Cemetery Commission

APPROVED COPY Deerfield Cemetery Commission Meeting Minutes September 27,2016 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 scheduled meeting. The main focus was to observe any issues that might need to be addressed and corrected before the Deerfield Public Library Cemetery Tours on October 8th and November 11th. A meeting of the Deerfield Cemetery Commission was held on Tuesday September 27, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Village Hall Community Conference Room at 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Present were: Maynard Grossman, Chairman Paul Meintzer Dan Ziemba Mike Cramer Also present: Jean Spagnoli, Village Planner Debbie Galante, Secretary Anne Jamieson, Librarian, Deerfield Public Library Absent: John Zobus Public Comment: There was no public comment. Document Approval: The minutes of the July 12, 2016 were unanimously approved. Deerfield Cemetery Commission September 27, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Business: 1. Cemetery tours and audio tours (update) by Deerfield Librarian Anne Jamieson: Ms. Jamieson reported to the commission that the Fall Cemetery Tour for October 8th is full with 3 people on the wait list. Mr. Ziemba thought that it would be unfortunate that only 3 additional people would have to miss out. Chairman Grossman agreed and suggested the number allowed on the tour be increased to no more than 20. There is also an audio tour available on the Deerfield Public Library website. It can be used with an iPhone or iPad and takes about an hour. Ms. Jamieson played a portion of the audio tour for the commission and it was very well received. A Veterans Day tour is scheduled for November 11th with the focus being on 11 of our war veterans that are buried in the cemetery. There is no registration needed but it is suggested. This will be a self-guided tour with both Anne Jamieson and her coworker Ted Gray in period clothing providing instruction and guidance at the cemetery. Mr. Cramer requested a list of the veterans from Ms. Jamieson so he can mark the graves of the veterans highlighted in the tour to make it easier to navigate around. 2. Review observations made at the cemetery grounds: A very large depression in the grass near the Reuben Meierhoff gravesite is of great concern to the commission and needs to be filled in, hopefully prior to any of the tours that are scheduled. The replacement tree that was to be planted in the spring is scheduled to be planted this week by Public Works. Mr. Cramer suggested that Dawn at Moore Landscapes be contacted about the workers using a little more caution when mowing to avoid damage to the headstones and markers. It was noticed that some of the markers are no longer straight and may have been moved by the mower. Also, Chairman Grossman noted that some stones look like they may have been damaged by a weed whacker as well. Mr. Ziemba suggested mentioning the landscaping circle around the Vetter monument area. It is larger than it needs to be and cuts through the marker, potentially making it unstable. Deerfield Cemetery Commission September 27, 2016 Page 3 of 4 3. Deerfield Cemetery website, usage/hits: Ms. Spagnoli handed out a graph illustrating website usage to date. As of January when the website was launched there have been 27,608 hits with the most being in the month of August with 6,198 hits. The commission was very happy to learn about the increasing interest in the cemetery. 4. State of Illinois, Cemetery License: The current license expired on August 31, 2016. Nothing has been received from the state for renewal. Chairman Grossman said it should have come in an email to someone at the Village. Ms. Spagnoli at Chairman Grossman’s direction will scan and send our State License to the chairman and he will look into getting the license current. 5. 630 Central Avenue: The Village has obtained the property adjacent and directly west of the cemetery grounds. All utilities have been disconnected in order for the structures to be demolished by the end of the year. There are no specific plans for the land at this time. 6. Next meeting date: To be determined Deerfield Cemetery Commission September 27, 2016 Page 4 of 4 Items from the Commission: Some concern over the number of people in the cemetery at any given time using the audio tour was addressed. Ms. Spagnoli would like to find out if the library is able to track the number of audio tours as well. The commission decided to wait until after the two scheduled cemetery tours are completed and Chairman Grossman and Mr. Ziemba will walk the grounds to see if there are any other maintenance issues that will need to be addressed. Items from the Staff: No items from the Staff Adjournment: There being no further business or discussion the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Galante Secretary