City of Jacksonville Cemetery Board met March 15.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The regular monthly meeting of the Jacksonville City Cemeteries Board was called to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Commission Room of the Jacksonville Municipal Building. The meeting was publicly announced by posting and by written notice to the local newspaper and radio stations.
ROLL CALL: Members present were: Chairman Doug Moore, Tom Newby, Linda Brown, Carolyn Bonjean, Gerald Scott; Treasurer Mary Fergurson; Superintendent Jim Pierson; City Clerk Skip Bradshaw. A quorum was declared.
AGENDA: Motion was made by Bonjean, seconded by Scott, to approve the March 15, 2019 Agenda as presented in advance. By voice vote, motion carried.
MINUTES: Chair Moore reiterated that Passavant Hospital will be responsible for maintaining records on fetal burials. Motion was made by Newby, seconded by Brown, to approve the February 15, 2019 Minutes as presented in advance. By voice vote, motion carried.
FINANCE:
a.) Treasurer’s Investment Report – February 2019:
Ms. Fergurson advised that there was a $100,000 Certificate of Deposit that matured March 1st but is not reflected on the February statement. Those funds have been reinvested into a security account with a rate near 2.75%, which will be indicated on the March 2019 investment report. The Consolidated Cemetery Investment report is now reported in maturity date order, this investment will be entered accordingly. The aggregate portfolio balance at the end of February was $1,106,999.48.
b.) Cash Receipts Report – February 2019:
Ms. Brown gave a brief overview of the Cash Receipts Report, noting that there is a current revenue balance of 86.52%, and a current expenditure balance of 91.21% remaining at the end of February, which is slightly less than this time last year, but is still in a good position at this time. She also noted that Treasurer Fergurson will be investing approximately $20,000 from the money market account when the right investment opportunity presents itself.
c.) Cash Receipts Report and Claims Approval – February 2019:
Motion was made by Brown, seconded by Newby, to approve the Cash Receipts Report and to pay claims when funds are available. By voice vote, motion carried.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: Supt. Pierson reported on the following:
Paperwork to hire the summer help has been done but the employees have not been called in to work yet. Supt. Pierson is looking to hire two more summer employees to help during mowing season.
The greenhouse is full of flowers but they are still in the early stages of growth.
Notice to the public regarding decorations and mowing has been published in the newspaper. Flowers and decoration pickup is Monday, March 18th.
PUBLIC COMMENT: No discussion.
OLD BUSINESS:
Chair Moore has been in contact with Greg Olson regarding a written history of the cemeteries. See New Business for more information.
Chair Moore and Supt. Pierson have been in touch with Attorney Eddie Carpenter regarding the Heritage Health burial lots and the transfer of title to the City from the Jacksonville Area Senior Chaplaincy Care once those lots have been turned over to them by Heritage Health. Chair Moore feels the Board will be in a better position to provide Rev. Kelly with a decision regarding the City’s participation in allowing space for fetal burials once the matter of ownership of the Heritage Health lots has been settled. He also feels it is necessary to have some sort of document that identifies the participants and their rolls regarding the donation of time and products to Passavant Hospital with regard to the handling of fetal burials. General discussion ensued regarding record keeping with these types of burials. Ms. Brown feels this is a different way of operating the cemeteries and that the City should be informed at some point as to who is buried in these spaces.
Chair Moore continues to work on the Rule Book.
NEW BUSINESS:
In order to keep up with the expenses incurred by holding burials on the weekends, Supt. Pierson recommends raising the weekend burial rate from $1,250 to $1,500, effective July 1, 2019. In the past months more burials have been held on the weekends than on weekdays, which ends up costing the City a lot of money in overtime expenses. The process of handling a burial can last from an hour to several hours, and each employee who works a weekend burial is guaranteed two hours call-in pay at time and a half, any hours worked on a Sunday or holiday burial is paid at double time. Supt. Pierson explained that most pre-paid burial rates are based on the weekday burial rate schedule. Should a pre-paid burial be held on the weekend, the extra expense is passed on to the funeral home.
Supt. Pierson would like to pay someone to conduct research on the history of the Jacksonville cemeteries and asked if there would be funds in the budget to do so. Brief discussion ensued regarding the appropriate line item to pay from and the appropriate amount. Motion was made by Brown, seconded by Scott, to set aside funds for research into the history of the Jacksonville cemeteries. Chair Moore will reach out to some local residents regarding this project.
Ms. Brown reminded everyone that the next meeting will be the annual breakfast meeting, typically beginning at 8:00 a.m. and requested Norma’s North Star Café as the meeting place.
ADJOURNMENT: Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Bonjean, seconded by Newby, to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 a.m. By voice vote, motion carried. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Jacksonville City Cemeteries Board has been rescheduled to Friday, April 26, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. due to the Good Friday holiday and will be held at Norma’s North Star Café.
https://www.jacksonvilleil.gov/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/Cemetery_Board_Minutes/2019/03.15.19.pdf
Alerts Sign-up