Fairview Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting

City of Bastrop Cemetery Advisory Board April 24, 2013 Meeting Minutes The Cemetery Advisory Board met in a regularly scheduled meeting on April 24, 2013 at 4:30p.m., in the Council Chambers of the City Hall at 1311 Chestnut Street, Bastrop, Texas. Cemetery Board members present were Terry Sanders, Carl Spooner, Ted Schaefer, Joel Reed and Jerry Woehl. Staff in attendance was City Manager Mike Talbot, City Attorney J.C. Brown, Trey Job, Karla Stovall, Tracy Waldron, and Zana Jones. Cemetery Board member Mary Williams was unable to attend. I. Call to Order. At 4:30p.m., the meeting was called to order by Chair Terry Sanders. II. Announcements. Karla Stovall announced to the Board members in Places 5 and 6, being Jerry Woehl and Joel Reed that the one year terms will be ending in June. Ms. Stovall also announced to Mr. Woehl and Mr. Reed, that if they would like to be reappointed to their place on the Board, which is for a three year term, they should submit a letter to her requesting reappointment and she will submit their letter to the Mayor. Terry Sanders requested clarification of the three year term. Ms. Stovall explained that in July 2012, straws were drawn to determine the term length for each place on the Board, and Places 5 and 6 drew one year terms which will be ending in June and the terms for those places will now be for three years. City Manager Mike Talbot explained that after the Charter Election which changed City Council terms from two to three years, the Council revised the ordinance changing the term lengths for all City Boards from two to three years. City Attorney J.C. Brown explained that the drawing of the straws last year was to stagger the terms of the places, and now when the current terms end, the term lengths for all places will be three years. Carl Spooner asked if a letter requesting reappointment would need to be submitted after the present terms end. Ms. Stovall confirmed that a letter will be required. City Manager Talbot reminded the Board that if they are going to be absent from a meeting, they will need to send a brief letter to him advising of the absence and the reason; and that members are allowed excused absences, but he must have a letter on file as he is required to show that Board members are incompliance with the 66% attendance requirements. III. Consideration, discussion and possible action on the Cemetery Advisory Board’s December 5, 2012 meeting minutes. Ted Schaefer made a motion to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Carl Spooner and carried unanimously. IV. Consideration, discussion and possible action on report from Public Works regarding Cemetery maintenance. Director of Public Works Trey Job reported that the Public Works Department has done a lot of maintenance recently consisting of removing rocks and dirt and leveling the ground in the southeast corner, trimming and removing trees, and putting approximately four tons of asphalt patch on roadways. Mr. Job reported that a Public Works employee goes through the Cemetery once a week to remove fallen limbs and trash. Mr. Job stated that he would like to get the Boards approval and/or blessing to shave down the hill located on the north side of the Cemetery in order to lower the slope so that it can be mowed with a tractor. Carl Spooner asked if Public Works had found any poison that would kill the bamboo. Trey Job responded that by lowering the slope of the hill it will remove the roots of the bamboo. Carl Spooner also asked if the bamboo on the inside and outside of  the north fence could also be removed. City Attorney J.C. Brown asked if the property along the outside of the fence belongs to the Cemetery and if not, clearing the bamboo located there could be a problem. A discussion was held regarding the ownership of the property outside of the fence and City Manager Mike Talbot stated that there had been some dispute about the ownership and he will verify with the City’s surveyor where the City’s true boundary is. Jerry Woehl agreed with City Manager Talbot and stated that the discrepancy of the boundary line involved approximately 14 foot of land located on the east side of the “shed” that actually belongs to the City. Carl Spooner stated that there is also approximately 8 to 10 feet of land along the eastern most property that also belongs to the City but was not included within the fenced area because of concerns that the fence would “wash out” when it rains. City Manager Talbot added that the property line issues have never been addressed but will have to be at some time. Terry Sanders commented on how great the Cemetery looks since it has been under the care of the City and that the City is doing a fantastic job of caring for the Cemetery. Trey Job reported that Public Works filled and leveled approximately 33 graves after the last rains. V. Consideration, discussion and possible action on development of the Memorial Section. City Manager Mike Talbot stated that on the request of Karla Stovall, he presented to the City Council whether or not to pursue development of the Memorial Section, and the Council’s directive was to encourage the Cemetery Board to develop the Memorial Section and is in support of developing the section. Karla Stovall stated that she shared the Board’s responses to the questionnaire for developing basic guidelines for operating the Memorial Section with City Manager Talbot and City Attorney J.C. Brown. Ms. Brown established criteria for consideration when developing the Memorial Section based on the Board’s responses. City Attorney J.C. Brown presented a handout of her suggested criteria titled “Preliminary Concepts for Discussion on Cemetery’s Memorial Section – Criteria” (see attached) and discussed the foundation of a Memorial Section based on those criteria. Ms. Brown told the Board that their goal should be to develop very precise criteria and processes for the Memorial Section. Ms. Brown also stated that a memorial section can be a great asset to a cemetery when thoughtfully considered and if the Board hasn’t already thought of the criteria she presented that she encourages them to do so. Terry Sanders noted that it will take some time to answer all of the questions in Ms. Brown’s handout and assumed that it will not be done at a Board meeting. City Manager Talbot recognized that the questions couldn’t be answered during the meeting, and suggested to either form a subcommittee to include a member from the Finance Department; or each Board member answer the questions and submit them to the Finance Department to collate the responses and present them at a meeting. Mr. Sanders responded that he likes the subcommittee idea. Carl Spooner stated that he doesn’t oppose the subcommittee idea, but thinks that Board members should also be included on the subcommittee. Discussion was held on who should be included on the subcommittee also the number of Board members required. City Manager Talbot asked Mr. Sanders how many persons he felt should be on the subcommittee and Mr. Sanders responded three. City Manager Talbot then asked the Board if they wanted to leave it up to Mr. Sanders to pick the other members of the Board. City Attorney J.C. Brown reminded the Board that the subcommittee will present their ideas to the Board so that they will have an opportunity to provide input. Ms. Brown also stated that she feels the subcommittee should include members from the Board and City staff. Carl Spooner added that he doesn’t necessarily think the subcommittee should be some of the Board members, but should be people who have lived here and know the people and not “new comers” that have no idea of what’s gone on in the Cemetery in the past. City Manager Talbot stated that the subcommittee members might be a combination of both members from the Board and others from the community, he also stated that someone will have to “steer” the subcommittee. City Manager Talbot concluded from the comments made, that the preference is to form a subcommittee and then asked Mr. Sanders how many members he wanted on the subcommittee. Mr. Sanders responded three. City Manager Talbot stated that it should be determined if 3 members constitute a quorum and if the Board wants to leave it up to Mr. Sanders as  the Chairman to pick the other two members or does the Board want to pick all three members? City Manager Talbot indicated that he wants to move the process along. Mr. Sanders asked for volunteers and stated that he would volunteer. Ted Schaefer volunteered to be a Board representative on the subcommittee. City Attorney Brown stated that the subcommittee will present their ideas to the Board for approval so the Board will have an opportunity for involvement and input. Mr. Sanders stated that he will find another volunteer to be on the subcommittee and does he need to get with everyone to ensure the volunteer meets with everyone’s approval? City Attorney Brown stated that Mr. Sanders should submit the name to Finance staff who would announce the volunteer to the Board and if there are objections to the selection they can let staff know. City Manager Talbot stated that Mr. Sanders should submit the name of the volunteer to Karla Stovall, who will contact the Board members to let them know, and after 72 hours, if Ms. Stovall has not received any objections to the proposed volunteer, it will be assumed that the Board is in agreement with the selection. City Manager Talbot also asked Ms. Stovall and Mr. Sanders to coordinate setting up the first subcommittee meeting so that the process can start moving forward. Mr. Sanders asked the Board if there was anyone that they would like to recommend and the Board provided no response. VI. Consideration, discussion and possible action on report back from City Manager Mike Talbot regarding real estate. City Manager Mike Talbot reported that he has put in an offer to purchase a tract of land for expansion of the Cemetery and he will sign the contract either today or tomorrow. City Manager Talbot indicated that he will let Karla Stovall know as soon as the contract is signed so that she can inform the Board on the price and property, but until the contract is signed it is still considered an Executive Session item and cannot be discussed. City Manager Talbot stated that in his opinion the price is reasonable, and his reasoning for pursing the property is his concern that if did not act now that it would be very expensive in two to three years. City Manager Talbot announced that the City Council understands the implications that once the Cemetery is at capacity that there can no longer be a cemetery within the City of Bastrop, and has decided to be looking to the future and has given him broad authority to analyze what would make sense in maximizing the expanse of the Cemetery. City Manager Talbot stated that he will let Ms. Stovall know the owner’s response to the offer so that she can inform the Board. City Manager Talbot stated that he feels confident in the City’s offer. VII. Public Comment. [Note: By law, the Board cannot undertake discussion or take any action on Public Comments received at the meeting, but can: (1) recite Board/City policy on the points raised and/or (2) place items on upcoming agenda for both discussion and action at that upcoming meeting.] There were no public comments. VIII. Discussion and possible action on setting dates and times for next Cemetery Advisory Board meeting(s). City Manager Mike Talbot stated that setting the date for the next meeting would be contingent on the progress of the subcommittee and if they are comfortable in submitting their recommendations for the Memorial Section to the Board; and the progress that he has made on other areas of land acquisition for expansion of the Cemetery. City Manager Talbot stated that he will keep Karla Stovall posted on the land progress and asked Terry Sanders to do the same on the subcommittee’s progress and a meeting will be called when all are ready. Ms. Stovall stated that a meeting would be needed in approximately June or July to discuss the upcoming budget and to prepare for the next fiscal year. IX. Adjourn. At 5:08p.m., Terry Sanders adjourned the meeting.  APPROVED: ATTESTED: __________________________________ __________________________________ Terry Sanders, Chair Mary Williams, Secretary