board in making a decision on this had not been able to accommodate the change in meeting time. They would be available for the meeting on February 24, 2005. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to keep the rule change regarding protective caskets on the table for another month. Ms. Frazier seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida .lanuary 27, 2005 D. Discuss the potential of enqravinq Mausoleum crypts and niches (TABLED ON 12/16/04) Motion Secretary Prainito moved to remove the item on engraving Mausoleum crypts and niches from the table for discussion. Ms. Frazier seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Mr. Balfe reported that he had received a quote for $85.00 for single crypt fronts and $127.50 for double crypt fronts. A company called Written in Stone sent a quote for a single crypt front that included the first name, last name, middle initial, date of birth, date of death, and one emblem for $69.00. A lengthy discussion ensued about having the etching done in all the buildings at once or in phases. It was thought that the price might be better if the job included all the buildings. Everyone agreed that the new building should have etching throughout. They also agreed that it would not be aesthetically pleasing to see some crypt fronts engraved and some with the bronze lettering. The bronze lettering is also a maintenance problem. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to table the engraving of Mausoleum crypt and niches until Mr. Balfe had gotten a new quote on doing all the buildings at one time. Ms. Frazier seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VIII. New Business Discuss purchasing additional equipment (including Iowerinq device, tent, and chairs Mr. Balfe reported that he had been asked to get bids for additional equipment to help with multiple funerals in close proximity on the weekends. He had received bids for a lowering device with a four-wheel carrier, a drape for the lowering device, two sets of deluxe grass carpet, and 4 wooden folding chairs with compartment bags for protection. The quotes ranged from $6,304.00 to $5,653.00. The lowering device, the drape, and one set of the grass carpets would equal one full set-up. They did not need an additional tent, because the tents are easy to move around, but they were replacing one that had received hurricane damage. One set of chairs would go with the new set up. The other set of chairs would go to replace the foldout, six-row chairs. Ms. Rivers commented that the additional equipment would allow the Cemetery to give better service and smooth the path for grieving families. 4 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3anuary 27, 2005 Secretary Prainito added that the direction from the Assistant City Manager had been to provide a greeter and directional signs when there were multiple funerals on the same day. Ms. Morrison asked if there had been any feedback from the funeral directors about the letter that was sent out asking for assistance in scheduling funerals and notifying the Cemetery about arriving early or late. Ms. Rivers said that one funeral home had commented that they were glad to see the lines of communication open, and Chair Enkoff noted that the letter had been well received at Boynton Memorial. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to purchase additional equipment for of $5,653.75 from Holland Supply to be delivered as expeditiously as possible. The chairs should be delivered in ten working days, the grass in one week, and the lowering device within four to six weeks. Ms. Morrison seconded the motion that passed unanimously. B. Discuss the fundinq of a "qreeter" for Boynton Beach Memorial Park Mr. Balfe indicated that the City had some part-time parking attendants who might possibly be interested in doing this work on the weekends, the time when multiple funerals tend to occur. During the week, City staff can handle it. When a funeral procession comes, the greeter would meet the parties at the entrance and guide them to the burial spot. When two precessions arrive at the same time, the greeter would route them in a way that would avoid a traffic jam. While the regular Cemetery staff was actively engaged in the burial process, the greeter could meet the processions, guide them, put them into holding, explain the situation to them, and so forth. Ms. Rivers believed that having a greeter would be invaluable in terms of customer care. The timing was discussed and using the Saturday after the meeting as a guide, there were funerals at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. The greeter would be on hand from shortly before the 11:00 burial to shortly after the start of the 1:00 p.m. burial. If one funeral were scheduled at 9:00 a.m. and the other at 2:00 p.m., City staff could handle it. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to have a greeter when necessary to accommodate multiple funerals. Ms. Morrison seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3anuary 27, 2005 C. Discuss urn vaults Mr. Balfe stated that the Cemetery Rules did not require that cremains be placed in a vault. He believed that cremains should be placed in a vault to insure that they could be located if and when a family requested disinterment. Not being able to find the cremains was a potential liability to the City. Most of the urns that are placed in plots are very small and made of materials that are subject to deterioration. Wooden and plastic containers do not last well. ^ cardboard box, for example, could deteriorate very rapidly. Placing the remains in a concrete vault would provide better preservation of the remains and protect the City from liability. The current Cemetery Rules & Regulations did not call for a vault. The vaults for cremains are inexpensive at about $60. Chair Enkoff remarked that this Cemetery was the only one in the County that did not require urn vaults. For many years, cremains were placed under the marker to make them easier to find, but that was not always the case. With a concrete urn vault, all cremains could be located when necessary. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to recommend that the City Commission amend the Cemetery Rules and Regulations to require a concrete (at minimum) urn vault for cremated remains (cremains), the cost of which to be borne by the Funeral Director. Ms. Frazier seconded the motion that passed unanimously. D. Perpetual Care Mr. Balfe reported that there were two aboveground mausoleums at the Cemetery, and the Board had asked that he contact the families about making repairs to them. He was not certain whether this repair would be the responsibility of the family or the City via the Perpetual Care funds. A discussion ensued. The consensus was that it was the responsibility of the family to maintain the mausoleums and that if they could be contacted, they would probably be amenable to making the repairs. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to direct staff to contact the family who owned the two aboveground mausoleums at the Cemetery and ask them to provide the needed repairs. Ms. Morrison seconded the motion that passed unanimously. E. Vault Deliveries Mr. Balfe explained the problem he had been having with Pyramid Vault Company, who was not delivering vaults until 6 p.m. on the day before a service. That requires overtime for a person to come in and prepare the ground on the day of the service. Through 6 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3anuary 27, 2005 conversation, it was determined that the vault needed to be at the Cemetery at a minimum of noon on the day before any service. There was some feeling that it was the funeral director's responsibility to follow through to make certain the vault was delivered on time. On the other hand, knowing that there was going to be a funeral and seeing no vault, the City had to take action. All agreed that communication and as much advance notice as possible would help this situation. Another problem was that normally, when a vault company comes, they set it into the ground. In situations where the vault is not delivered in a timely manner, the ground is not prepared and the Cemetery staff has to pick the vault up and move it, a process that could create damage to the vault. If something happened to a vault on Saturday, it was not certain that the vault company would be able to arrive before the service with a new vault. Ms. Frazier said she would handle this for Straghn. Ms. Rivers will write a letter to Emmanuel, the only other funeral home that was using the services of Pyramid Vaults. Chair Enkoff asked that Ms. Rivers send a copy of that letter to the Board members. F. Expenditure Approval for Cemetery Office Mr. Balfe requested permission to order a refrigerator and microwave oven for the Cemetery office building. The ones that were there now were old and worn and were not City property. There were many times during the week when having a place to store cool drinks and warm up food for lunches would be very useful for staff. He believed that he could make this purchase for $400 total. Chair Enkoff directed Mr. Balfe to set a ceiling of $450 and buy it in Boynton Beach. IX. Other Chair Enkoff asked about the fence at the Cemetery, and Mr. Balfe responded that it would be fixed by Tuesday of the next week. X. Adjournment Since there was no further business, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (013105)