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Minutes 09-14-06 MINUTES OF THE CEMETERY BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 AT 6:00 P.M. Present: Michael Enkoff, Chairman Janet Prainito, Secretary Karilyn Norem Hohner Susan Morrison Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Tom Balfe, Parks Manager Absent Harry (Dale) Hatch Also Present: John Wildner I. Call to Order Chair Enkoff called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. II. Attendance The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. Mr. Hatch was not able to attend since he was having surgery. Chair Enkoff welcomed the City's former Parks Department Director, John Wildner. III. Agenda Approval Ms. Rivers added the following item: VIII-F Approval of a T-l Line for the Cemetery's Computer System Mr. Balfe added the following items: VII-C August 2006 Parks Report VIII-G Purchase New Air-Conditioning System for the Mausoleum Chapel. Motion Ms. Morrison moved to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. IV. Approval of Minutes - July 13, 2006 Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Morrison seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 V. Receipt of Revenue/Expense Sheets - June &. July 2006 Chair Enkoff asked for an explanation of the item on Warehouse Services on page 17 of this report. Secretary Prainito explained each department paid every month for this service. The Warehouse bought supplies in bulk, stocked and distributed them and the departments paid for that service on a monthly basis. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the June & July 2006 Revenue/Expense Sheets. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VI. Receipt of Sales Reports - June, July &. August 2006 Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the Sales Reports for June, July & August 2006 as presented. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. VII. Unfinished Business A. Parks Division Report - June & July & August 2006 Tom Balfe, Parks Manager, reported the following: June 2006 Mausoleum entombments 9 Ground full body burials 11 Ground cremains 2 Total funerals: 22 July 2006 Mausoleum entombments 8 Ground full body burials 12 Ground cremains 2 Total funerals: 22 August 2006 Mausoleum entombments 6 Ground full body burials 14 Ground cremains 4 Total funerals: 24 2 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 Motion Ms. Morrison moved to approve the Parks Reports for June - August 2006. Secretary Prainito seconded the motion that passed unanimously. B. Review & Discussion of Fencing Options for Boynton Beach Memorial Park The board had previously discussed replacement of the wall section of the Cemetery fronting on Sea crest Boulevard. Mr. Balfe reported he had requested a quote to remove the existing wall and replace it with fencing to match the style of fencing on Woolbright Road. A quote for this was received for $25K. Mr. Balfe contacted the vendor to get an idea of how much it would cost to leave the columns in place and replace the area in between the columns with the same fencing style as the first quote, and the response was $21,840. Mr. Balfe's main concern was what appeared to be brickwork but was, under closer inspection, found to be frame with wire lath and imitation brick. Also, the decorative block in between the pillars had been painted several times, the mortar in between the blocks was starting to deteriorate, and the blocks were unsightly in appearance. It was hard to keep the decorative block in a well-maintained state. He thought the pillars themselves and the wall between them would almost have to stay because the grade of the Old Section was two feet higher than the sidewalk. Also, there were a few places where stress cracks had started to appear, although they could be repaired at minimal cost. Generally, the board liked the pillars and wanted them to remain. There was also some agreement on having an entrance arch, acknowledging it would have to be high enough to permit fire and sanitation trucks to pass unhindered through it. In the absence of an arch, it was thought the existing pillars could be decorated in some fashion, although their sloping tops might be a deterrent to the placement of circular planters. There was consensus that the entrance should be appealing and inviting to the eye. Ms. Rivers offered to bring the board some designs for dressing up the entrance on both sides, with and without an arch. Chair Enkoff preferred getting rid of the flowery blocks and replacing them with the Woolbright- style fencing, leaving the columns in place. He thought if they could settle on an idea for this, the board could make a recommendation to the City Commission. Mr. Balfe responded the information could be provided to the board prior to the next meeting. Ms. Morrison commented the newly planted trees were growing well and she had heard a lot of nice comments about them. Mr. Balfe remarked all 75 trees had survived, which was unusual. VIII. New Business A. Discuss the use of Sara Sims Cemetery when Boynton Beach Memorial Park reaches capacity John Wildner, former Parks Department Director, spoke in favor of expanding Sara Sims Cemetery and applauded the board for considering purchasing the property where the buildings were in complete disrepair. He believed it was important to keep the option of expansion open. 3 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 He believed the Sara Sims Cemetery should be reserved for the use of the community and that indigent burials should not be encouraged. Chair Enkoff responded changes were in process that would drastically change the procedures surrounding indigent burials. Chair Enkoff asked Ms. Rivers about the future of Sara Sims Cemetery in relation to the budget. Ms. Rivers responded the redevelopment of the Park was in the budget for 2008-09. The purchase of the property was in the 2007-08 budget for $200K. Chair Enkoff was strongly in favor of the purchase and the redevelopment of Sara Sims Cemetery and Park, and asked when it should be brought to the Commission. Ms. Rivers stated the Commission was looking to the Cemetery Board for a statement, recommendation, or opinion on this matter. Secretary Prainito recalled the discussions at the budget workshops where Commissioner McCray stated the people living in the surrounding area did not want to be buried at Sara Sims because their loved ones were buried at Boynton Beach Memorial Park. Consequently, he did not favor going forward with the purchase or any expenditures to expand Sara Sims. Chair Enkoff believed that kind of thinking might change when the Heart of Boynton redevelopment got underway. Secretary Prainito agreed, saying even if the older community did not want to be buried there, the new people might choose to do so. Mr. Wildner asked if the intention were to purchase the property at Sara Sims with Cemetery Board monies. Ms. Rivers noted the purchase was still in the Capital Improvement Program and she believed the source of that money would be the Cemetery Fund. Mr. Wildner believed funding this from the sale of cemetery plots would make perfect sense and was a good thing to do. The consensus of the board was to wait for further developments. B. Ratify the Cemetery Board approval of the request of Helen N. Barnard to allow Michael Lorne of Lorne & Sons Funeral Home to disinurn the remains of James H. Barnard, her husband, from Boynton Beach Mausoleum, Sunset Building, Section E, Crypt F-5 Secretary Prainito declared the paperwork was in order for this request. In regard to questions about a refund, Secretary Prainito noted all sales and/or refunds were handled through Brady Osborne for the Mausoleum. The City only made refunds on in-ground plots. Chair Enkoff asked what the City received from the Mausoleum, and Secretary Prainito responded the City received a percentage of the sales proceeds from Mr. Osborne on a quarterly basis. Mr. Wildner commented Mr. Osborne had never accepted the concept of reselling crypts and niches in the Mausoleum. It was a matter of waiting until the Mausoleum was no longer responsible for sales, at which time the City could decide to resell crypts and niches if it so desired. 4 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 Chair Enkoff believed Mr. Osborne did resell crypts and niches because a gentleman had told him he had bought a crypt or niche back from Mr. Osborne. He felt the board should determine if any crypts or niches had been resold. Secretary Prainito responded they could only ask him and check the sales agreements he provided to find out if he had resold anything. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the disinurnment of James Barnard, Sunset Building, Section E, Crypt F-5. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. C. Ratify the Cemetery Board approval of the request of Cynthia Mavronson for a refund on Lot U8-A, Block 0, Boynton Beach Memorial Park Addition #1. (Original purchase price was $600 less 20% ($120) for a total refund of $480.00. Secretary Prainito noted all the paperwork was in order for this request. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve a refund on Lot U8-A, Block 0, for Cynthia Mavronson in the amount of $480.00. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. D. Discuss the possible designation of one vendor to engrave all new crypt and niche fronts Mr. Balfe reported that during one of the billing cycles with the present vendor they were using for permanent inscriptions on crypt and niche fronts, it came to his attention the cost to do a full inscription (last name, two first names, date of birth and date of death for both parties entombed in a crypt or niche) was more than $30, if the existing crypt or niche front did not have a full inscription. A discussion was held with the present vendor. During that discussion, they realized that in the present contract, the vendor bid on the existing work that needed to be done at the Mausoleum. That is, the vendor would replace the inscriptions that currently existed at the Mausoleum. If a crypt or niche only had one name, that is all they would do. They decided to go back out to bid. In the re-bid, they were going to ask for a price breakdown on doing inscriptions in as many combinations as possible of names and dates. The last contract was for a one-year term, which expired in October of 2005. This contract was up with a two-year renewal as long as the vendor agreed with the pricing. Chair Enkoff favored doing this by line with each line having a certain number of characters or letters. They could make names one line and dates another line. They could count spaces and let the spaces be a line also. Ms. Rivers responded the top, main, name was not a problem, but the vendor had to come in to put on the first person that passed away and then the second person when he or she passed away, and that made three trips. Mr. Balfe noted they were only sending out full crypt fronts where both persons had been entombed and there were first and last names and dates of birth and death. Chair Enkoff asked if they might want to consider having an inscription of both names up front and requiring dates later. He wondered what it would cost for the addition of dates. Mr. Balfe noted this had come up during a discussion with the current vendor and to come back and put 5 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 any information on was an additional $45. Ms. Rivers stated this was not in the contract and this is why they had to go back out for bid on this job. Chair Enkoff recalled when this situation had been researched at another time and he thought there had been two other vendors. Mr. Balfe agreed. Secretary Prainito asked how much of the project had been done, and Ms. Rivers responded, about 20%. They were only to send a maximum of 20 fronts to the vendor at one time and the vendor would return them in two weeks and another set would be ready to go to the vendor. Secretary Prainito asked what it had cost for lettering when they were doing the bronze lettering. Mr. Balfe responded it had cost over $200, but it had been included in the price of the crypt/niche. Mr. Balfe's concern was the replacement of them if they were stolen, damaged, or lost. Secretary Prainito's recollection was that each front was to cost $30. Mr. Balfe agreed, but the error came in when the vendor bid only on changing out the existing names/dates on the fronts, and not work that would be required in the future. For example, an existing crypt front could have been fully inscribed, or the last name only. Secretary Prainito summed up, saying some were getting full inscriptions, because that was what already existed. Anything more than that was costing more than the original $30. Mr. Balfe responded to a question from Secretary Prainito about how long it had taken them to realize that, saying they had become aware of it after two submittals. No one was asking why his or her particular crypt or niche front had not yet been done. Chair Enkoff suggested the new bid go out as soon as possible so they could continue with the project. Ms. Rivers declared they would work with Purchasing and when the bids came in, would present them to the board for approval. E. Report on Investments from Bill Mummert, Director of Financial Services Secretary Prainito referred to a letter from Mr. Mummert in the agenda packet describing recent actions taken in regard to the Boynton Beach Memorial Park Fund investment(s). Secretary Prainito commented that from now on, Mr. Mummert would keep the board informed if any changes were made that affected this Fund. F. Request for T-1 Cable Line at the Cemetery for Cemetery Computer Ms. Rivers explained the computer at the Cemetery was on a dial-up connection and was extremely slow. The Cemetery workers were having a hard time communicating with the City Clerk's office and others because of it. The Little League was getting a new security system that required a T-1 cable and that line would go from the East Water Treatment Plan over the Cemetery grounds to Little League Park. Hooking onto it would give the Cemetery workers instant access as enjoyed by the workers in City Hall. There would be a monthly charge of $209.79 or an annual total of $2,517.49 for this T-1 line. They were asking for approval from the board. Mr. Balfe remarked when they were looking for family members, they had to look through their paper records since the computer was so slow. The Cemetery program in the City Clerk's office was updated daily and it took them a long time to "catch up" with a dial-up connection. Motion Secretary Prainito moved to approve the expenditure for connecting a T-1 cable to the Cemetery computer. Ms. Hohner seconded the motion that passed unanimously. 6 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 G. New Air Conditioning System at Mausoleum Chapel Mr. Balfe reported that during a recent funeral service at the Mausoleum Chapel, a funeral director had telephoned the Cemetery Desk with a comment that it was extremely warm in the Chapel and there was an unpleasant odor. The Cemetery staff had Facilities check out the air conditioner and they were advised the system had been repaired several times over the past few months. They were just putting "band aids" on it. Facilities staff recommended replacement of the system and Mr. Balfe agreed. The original unit had never been replaced, to Mr. Balfe's knowledge. Rusty parts were holding it together. They were waiting for Facilities to provide an estimated cost. Facilities recommended replacing the existing air conditioner with a ductless one that was very reliable. Several places in the City were now using such units. The existing unit was on the roof and two windows had been taken out and replaced with ducts. Chair Enkoff confirmed the Mausoleum contract called for the City to take care of maintenance on the Mausoleum. Chair Enkoff wondered if they could look into some kind of air conditioning that would make the Mausoleum Chapel smell better. Mr. Balfe did not know of an air conditioner that would do that, but perhaps battery-operated air fresheners could work. They had them over at Little League Park in the restrooms and they were working. Ms. Hohner believed if it were a little cooler, the odor would be reduced. Mr. Balfe thought more airflow would also help. The Cemetery staff used a product called Banish in all their interments. It was a minty-smelling chemical that helped with odor, especially if there were two interments that were widely separated in years. Mr. Wildner noted that part of the problem was the air conditioner was not running for much of the time. No circulating air contributed to the buildup of foul air. If it were run on fan mode for part of the time it was off, it could help. Ms. Hohner agreed that the air conditioner needed to be run more constantly. Mr. Balfe commented a timer on the condensing unit upstairs shut the air conditioner off at 6:00 p.m. and turned it on at 7:00 a.m. Chair Enkoff suggested getting a new thermostat and program it to come off and on. Mr. Balfe thought the new air conditioner would be less expensive than a regular air conditioner since there was no condensing unit and air handler. It was almost like a window unit only larger. Ms. Rivers commented although they did not have all the necessary information, they did not feel they could wait another month. Mr. Balfe was to try to get an estimate and call all the members to poll them about this. The consensus of the board was to allow the purchase of the new air conditioner if it were under $5K and if over, Mr. Balfe would poll the members for their decision. IX. Other Chair Enkoff asked if there were any way to improve the drainage in Section 0 where the water stood and the ground stayed wet. Mr. Balfe responded if he was speaking about the area to the south, they were working on it. They were going to dig it up starting two feet from the road, to 7 Meeting Minutes Cemetery Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2006 a depth of about three feet. They planned to replace the sandy loam at the bottom and put in drain field materials instead with six or eight inches of rock over the top of it. That should cure the problem. All the rain lately had been exacerbating the situation. Chair Enkoff remarked that the entire Cemetery was looking especially good. Mr. Balfe introduced Alex Carrion, the new Crew Leader at the Cemetery. Chair Enkoff stated the Cemetery workers were doing a really fine job and other board members agreed. Mr. Balfe also commended Mr. Carrion for the work they were doing at the Cemetery . x. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:04 p.m. J:~ ~tJ Susan Collins Recording Secretary (091406) 8