Though initially opposed to the idea of its formation, Mayor John Green says the township’s cemetery committee deserves credit for the work it has accomplished.
“It looks like they’ve been very active,” Green said at a recent council meeting.
He was commenting on the business included in the minutes of recent meetings of the committee, which was formed in June.
Last month council approved a committee recommendation to double the annual honorarium paid to those who maintain abandoned cemeteries, from $50 to $100.
Council also approved a second committee recommendation to move a monument to ensure an adequate burial site for an adjacent plot.
In addition to those two decisions, the committee has also been active with visits to local cemeteries, which helped identify improvements and repairs for the public works department, including:
– ensuring winter access is not restricted;
– the removal of dead trees and shrubs;
– ground leveling;
– fence and headstone repairs; and
– locating and lifting metal row markers.
The committee has also discussed in depth the purchase of a columbarium at the Drayton cemetery for the burial of cremated remains. Apparently there have been just three cremation plots sold, while there is interest in purchasing niches in a columbarium. It would likely be placed near the cremation gardens.
Township staff has said it will come back to the committee with prices for a columbarium, which could be considered in the municipality’s 2010 budget.
