Minutes - Council - 07/12/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case #4: Adopt Trott Brook Cemetery Survey, Rules & Regulations, and Authorize Staff to Declare Plots Available for Burial Management Intern Schmidt explained over the past year, a citizens committee has been meeting with City staff for the purposes of updating the Trott Brook Cemetery burial inventory and creating a management plan for the cemetery. He reviewed that as discussed with the Council work session on June 21, 2005, the City contracted with Hakanson Anderson to update the Trott Brook Cemetery land and plat survey. Hakanson Anderson's survey crew located the grave markers, trees, and other topographic features within the cemetery. Braun Intertec assisted I lakanson Anderson by utilizing ground-penetrating radar to determine accurate burial locations. Thc results of both surveys are shown on the Sketch of Trott Brook Cemetery, which is included in the Council's packet. Staff is seeking Council direction regarding accepting the survey as drawn and recording the survey as official record of the plots and burials within the cemetery. Management Intern Schmidt explained staff and committee members referenced numerous records in the research for the burial inventory. From these records and the ground-penetrating radar, 163 known burials were recorded within the cemetery along with one unknown burial for a total ot' 164 burials. The cemetery has 60 plots, with six lots in each plot for 360 possible burial lois. The historical records and ground-penetrating radar revealed that some sites had multiple burials within a lot. Sixteen of the 60 plots were determined to be full by either the total number of burials within the plot or the uncertainty of the location of burials within the plot. He explained the remaining plots contain 170 open lots. Of the 170 open lots, 33 are unowned open lots, 41 lots arc depicted by the City Cemetery Records as being owned by an individual or family within the past 50 years, and 96 lots are depicted on the window shade as having potential ownership but no activity in the past 50 years. The window shade is the historic record that has been passed down through generations and numerous residents of Ramsey. Staff is reco~nmcnding going through the process of declaring the 96 lots, which show ownership, but no activity in the past 50 years as available lots. Staff would publish the plot/lot number and family ~amc in[brmation in the Anoka County Union and in the City Newsletter to give the families of historic record an opportunity to claim the plot/lot. All plots/lots unclaimed after the publication would bc available for purchase. There are currently 33 unowned open lots within the cemetery. Management Intern Schmidt advised Rules and Regulations for purchasing grave lots, interments, disinterments, maintenance and care, monuments and markers, and plantings and decorations for thc Trott Brook Cemetery were drafted based upon a review of other municipal cemetery policies and recommendations from staff and committee members. The Rules and Regulatious are included for adoption. He advised lot fees and perpetual care fees for the Trott Brook Cemetery are adopted annually in the City's Fee Schedule. The lot fee is currently set at $600 per lot with a $200 perpetual care fee. He explained a Burial Lots Rights application was developed to show the ownership for the open lots as they are purchased in the future. A record of thc burial lot rights will be kept on file at the City Hall. In addition, a Burial Lot Rights ~l'ransfcr Application was drafted to document any transfer of ownership of plots and/or lots. ~l'hcse documents are included for adoption. City Council / July 12, 2005 Page 12 of 25