Memorandum 18-048 Amending Cemetry Policies & Guidelines and Fee Schedule

Memorandum 18-048

TO:                         MAYOR ZAK AND HOMER CITY COUNCIL

FROM:                  MELISSA JACOBSEN, MMC, CITY CLERK

DATE:                    APRIL 11, 2018

SUBJECT:           AMENDMENTS TO THE HICKERSON MEMORIAL CEMETERY POLICIES AND GUIDELINES AND THE FEE SCHEDULE UNDER CITY CLERK-CEMETERY

With the expansion of the Hickerson Memorial Cemetery, the City Clerk’s office drafted the Hickerson Memorial Cemetery Policies and Guidelines which was adopted by Resolution 17-056.  The Fee Schedule was amended to increase the cost of cemetery plots by Resolution 15-097(S)(A).

Now that the expansion is complete, the cemetery has 40, 2’x2’ cremains plots that weren’t addressed in the policies and guidelines or in the fee schedule.  A standard plot is approximately 5’x10’, sized to inter up to two caskets (with advanced notice), one casket and two cremains, or three cremains.  The cost of a plot is $1000. The smaller cremains plot is sized for one person’s cremains and a fee of $400 per plot is recommended.

Another issue that has been discovered is that the policies and guidelines doesn’t permit the transfer of ownership of a reserved plot to another person.  This is something that has been allowed in the past in city code with written notice from the plot holder and approval by the City Manager.  It is also inconsistent in the guidelines and policies, because it allows the transfer of a niche in the columbarium (that we hope to have in the future).

The definition of Lot removed and Interment lot, plot, or space was added to address usage of terms within the polices and guidelines.  

Lastly, the policies and guidelines address purchase of a plot by applying to the City Clerk.  The City Clerk’s office staff has developed a permit application to purchase a plot, and that has been clarified in the definitions section by removing reference to the Cemetery Burial Records Justification form and including a definition for Interment/Reservation Permit Application.

The amendments can be found in the policies and guidelines pages 5-6.   

Recommendation:  Adopt Resolution 18-038 amending the Hickerson Memorial Cemetery Policies and Guidelines and the Fee Schedule under City Clerk-Cemetery.