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Councilmember McGovern said she read the previous minutes. The idea then was that this <br />would be a pioneer cemetery and noted the costs of irrigation were shocking. She felt it was <br />important to include a financing plan that includes the maintenance so it does not pull from the <br />General Fund. When a plot is sold, the cost should go into a fund where the portion of the <br />interest should be used to maintain it. She asked if private cemeteries were contacted to <br />determine what their plots sell for, and Mr. Wolfe said they worked through CFCS to arrive at <br />the numbers and that staff could return with cost comparisons, however, he believed the <br />proposed costs were reasonable, given the market. Regarding maintenance, staff tried to come <br />up with a mechanism that if irrigation is desired, there would be funds available for it. <br />Councilmember McGovern said in the minutes, it reflected that 15% of the plot fee would go <br />towards maintenance of the facility, which has been removed. She said in making the decision <br />to irrigate in 2015, the idea is to have ongoing maintenance that would not draw from the <br />General Fund. She said if all 200 plots could be sold within one year, she questioned if the City <br />was allocating a number of plots or selling them at one time. Mr. Wolfe said staff has indicated <br />a conservative approach; they could be sold quickly or take longer, but he has heard it would be <br />a short amount of time. Once this occurs, additional revenues would be in place and staff could <br />present a cost for irrigation for Council review. <br />Councilmember McGovern said she would like staff to look at the amount of money that could <br />be raised selling the plots and niches and consider creating an Enterprise Fund. City Manager <br />Fialho suggested that this be put into the motion and staff would build into the fee a percentage <br />for future maintenance, recognizing the fact that this is not endowment. The money would run <br />out at some point, but it would provide a 10-15 year window to offset or subsidize the cost of <br />maintenance. <br />Councilmember McGovern noted there are trees, monuments, creeks, and other things, and <br />she felt that if not planned well, maintenance would be a huge liability. Lastly, she said in Exhibit <br />5, there is a letter from Catholic Cemeteries dated June 15, 2006 and it talks about 30% of <br />burial rights would go to the church. She asked what the agreement has been to pay for <br />handling the burial services. Mr. Wolfe said the City received funding from the Odd Fellows and <br />when burials occur, the City is billed by CFCS for those burial costs. City Manager Fialho said <br />generally they are about $2,000 per burial. For those who had already purchased plots, that <br />contract dealt with those situations, but the pro forma in Section 2, the City will collect $96,000 <br />from burials and 15% of that money would be going to the Catholic Foundation to assist with <br />services. Mr. Wolfe said the 15% is for marketing and selling of the plots for the City. CFCS <br />would handle all paperwork, help someone select a plot and individuals are actually paying in <br />advance for those services as part of the fee. <br />Councilmember McGovern referred to page 4 of the staff report; burial plots and said the City is <br />paying to the church $750 for burial fees from the $6,900 cost. Mr. Wolfe said the cost of the full <br />size plot and double depth vault monies are all collected and held by CFCS, which he said still <br />needs to be worked out. Councilmember McGovern felt these monies could be held and set up <br />in an enterprise fund. City Manager Fialho suggested that the motion include a funding formula <br />that either is part of the $6,900 or adds to it that creates a revenue stream that the City could <br />collect over time for maintenance. <br />Councilmember McGovern questioned how much of the burial amount comes to the City, and <br />Mr. Wolfe replied $3,400 is the cost of placing the vaults in the ground and $750 is the actual <br />burial cost. <br />City Council Minutes Page 11 of 15 December 16, 2008 <br />