HomeMy WebLinkAboutCemetary Commission Minutes 05.17.2012 CEMETERY COMMISSION MINUTES
Thursday, May 17, 2012
5:30 P.M. at City Hall
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Tom Nelson Dick Fritzler
Ken Olson Lee Barndt
Chuck Rodgers
OTHERS PRESENT: Cathy Gabrian Kurt Markegard
Max Long Richard Klose
Storage Shed: Richard Klose thanked the City on behalf of the American Legion for the storage shed.
He is here tonight because they have heard that the Yellowstone County Veterans' Board does not like the
placement of the shed by their gate. He said the American Legion would not be opposed to having it
moved to the area north of the Catholic section in the Laurel Cemetery.
Kurt said the shed was delivered during the winter. The ground next to our cemetery shop is not level so
it was placed next to the road, by their gate. Kurt said there would be no problem relocating it to the east
end and hopefully, we could get some millings for a pad. Richard said they replaced all the screws on the
doors with security screws.
Mayor Olson asked the Cemetery Commission to wait for an official request from the county before
making plans to move it. It may be just one person voicing their opinion and not the consensus of their
entire board. He said we want to place it in the best area for the American Legion.
Sprinkler Bids: The bid opening for the sprinkler system was held on May 9, 2012. One bid was
received from Western Municipal, at a cost of $281,605.00. This bid is about $140,000.00 over the
engineer's estimate. Tom took the item off the council agenda.
Kurt said we are not comparing apples to apples since we only received one bid. We need another bid in
order to make a comparison. Spring is a busy season for contractors and may be why we only received
one bid. Small contractors often cannot come up with a credit line for bonding. A recent article in the
Laurel Outlook put the age of the cast iron pipe at 75 years. Kurt pointed out several line items in the
bid that were way over the engineer's estimate. He called Chad Hanson at Great West Engineering, to
stop work on the project. Great West said they are going to investigate the figures on their own dime.
Kurt and Matt are also going to look into the costs. We have the ability to purchase items at wholesale
and we may need to do this, rather than letting the contractor do it at a marked up cost.
Great West Engineering is recommending that we not award the bid and Kurt is in agreement with their
recommendation.
Motion was made by Chuck, seconded by Lee to accept Great West Engineering's recommendation to
reject the bid. Motion carried.
Mayor Olson said it is the determination of the council how to fund capital project items. In this budget
cycle, there are more requests than there is money. He said the Cemetery Commission may want to
review what it is that we want to accomplish. It may be possible to have the line installed to the cemetery
and use the city crew to install the sprinkler lines.
Cemetery Commission
Page 2, May 17` 2012
Tom said the county is desperate to get water to the Yellowstone County Veterans' Cemetery so we may
be able to do something that serves both cemeteries. Getting potable water to the cemetery would be
great for storage and future growth of the city.
Senator Tester will be in the area tomorrow and the Mayor is hoping to get a chance to speak briefly with
him regarding the Veterans' Cemetery. Senator Tester has been a proponent to get it declared a federal
cemetery.
Dick said that when the county cemetery was started, the idea was to go together with them, since we
have the water rights to the ditch. Due to the difficulties they have had with the ditch, the county has
talked about extending their line to the Big Ditch. It was questioned whether the county knows that there
is potable water right across the street, by Tendernest. If they can push potable water up the hill, it would
benefit all.
Kurt said we are not watering at the cemetery yet. The city is a secondary user on the Cove Ditch and we
were told we cannot water. The farming community has first rights to the water.
The Mayor said we need to meet with the Yellowstone County Veteran's Board and discuss our options.
He will try to attend their next meeting on Wednesday, June 6th at 5:00 p.m. in the commissioners' board
room.
Richard said a program will be held on Memorial Day in the Laurel Cemetery at 9:00 a.m. followed by
one at the Yellowstone County Veterans' Cemetery at 12:00 noon.
The American Legion will do a flag burning at the Yellowstone County Veterans' Cemetery on Flag Day,
Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Cathy Gabrian