Cemetery Board

Village of South Amherst 6/8/2022 Rosemary Leshinski called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm Board Members present: Rosemary Leshinski, Marilyn Makruski, Andrew Johnson Village Council Scott Jones Visitors: Emil Ruth of GoGreen Landscaping,461 E. Lorain St., Oberlin, OH Agenda Rosemary Leshinski asked if there were any additions to the agenda. Rosemary moved to move Financial Reports to the end of the meeting. Andrew Johnson moved to accept the agenda with the additions. Marilyn Makruski seconded. The roll was called in favor. Visitors Emil Ruth – He noticed that the large evergreen trees in the memorial garden look infected. His friend at Cleveland State University tested a sample he sent. The trees are carrying a disease that is not curable. They should not be fertilized as that can make the disease progress faster. The seven will need to be taken down but they won’t die overnight. The trees are not a danger as they are, although evergreen trees routes grow only a foot or so deep. Strong winds can take them down at any time. The Board will take a closer look at the trees and make some planning decisions. Time is not critical at this stage. Military Markers need installed. Some markers need straightened/leveled. Emil will see it is done when other work is completed. Rosemary gave Emil a list. Meeting Minutes Andrew Johnson moved to accept the minutes from the May 11, 2022 meeting. Rosemary Leshinski seconded. The roll was called in favor. Reporting – Financial and Other UAN Financial Reports for May, 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. Open Work Items – Paula Knodel gave a brief overview of what she has on her current work list. Purchase Requisitions – Paula went over what Michelle Henke, Fiscal Officer, discussed with her. If the Board members approve any billable work to be done, it is at that time a Purchase Requisition needs to be completed. It is then given to Michelle for approval and the creation of a Purchase Order. Old Business Cemetery Bylaws - The language in the Bylaws needs edited to include many details that are missing. The Board agreed to meet on June 29, 2022, at 6pm to work on changes needed. Cemetery Software – UAN Software has been received. It will take a few months to become operational. Andrew Johnson will help Paula with the program and data transfer. 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. Board asked Paula to find out how much attorney collections letter cost was. May want to consider small claims court if funds do not come through. Paula will keep tabs on it. Cemetery Drainage Problems - An RFP was completed for this project in May. It was sent out to three businesses for bidding which is due by June 30, 2022, Paula called four other contractors to see if they would like to bid the project. Waiting to hear back from them. Andrew Johnson completed a power point presentation for use in requested ARPA funds from village council. The Board reviewed and approved it. Paula was asked to get his presentation added to the next council meeting agenda. Cemetery Road Repairs – Emil Ruth of GoGreen had his crew finish the road work prior to Memorial Day services. Board Letter – The Board finalized a cover letter to be included with each lot sale. It is now in use. Legal Disclosure on Payment Plans – Have not heard back from the attorney. His fees for this may be cost prohibitive. The Board decided to use the contract as is for now. Columbarium – Members of the Board met at Franklin Monument Company in Norwalk on Tuesday, April 17th at 5:30. The meeting covered the Columbarium program that Franklin offers. The Board feels this is a good fit for our cemetery needs. Requested Paula to set up the next meeting with them to review contract and design details. Camera for Cemetery - Andrew Johnson presented the information needed to complete a Purchase Requisition form for the three cameras. Paula will handle payment processing and purchase. NOPEC Grant – The Board received information on the NOPEC Grant funds available for energy efficient projects in the Village. The camera’s purchased are battery operated as they will work best. They do not qualify for the grant. The Board will keep the availability of these funds in mind for future purchases. Pioneer Cemetery – Cemetery fence repairs were approved at the April meeting. Priority is to have this completed by the fall. Historical Society paid $2,200 to clean and repair monuments in May. The cemetery is looking much better these days. New Business Memorial Day Review – The cemetery looked the best it ever has. Emil Ruth complimented how well everything looked. The Board thanked him for his efforts. Use of Cemetery Information Board - Rosemary explained that the sliding doors are bowed. Weather gets in there. Andrew volunteered to get a weatherproof sign to put up there. It will guide folk to the website and give other general information. Village Facebook Procedures – The new official page is being handled by Jeri Leigh Siss and David Troike. Instructions for submissions were emailed to the Board for potential future Cemetery postings. Hiring a Worker - Rosemary and Marylin have been dressing/seeding graves, filling in dirt, doing general manual labor, removing old funeral flowers and more. This type of work needs to be hired out. The Board will work up a Job Description including work hours needed. Firelands School – Fall 2022 Program - Paula reached out to Firelands School regarding at student program in the Fall. Michelle Radanovich, head of the National Junior Honor Society, responded that it would be a wonderful program to participate in. The program would include assisting the clerk with scanning files, setting up the new database and accounting for all the veterans in the cemetery, and other items. The Board is in favor of proceeding with this program. Paula will facilitate and report back to the Board as it progresses. Meeting with former Board Members- Paula explained being introduced to former Board members, Bob Lipscomb and Hank Hall, when they were in the office. They have a lot of historical knowledge of the cemetery. It would be good to meet with them sometime to hear what they know. Use of WENS System – This is the system used to communicate with anyone who has signed up to receive emails and/or phone calls from the village. The Board could use this to communicate out when clean up at the Cemetery will be or blast out any other information they see fit to. Members made note of this for future use. Methodist Church Council - The Board would like, once again, to speak with the church about accessing Section L through their parking lot. Paula was asked to find out when their next Council meeting is and have us added to the agenda. Andrew Johnson moved to adjourn. Marylin Makruski seconded. The roll was called with all in favor Respectfully Submitted Paula S Knodel, Cemetery Clerk