City of Jacksonville City Cemeteries Board met Sept. 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
ROLL CALL: Members present were: Chairman Linda Brown, Tom Newby, Carolyn Bonjean, Gerald Scott; Treasurer Mary Fergurson; Deputy City Clerk Angela Salyer; Superintendent Doug Moore. A quorum was declared.
AGENDA: Motion was made by Bonjean, seconded by Newby, to approve the September 18, 2020 Agenda as presented in advance. By voice vote, motion carried.
MINUTES: Motion was made by Newby, seconded by Scott, to approve the August 21, 2020 Minutes as presented in advance. By voice vote, motion carried.
FINANCE:
a.) Treasurer’s Investment Report – August 2020:
Ms. Fergurson noted that the Berthal–Fisher Money Market Account is a little higher than normal because the Board made the decision to hold funds from a recent maturity until she has had the chance to present the revised investment policy at the October meeting. The Federal Reserve recently indicated that rates will remain low through 2023, which means that the Board needs to very carefully review the investment policy moving forward. There is a $25,000 Certificate of Deposit in the Land & Buildings Account set to mature October 15, 2020. Ms. Fergurson will offer her suggestion for reinvestment of those funds in October, but noted that the rate will be significantly lower than before. She may look at investing those funds into a fixed income mutual fund in order to obtain a better rate of return as well as greater diversification and safety. However, that also introduces a bit of market volatility as CD’s are a highly liquid type of asset and do fluctuate in market value, currently paying in the 2-3% range. There are no other maturities scheduled until 2021.
b.) Cash Receipts Report – August 2020:
Chair Brown gave a brief overview of the Cash Receipts Report, noting that a revenue balance of 40.32% and an expenditure balance of 43.10% remain at the end of August, 2020. A cash balance of $108,064.06 remains in the checking account, up from $92,627.19 this same time last year. The Money Market Account has a current balance of $34,149.10.
c.) Cash Receipts Report and Claims Approval – August 2020:
Motion was made by Newby, seconded by Scott, to approve the Cash Receipts Reports and to pay claims when funds are available. By voice vote, motion carried.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: Supt. Moore reported on the following:
In order to gain an understanding of the day to day processes and obligations of the employees of the Cemetery Dept., Supt. Moore has simply been observing in his first three weeks as Superintendent.
There are currently four full time employees and four summer employees still working. The summer employees are predominantly mowing, weed-eating, and doing miscellaneous jobs at Diamond Grove Cemetery, the other four full-time employees take care of everything else, including grave openings and things of that nature.
Twenty-two new trees are ready to be planted at various locations around both cemeteries. Some of the new trees will be replacing old trees at Diamond Grove, the rest will be planted in new locations around the cemeteries.
The Department will be getting dirt fill from the boat ramp project at Lake Mauvaisterre, which will be added north of the new “teardrop” development in Diamond Grove Cemetery to bring that surface level up. Hopefully that will prevent any drainage issues that may have presented themselves at some point later on.
The Department is hoping to plant fall seeds in some areas around the cemeteries in the next week or two.
Supt. Moore addressed the City Council regarding the purchase of a new trailer to use for hauling the excavator, which was approved.
The state license to operate a cemetery expired at the end of August. Supt. Moore was able to get the renewal process started with the help of City Clerk Skip Bradshaw.
Supt. Moore has been learning the process of recording interments.
Supt. Moore disseminated the current draft of the Rule Book. He asked that each Board member review the draft and forward any suggestions or revisions to him as soon as possible. He wants to ensure that the book is consistent throughout.
Supt. Moore has been in discussion with a family who is requesting permission to put up a metal monument in Diamond Grove. If approved, this does present an issue of how to handle these types of requests in the future. The current Rule Book does not specify the type of monuments allowed. General discussion ensued regarding this request and how to handle the response along with various other topics that need to be discussed in relation to this request. No recommendation will be made by Supt. Moore regarding the monument until the Board has had time to review and discuss the matter.
Comments were made regarding the request to set a metal monument at a gravesite. The monument will be made of stainless steel, powder coated black, with the family name on the front, and family members names on the back. It should be roughly the same dimensions as a granite monument. The monument should blend, however, approving this request may open the door to requests for all sorts of other types of monuments. Mr. Scott and Mr. Newby are in favor of the Board reviewing special requests individually as they present themselves and would like the Rule Book to reflect that. It was noted that Mayor Ezard is in favor of approving this request. Ms. Bonjean is concerned about being able to control the subject matter on the monuments. Chair Brown prefers not to make an exception for this request and feels the cemeteries should follow the tradition of the past.
PUBLIC COMMENT: No discussion.
OLD BUSINESS: City Attorney Dan Beard continues to look at the contract regarding fetal burials between the City, Passavant Area Hospital and the funeral homes. Chair Brown will follow up with CA Beard regarding this matter.
NEW BUSINESS: No discussion.
ADJOURNMENT: Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Bonjean, seconded by Newby, to adjourn the meeting at 9:17 a.m. By voice vote, motion carried. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Jacksonville City Cemeteries Board will be held Friday, October 16, 2020, 8:30 a.m. in the Commission Room at the City of Jacksonville Municipal Building.
http://cms6.revize.com/revize/jacksonvilleil/city_government/boards_commissions_and_committees/docs/Boards%20Commissions%20Committees/Cemetery_Board_Minutes/2020/Cemetery%20Bd.%20Mtg.%20Minutes%2009.18.20.pdf
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