Cemetery Board

Village of South Amherst 5/11/2022 Rosemary Leshinski called the meeting to order at 6:02pm Board Members present: Rosemary Leshinski, Marilyn Makruski, Andrew Johnson Village Council Liaison: Not in attendance Visitors: Mayor Leshinski, Emil Ruth of GoGreen Landscaping,461 E. Lorain St., Oberlin, OH Agenda Rosemary Leshinski asked if there were any additions to the agenda. Discussion of cemetery sign installation and another client inquiry was added to the agenda. Andrew Johnson moved to accept the agenda with the additions. Marilyn Makruski seconded. The roll was called in favor. Visitors Emil Ruth came prepared to discuss footer installations and road maintenance. See Old Business section. Meeting Minutes Andrew Johnson moved to accept the minutes from the April 13, 2022 meeting. Rosemary Leshinski seconded. The roll was called in favor. Reporting – Financial and Other UAN Financial Reports for April 30, 2022 were presented for review. Ref. Exhibit A. Paula Knodel presented the current list of burials and lot sales for 2022. Ref Exhibit B. Marilyn Makruski moved to accept the presentation of these reports. Andrew Johnson seconded. The roll was called in favor. 2023 Cemetery Appropriations/Budget – A special meeting was held on April 19th. Report was given to the Fiscal Officer. Her needs have been met. Further budget reporting will be due to the Finance Committee in June. Open Work Items – Paula Knodel gave a brief overview of what she has on her current work list. There is a bit of backup due to her being on vacation. Paula asked if the Board would like to send a letter to Hempel Funeral Home reminding them that funeral payments are to be made in advance of burial unless the funeral home is paying the funds from their own account. Use of Perpetual Funds – It has been determined that the Bylaws are what govern expenditures. The current Bylaws are vague on this issue. The Board will be holding a special meeting in June to review the Bylaws for updates that are needed. This will include decisions on what accounts should be used to cover expenses. Old Business Cemetery Open Work Orders List – Rosemary Leshinski will meet with Paula Knodel next week to update the listing. It should be shorter once work has been completed tomorrow at the cemetery. Footers will be poured tomorrow by Emil Ruth of GoGreen. Page | 1 of 3 Cemetery Sign Installation – Mayor Leshinski has ordered the brackets to hold the sign. The goal is to have the sign installed for Memorial Day. Cemetery Road Repairs – Emil Ruth of GoGreen has presented a quote to renovate gravel driveways at the cemetery. Ref Exhibit C. Andrew Johnson made a motion to accept the bid for $4,654.00 for road repair work. Rosemary Leshinski seconded the motion. The roll was called in favor. Cemetery Drainage Problems - Emil Ruth of GoGreen Landscaping presented a proposal to fix the drainage issues in Sections B and L. He is still working on maps to accompany the quote. He asked if he could review the drainage issues with the board members who are present at the cemetery tomorrow while footers are being poured. More bids will be solicited, and a decision made. The board wants to ask Council to provide funds for this infrastructure item. Cemetery Software – The installation software has not been received. Paula sent an email ordering the software after the last meeting. When she followed up, she was advised that Michelle Henke will need to order the software and change the contact information to include Paula Knodel. NSF Check –The Law Director’s office sent a follow-up letter on 2/4/2022 to the Michael Healy requesting that the funds be paid for the funeral of Phyllis Healy. Paula Knodel had conversations with Phyllis Healy’s niece, Emily Casper, who informed that funds would be settling from the estate of Wilma Mayfield to Michael Healy. Paula spoke with Michael Healy in late April. The estate has not settled. He refuses to give his attorney’s name and phone number. Funds have yet to be received. May want to consider small claims court if funds do not come through. New Contractor – Franklin Memorial has the ability to engrave the Memorial Stones. The Board is meeting at Franklin Memorial next week and will be following up. We have three open orders for stones. Board Letter – The Board is working on a cover letter to be included with each lot sale. It has not been finalized. Legal Disclosure on Payment Plans – The current payment plan contract for installment sales of lots does not include language on what happens if the person should die prior to completing payments. The Village Law Director has been asked for input. No reply has been received. There is an older gentleman (80+ years) wanting to purchase four lots for his family. Wants this issue resolved prior to signing contract. Columbarium – Members of the board will be going to Franklin Monument Company in Norwalk next Tuesday, April 17th at 5:30. The meeting will cover the Columbarium program that Franklin offers. Camera for Cemetery - Andrew Johnson investigated prices for motion sensitive cameras that can be used to monitor the cemetery. Each camera would be less that $100. The board would like them placed at three locations. Rosemary Leshinski made a motion to purchase three cameras and whatever else may be needed to install/mount them. The total purchase is not to exceed $350.00. Andrew Johnson seconded the motion. The roll was called in favor. Pioneer Cemetery Fence – Cemetery fence repairs that were approved at the April meeting. Priority is to have this completed by the fall. Evergreen Cemetery Main Entrance – The main entrance is the only entrance to the cemetery grounds. The road begins at a downhill incline that is listing to the east towards woods and water. The road needs improved and possibly a guard rail installed. There is no alternate entrance for walkers. They must use the roadway. Need to look at a possible walking trail entrance behind the church through the trees into Section L. Signs should be posted to avoid significant liability by the Village if a walker is injured. This item was tabled until the next meeting Page | 2 of 3 New Business Monument Maintenance – The Board needs to find a company to level monuments set in prior years. Rosemary requested Paula Knodel contact Eternity Monument to see if they could give us a quote. Bylaws Regarding Residential Lot/Grave Purchases - The language in the Bylaws needs edited for stating that the residential pricing is based on the residency of the person intended for burial in that grave and not the residency of the person purchasing that grave. This will be included in June’s meeting for updating the Bylaws. Wreaths Across America – The Board in two prior meetings determined that this project was not a good fit for our cemetery. Kathryn Kennedy, who heads the initiative in our area, came to the last Village Council Meeting. Councilperson Jeanne Maschari volunteered to be in charge of this program at Evergreen Cemetery. The council approved it. As it has been presented, the Cemetery Board should have no duties to perform for this program. Harris Family Request - An email was received from the son of a couple who were to be buried in Section A of Evergreen. They were buried elsewhere. Son wants to know what can be done with the graves. The board discussed and determined, in this case, to make an offer to buy back the lots at the 1877 price of $12 each and retire them for use in the future. Andrew Johnson made the motion. Marilyn Makruski seconded it. The roll was called in favor. Paula will send a letter. Firelands School – Community Service Day – Each year the school arranges a work session day with the cemetery. The Board discussed this and decided not to offer the program this year. It was felt that not enough supervision is available for the program. NOPEC Grant – The Board received information on the NOPEC Grant funds available for energy efficient projects in the Village. It was decided to apply for coverage on the cameras that were approved earlier n the meeting along with solar lights to shine on the flag and pole as you enter the cemetery. Unauthorized Dumping - The Mayor suggested that the Bylaws contain a statement on unauthorized dumping of materials on cemetery grounds. This will be discussed at the June meeting for Bylaw changes. Footer Dimensions Requirements - Emil Ruth suggested a review of the dimension requirements on footers to allow for not only the monument base size but for the height of the monument as well. This will be discussed at the June meeting for Bylaw changes. Andrew Johnson moved to adjourn. Marylin Makruski seconded. The roll was called with all in favor Respectfully Submitted Paula S Knodel, Cemetery Clerk Page | 3 of 3