Fairview Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting

City of Bastrop Cemetery Advisory Board Meeting July 16, 2014 4:00 p.m. City Hall Council Chambers 1311 Chestnut Street Bastrop, Texas 78602 The Cemetery Advisory Board met in a regularly scheduled meeting on July 16, 2014 at 4:00p.m., in the Council Chambers of the City Hall at 1311 Chestnut Street, Bastrop, Texas. Cemetery Board members present were Terry Sanders, Carl Spooner, Jerry Woehl and Cheryl Long. Staff in attendance was Karla Stovall, Tracy Waldron, Zana Jones and Jason Alfaro. I. Call to Order Board Chair Terry Sanders called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. II. Announcements Karla Stovall had the following announcements: a. Introduction of Cemetery Board member Cheryl Long, who was appointed to complete the term for Place 6 which ends in June of 2016. b. Mary Williams and Ted Schaefer have reapplied to serve on the Board and would be reappointed at the next City Council meeting on July 22, 2014. c. Memorial Section Ordinance was submitted to Council for the second reading at the May 13, 2014 Council Meeting and it was approved. d. Photos were provided of the gazebo which showed the pruning that was done to the surrounding shrubs in preparation for the Memorial Day program. III. Public Comments. [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. IV. Consideration, discussion and/or approval of the Cemetery Advisory Board’s March 26, 2014 meeting minutes Jerry Woehl made a motion to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Carl Spooner and carried unanimously. V. Informational update to Board, by staff, regarding the purchase of real property Karla Stovall announced that several months ago the City learned that property adjacent to the Cemetery was available for purchase, so an offer was made which was accepted and the contract is in place; however the title company is trying to obtain clear title which could take up to six months to locate the heirs in order to get a clear title. She added that the purchase of the property was included in the budget for the next fiscal year. Karla also shared that the property does have a house and a nice garage which can be utilized by the Cemetery Groundskeeper to store equipment and as an office area. Brief discussion was held regarding the property. VI. Consideration, discussion and approval of proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015 Karla Stovall presented the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015. Discussion was held about the proposed budget and fund investments. Ms. Stovall reported that she anticipates the increase in lot sales to continue and reflected that in the proposed budgeted. She also reported that operating expenditures are up as there continues to be an increase in water usage even after replacing the water meter and installing a timer limiting the hours that water is available for use from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. She reported that the water usage continues to be significant and if continues the next option would be to turn the water off. Ms. Stovall informed the Board that she would be drawing down from the fund balance to purchase real property as shown in the proposed budget. She also reminded the Board that only the interest earned from the Permanent Fund can be used which is put into the Operating fund; the certificates of deposits for this fund were established when the City took over the Cemetery; and the Cemetery investments must be in compliance with the City’s investment policy. Carl Spooner made a motion to accept the proposed budget, seconded by Jerry Woehl and passed unanimously. VII. Informational update to Board, by Staff, on matters related to the Fairview Cemetery operations and maintenance Carl Spooner shared a letter that he received from Robbie Sanders regarding a ceremony to honor Texas Rangers that are buried in the Cemetery and asking for his assistance in locating their grave sites. He has location of the burial sites of most of the 13 names on the list. Jason Alfaro, Parks Foreman, reported that the Cemetery Groundskeeper has been busy trying to keep up with mowing due to the rain that we have received. Jerry Woehl reported that there is a tree in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) right of way that needs trimming because it blocks the view of traffic when exiting the Cemetery. Carl Spooner added that there are trees with low hanging limbs located along the streets in the older section of the Cemetery that need to be trimmed. Mr. Alfaro responded that he will contact TxDOT about trimming the trees along their right of way. Mr. Woehl also voiced his concern that the back part of the older section is not being mowed. Terry Sanders said that he noticed the roads are deteriorating and asked if some repairing can be done. Carl Spooner responded that he has noticed that repairs have been done to some of the areas. Jerry Woehl asked the status on putting a port-a potty in the Cemetery. Karla Stovall said the that it was put on hold once she was made aware of the purchase of the property with the house, but will move forward with having one brought in if the Board so desired. She added that the house and garage will provide an “office” for the Cemetery Groundskeeper as well as storage for his tools and equipment. Discussion was held regarding a port-a-potty. Jerry Woehl did not want to move forward with the port-a-potty. Carl Spooner noted that the undeveloped block needs mowing. Mr. Alfaro said he will look into getting the block shredded.  Cheryl Long stated that in reviewing the minutes from the previous meeting, she noted the ordinance for the Memorial section limits the size of flags to 12 inches. Karla Stovall responded that the Memorial section ordinance cites back to the Cemetery ordinance which doesn’t allow for flags that are larger than 12 inches. Ms. Long said that she feels that the larger flags are inspirational and look beautiful. Brief discussion was held. Ms. Stovall reported that the size of flags allowed in the Cemetery can be added to the agenda for discussion at the next Cemetery Board meeting. VIII. Consideration, discussion and possible action on setting the dates and times for next Cemetery Advisory Board meeting(s) Discussion was held on the date for the next meeting. Karla Stovall set the next meeting for October 15, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. IX. Invitation for input from Board Members related to issues for possible inclusion on the next meeting agenda Cheryl Long would like to include the size of flags allowed in the Cemetery to be discussed. X. Adjourn Carl Spooner made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:00 p.m., seconded by Terry Sanders and carried unanimously. APPROVED: ATTESTED: __________________________________ __________________________________ Terry Sanders, Chair Mary Williams, Secretary