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BACKGROUND The former Pleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery (Cemetery) was owned and operated for many years by the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge No. 255. In 2005, a group of residents expressed concern about the condition of the facility, and organized Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery, Inc. (Pioneers), anon-profit organization formed to acquire and improve the Cemetery. Subsequent to its formation, the Pioneers discovered that it would be difficult to comply with the numerous State regulations required of private cemetery operators, and approached the City about acquiring and maintaining the Cemetery. After extensive research and discussion, the City Council agreed to acquire and manage the facility, with the purchase completed in early 2007. Attachments 1, 2 and 3 are City Council staff reports and minutes related to the acquisition. After acquiring the Cemetery and its related assets, the City's Parks Maintenance Division began extensive site improvements to bring the facility up to an acceptable standard. The site was also renamed "Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery." The Pioneers, as well as other members of the public, have expressed appreciation for the work that has been accomplished to date, which included site clean-up; tree trimming; installation of new landscaping, signage, trash cans and benches; and restoration of the historic fence and entrance arch. The City contracted with Catholic Funeral Cemetery Services (CFCs) for assistance in researching and organizing the administrative records that were received with the acquisition. A preliminary database of existing burials has been established, locator map of plots created, and the City's Geographic Information Systems (GIs) Division spent extensive staff time at the Cemetery verifying and documenting visible plot locations and grave marker information against the database. In addition, there are a number of State compliance requirements related to the operation of cemeteries, a level of expertise that City staff does not possess. For this reason, the City contracted with CFCs to handle burial services. (It should be noted that while CFCs is affiliated with the Catholic religion, under the City's contract, it provides services to all denominations). With the exemption of several families/individuals that purchased "pre-need" services, all burial costs are the responsibility of each individual plot owner and were not included with the original purchase. In conjunction with the acquisition process, the City Council specified that the Cemetery program be subject to review by the Parks and Recreation Commission, including any proposed changes related to actual operations. On October 9, 2008, the Commission reviewed staffs proposed policies and fees, which are more fully discussed below. Page 2 of 6