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• Expansion into soil spoils area of the Cemetery. The area shown as "B" on the map <br />included as Exhibit 4 could be engineered to hold additional plots. The fill in this area is <br />comprised of soil moved to this location from other areas in the cemetery over years, and <br />substantial compacting and grading would be necessary to prepare the area. The drainage <br />issues mentioned previously also present concerns related [o any expansion. <br />Should Council want to pursue developing this area into a new location for burials, staff would <br />recommend creating a master plan using a standard process similar to that used for any other City <br />facility. This approach would entail engaging a consultant to assess the feasibility of expansion <br />and develop a cost estimate for improvements necessary for additional graves or other activities <br />such as construction of memorial walls, columbariums or other such structures. No cost or <br />revenue estimates for this activity are shown in this report. <br />Staffs recommendation includes delaying any decision on further plot sates until a later date <br />when our understanding of the site and its operation is more fully developed. <br />Liability Concerns <br />Under the ownership alternatives noted previously, the City would assume all of the Cemetery's <br />rights and obligations. Because the Cemetery is anon-endowment care cemetery (except for <br />some plots sold between 1992 and 2002 which may have been purchased with the understanding <br />that the Cemetery would perpetually care for the plots), it has not collected and does not hold <br />funds to provide embellishment, maintenance and care for the Cemetery. Payment is received <br />only for burial rights, not for the Cemetery or each gravesite's continued maintenance, care and <br />embellishment. As anon-endowment care Cemetery, family members or others generally tend <br />the gravesites and repair and replace broken, leaning or cracked headstones or grave markers. <br />The Cemetery's responsibility is limited to minimal care, such as weed abatement. <br />Although the majority of the gravesites in the Cemetery are considered non-endowed, some <br />plots sold between 1992 and 2002 appear to have been purchased with the understanding that <br />the Memorial Gardens would perpetually care for the plots (hereinafter referred to as <br />"potentially perpetual care plots"). If the Ci[y or another party were to purchase the Cemetery, <br />there may be an obligation to perpetually care for these plots, but the standard of care is not <br />clear. The City might be subject to further obligations and liabilities depending upon what is <br />learned from the records and other investigations into the Cemetery. Identifying the specific <br />obligations, however, may prove difficult due to the manner in which the Cemetery's records <br />have been kept. Most are hand-written documents, kept in binders or otherwise filed. <br />The City of Pleasanton is part of a self=insured joint powers authority and the Cemetery would <br />be added to the list of covered facilities. Coverage would be consistent with that of other City <br />facilities and include flood, fire, property damage and personal injury. Insurance would not <br />cover issues involving gravesite ownership. An appraisal of the property would determine the <br />premium. <br />SR 06:203 <br />Page 11 <br />