Vernon’s main cemetery on Pleasant Valley Road needs some work.
City council was given details today for a consulting firm on a proposed Master Plan.
The report identifies a number of capital projects that could be undertaken, costing up to 2 million dollars.
Suggestions include changes to the entrance and a feature garden.
The report estimates the cemetery has about 30 years of capacity remaining.
The facility, which is owned by the city but run by a contractor, currently operates at a loss, requiring the City to subsidize its operation with revenue from other sources.
Council is expected to discuss the plan at its Feb. 11 regular meeting.
Here are some of the recommendations made by the engineering consulting firm Lees and Associates which compiled the report:
1. Allocate funds for capital projects focused on reducing cemetery operation and maintenance costs and increasing cemetery revenues.
2. Improve and expand the cemetery’s cremation interment options, including enhanced in-ground cremation burial options and columbaria niches. The initial project should be a feature cremation garden with columbaria, ornamental plantings and benches, a scattering garden, and memorial wall. A small, recirculating water feature could also be included.
3. Pursue strategies to reduce irrigation costs by installing a new, more efficient irrigation system.
4. Implement a suite of landscape maintenance practices to support reduced water use while establishing a healthy, resilient cemetery landscape.
5. Initiate a public outreach program to communicate and explain changes to cemetery policy and operations.
6. Replace the existing contractor maintenance specification with a Standard Operations Manual.
