Cemetery Commission

APPROVED COPY Deerfield Cemetery Commission Meeting Minutes April 28, 2015 Members of the Commission assembled at 6:30 p.m. on the Deerfield Cemetery grounds located at 570 Waukegan Road prior to the start of the regular meeting. The main focus was to inspect the grounds for any maintenance needed due to the winter weather as well as preparing for the Memorial Day holiday. A meeting of the Deerfield Cemetery Commission was held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Hall Community Conference Room at 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Chairman Grossman called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. Present were: Maynard Grossman, Chairman Daniel Ziemba Mike Cramer Paul Meintzer Absent: John Zobus Also present: Jean Spagnoli, Village Planner Debbie Galante, Secretary Public Comment: There was no public comment. Document Approval: The minutes of the February 24, 2016 meeting were unanimously approved. Business: 1. Review observations made at the cemetery grounds Chairman Grossman asked the commission members for comments on the cemetery grounds, specifically the Memorial pole. Ms. Spagnoli summarized the comments heard at the cemetery by saying the work at the base of the pole was disappointing, unacceptable, and not at all like the proposal drawing that was furnished to the commission by Moore Landscapes. The drawing depicts a half circle of hard surface around the base and installed was a wedge shape. Mr. Meintzer offered to go back to the cemetery and mark off with metal stakes the exact location for the placement of Deerfield Cemetery Commission April 28, 2015 Page 2 of 3 the granite cobblestones. Everyone was in agreement that the workmanship seemed to be rushed and thrown together in order to just get it done. It was not at all what was expected. Ms. Spagnoli will be contacting Dawn Rummel with Moore Landscapes to meet at the cemetery to discuss the next plan of action to correct the stonework and plantings. Earlier today, Ms. Spagnoli was contacted by Ms. Rummel about two damaged headstones; the damage occurred as a result of an inexperienced driver on the mower. Pictures of the damage were emailed to Ms. Spagnoli and shown to the commission members. While at the cemetery, the commission identified the actual headstone locations and noticed an adjacent stone was hit, rotating the stone on its foundation. It was determined by the commission that Jay Kornick of Sure-Set Monument Service, who has previously done repairs in the cemetery, would be contacted to do a walkthrough of the grounds and prepare a quote of items he believes need immediate attention, along with a separate quote for the three damaged headstones that are the responsibility of Moore Landscapes. Mr. Ziemba questioned if there was a type of sealant that could be applied to the stones to prevent anymore erosion of the engravings. Mr. Meintzer suggested asking Mr. Kornick for his advice. It was also suggested that Mr. Kornick could come out every year to assess the headstones as preventive maintenance. It was Mr. Kornick’s advice that rubbings of the headstones discontinue. Mr. Cramer said the grammar schools would take a field trip to the cemetery and do pencil rubbings. Unfortunately it can be damaging to the stones and the engravings. Mr. Cramer also suggested due to the fragile nature of some of the stones they could be weak and fall if someone is putting pressure on them. A possible call to the schools may be in order for the safety of the students to be sure the rubbings are not being done. Public Works has removed some of the tree stumps and one stump has yet to be removed. There are also bare spots to be filled in with grass, possibility where some of the stumps were removed. Ms. Spagnoli will contact Public Works to have this work completed. 2. Deerfield Cemetery website, update Since the last meeting on February 24th, there have been 382 hits to the cemetery website, giving a total number of 954 hits since going public in January. There have also been changes to the Village of Deerfield website with the addition of the Cemetery Commission to the Boards and Commission tab and as well as a link for the Deerfield Cemetery under Village History. Some of the wording on the Commission’s webpage was requested to change to read that the commission meets multiple times a year and the order of the information change slightly. Added to the cemetery website Deerfield Cemetery Commission April 28, 1928 Page 3 of 3 was a 13 page alphabetical listing of all known burials along with the birth/death dates and plot location as suggested by Mayor Rosenthal. Mr. Cramer spoke with the Deerfield Area Historical Society about having a link to the cemetery website on their website. He will be making a follow up phone call as the webmaster is located in California. Ms. Spagnoli said she recently saw an article in the Historical Society’s newsletter about the Deerfield cemetery website. Chairman Grossman commented on how he thought the cemetery has received great publicity through all the various newspapers. 3. Next meeting date: Chairman Grossman suggested Ms. Spagnoli send out an email to the commission members after getting responses about the Memorial pole as well as Mr. Kornick’s quotes. Once the information has been obtained, a meeting date can be set for some time in June or July. The commission will meet at the cemetery to evaluate the completed work and discuss future restoration of the stones. Items from the Commission: No items from the Commission. Items from Staff: No items from staff. Adjournment: There being no further business or discussion the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Galante Secretary