Library Board - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to the Monday, August 10th, 2026 meeting of the Cemetery Commission. We are called to order. That is last name. Roll call. Do you call those names? Yeah, you call them. Okay. Don Brown?

Here.

Terry, your last name. It's very scary. It's very scary. Mr. Ed, are you here? Alderman Christine is excused.

All right, moving on.

We have public comment.

Seeing no one in the audience. Anybody else speaking as public tonight? No?

Mike's email would be appropriate. Would that fit in this juncture of the meeting or no?

I've included it with my director's report. Okay. We've embedded it.

Perfect.

Thank you. All right. Moving past public comment, the next item on our agenda is approval of minutes. We have in your packet attached the minutes from Monday, June 8th, 2026. Are there... Any comments?

We're waiting for you to approve the minutes, Rico. Here I come. I'm approving them.

We'll jump backwards to roll call. We have Alderman Camacho.

Yep, here.

Present as well. Thank you. Yep. Okay, so we're up to item number three for the approval of minutes. The attach from June 8th. Do we have a motion to approve?

I motion to approve.

So we have Alderman Camacho. Is there a second?

I second.

Terry seconds it. All right, it has been moved and seconded. Any comments, corrections? If all looks good, it was Terry who seconded. All right, seeing none, all those in favor of approval, Alright, we pass unanimously. Oh, I'm sticking to my papers here. Fantastic. Good for everyone. Moving on to new business. We have the review of possible action regarding a concept plan, which we discussed last month, our last meeting for the Boulevard Cremation Garden. We have INFORMATION ATTACHED HERE. WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MINIMUM SKIN IT. I KNOW HOW THINGS CAN GET. ARE THERE ANY INITIAL COMMENTS BASED OFF OF WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED?

I FOUND THIS WEIRD. IT'S RIGHT HERE, RIGHT? THAT'S THE IMAGE, YES. YES, THE IMAGES, OKAY. AND THIS IS WHAT WE FIRSTLY WENT OVER AT THE END OF LAST MEETING, CORRECT? Could I get refreshed on what was the cost of this again?

So the plan itself?

Yeah.

No cost. I was able to find a provider of many of the items that may be included, but there's no obligation to purchase from them. And I talked to them about what I needed, and they agreed to do the plan for no cost. So the plan itself is no cost. Correct. It doesn't mean that the items. And this is a little bit different than the initial plan that I sent around last meeting. And again, it's a concept plan. And as our demand for cremation placement continues to increase, we do have an immediate need to expand our cremation offerings. and to ensure that the cemetery can effectively serve the community and maintain that inventory. So I think most of you know that the boulevard is located kind of in the south central area of the cemetery. It's a prime location for expanding our cremation options as there's already two columbarium, columbaria on the boulevard, and then there's green space available for expansion And I think this concept plan really maximizes that space. And ultimately, once it's phased in, it will be a beautiful location for the cremation garden.

I know the plan itself is free.

Yep. So once we get to the next part about the CIP, I'll go over how I budgeted for phase one and phase two at this point. But then, so yes, it could be phased in. And if you notice, so it's showing the existing area. So phase one would be another columbarium north and then the walkways from the existing area to that columnarium you can see that on the left side here where it says phase one and then the other part of phase one would be the walkways to the east of the existing area so currently There are walkways to access the columbariums only on the west side, so we would add the east side access as well. And then phase two would be to the south, including five, 56-inch columbarium. That would be more straight. And then that would serve as a barrier, I guess, or the south end of the cremation garden, because just south of that is a utility area, and it would make it less visible, which would be nice. And then phase three would be the north end of the boulevard. So are there any comments on the plan itself?

Yeah, I have some questions, and I apologize to the commission since I was in the last meeting, so I may have missed a lot of these key points. So I guess first of all, it doesn't look like it's a lot of square footage, so I guess that's fine. I'm just curious as to the concept, and I'm guessing this is defined by market demand. I just see, again, my experience. My mother-in-law is cremated, and her urn sits atop my father-in-law's fireplace for when he passes. He's going to be cremated, and all the ashes will be divided among the four children. And I always thought similar families had similar arrangements where you went to a favorite place and scattered the ashes. This happening in a cemetery is kind of new for me. And again, I apologize for my ignorance if we all have a complete download. So I'm just curious. I don't want to sound opposed. I was just like, wow.

Right. This is something. So... 95% of any of the cremation options we have that are not in a regular traditional grave. So the columbarium, benches.

What do you mean by columbarium? I'm sorry.

Columbarium would be the hexagon, an upright structure that has multiple niches.

Almost like a mausoleum, but for... But for niches, correct. Thank you.

Okay. So we are selling those fast. So we added the last... Hexagon, Columbarium, and the Boulevard at the end of October 2024. And that is about close to 90% sold. Yes, so not even two years. I'm sorry, let's see. It's about 82% sold. And the one on the north side is about 90%. six, 97, 98% sold. So they are going fast. And we do have people asking, you know, what else do you have? And we're really, we're very low on inventory for cremation options. And that is a challenge for cemeteries about, with the increasing rate of cremation, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is doing a permanent placement in a cemetery where their loved ones remains. However, we are seeing that our services for cremated remains are increasing.

So, yeah. What is, I guess, the cost comparison? You know, being cremated and having, I guess, for lack of a better term, a final resting place here in the cemetery versus the traditional. I was told that cremations can be pretty pricey. They come out at the same price. $15,000 and a couple, maybe. Oh, it is a $15,000 difference between a traditional burial and a, okay.

That's good, yeah.

So now you add the resting place. Where does that come in?

I mean, that's possible. I don't have the funeral home costs.

I just did one with Church of Chaplains.

$15,000, $16,000. From full-size body versus the cremated?

That's a complete package. You mentioned it's only $2,500 or something.

Yeah. That's a complete package, the cremation and the final resting place.

That may not include the final resting place. Oh, okay.

Generally, it doesn't.

Yeah, it does. Oh, no, it does not.

Okay. Right, right, right.

Okay.

I'm curious, the complete package versus... But obviously, there's a market demand or there's some proclivity towards... So, you mentioned...

Any other discussion or questions?

And I don't really think it's legal to just put the ashes anywhere either, don't you? If someone puts in their will, like they want to.

Well, maybe they want to. I don't know if you could just throw it in the ocean. Well, no, you don't throw the urn. You just open the urn. But everybody keeps doing that.

Yeah, I guess.

Spirit of the law.

All right, well, we'll research that one for another day.

Okay.

Yeah. No, I said it's really, it's an interesting development.

Yes.

Oh, and you get this showcase, like, just the way this looks. Yes. I was going to say, you've done your homework from, yeah, from the...

Yes, great work. Thank you for this.

Yeah, thank you. Thanks for indulging me.

Of course. Well, we'll move on to the next item, which will allow us to get a little bit more into the...

I'm sorry.

Oh, excuse me, it does say possible action. All right, well then, please make sure all your questions are in, and this item will be up for approval of the concept plan. So, with that being said, is there a motion to approve the concept plan?

I have a motion to approve the concept plan. I second it.

All right, so we have Alderman Camacho, and we have Ed. All right, any other questions, comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the concept plan for the Boulevard Cremation and Gardens, aye. Aye. Opposed? Hearing none, the concept plan passes unanimously. Thank you, everyone. Let's make sure we get all our notes in here. Excuse us a moment. All right. The next item, I got all excited. I want to talk about CIP. Everything. It says very few people. Our next item is a review of submitted budget items for the 2027 through 2031 Community Investment Program CIP budget. I'll turn this over to Karen. Okay.

As an attachment and in your packet, you would have a spreadsheet showing the items that have been submitted. The executive budget is not yet out for CIP, but these are the items that So there's a street lighting project that has been on the CIP for years. And hopefully we can get that accomplished next year. And that was on for $65,000. Electrical improvements, that is based on an inspection that was done in the chapel and the shop. And there are some improvements that do not fit in our operating budget that need to get completed. And then exterior wood restoration is for the chapel building. There is some chipping paint, also some rotted wood on the building. So this would include the replacing of the rotted wood, the scraping, priming, painting of all the wood on the exterior of the chapel building. And that is also in for next year because it's looking like it really shouldn't be put off. And then the Boulevard Improvements Phase 1 is in the CIP for $115,000. And that would include the new columbarium and the walkways. that I mentioned for phase one. And then the autumn garden complex is going to need a second phase of caulking and tuck pointing. And that is in the budget submitted for 2028. These are all of the projects for the cemetery. And then out to 2031, potentially a new maintenance building. That is worked with engineering to get a number for that. We are having some issues with our maintenance building. This would be a little more simple, maybe like a one story pole barn type building. And then fleet requests. So this year, I was able to replace three of the golf cars or with used, good used golf cars. And that was under the budget for replacing one with a new. So we have one left to replace and that one would be with a new one in 2027. And then our mowers need to continually be cycled in, cycled out So there's one per year in 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31. And then there's a new windstorm blower that I submitted for, and that's a stand on blower. So in the fall, currently, you know, all the trees, all the leaves, They have to do the backpack blower up and down every aisle, put all the leaves in one place that then gets mulched. But this is a stand-on. DPW actually has some that is very strong, I guess, and would save quite a bit of time, the way I understand. If you noted, last year we did have a new pickup truck on the CIP, but in talking with the fleet manager, we'll be able to just trade in for a different department that needs one, get their used one that is better than the one we have. So we won't have that large expense. And then as far as equipment, we need a new cemetery, or I'm sorry, a cement mixer for the cemetery. And that's getting almost urgent. So that would be at the beginning of 2027. So those are the items that were submitted. Are there any questions?

All right. Thank you for that information, Karen. Sure. That one does not need to be voted on. Okay, wonderful. The next new item up for discussion is a consideration and possible action changing the date of the December Cemetery Commission meeting from the 14th to the 16th. We're just looking to accommodate some needs for a special election that's taking place.

There will be a special election for county executive and they use this room for voting. It is on the 15th, but they here in the room the day before. So I was asked if we could potentially change the date so that there isn't that conflict. Sure.

I motion for the change of date from Monday, December 14th to Wednesday, December 16th. I'll second.

I'll second. All right. Before I vote, I'm going to quickly take a peek. By the time the first person will be like, yeah, that works. All right, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Close.

All right, we can tell our city friends that they can have the room.

So we've moved to, that is unanimous.

Now we're moving to December 16th. Fantastic.

All right, thank you everybody for those action items. We'll move on to the reports. Cemetery Director's Report. Karen, you have the spotlight again.

So first, before I forget, in your packet, you should have an updated roster of the Cemetery Commission showing that Amanda is president and Mike is vice president. And if you could just take a moment to take a look at your information and be sure it's accurate. And if it's not, you can just let me know and I'll and provide an updated copy at the next meeting or email it. And then I wanted to, Alderman Christine sent an email this morning and I'm just going to read what he had sent and it's about Eagle Scout project that will be taking place in the cemetery. So Scout Troop 159, he said is excited to work with Prairie Home Cemetery and the friends of Prairie Home Cemetery Scout Colin Connor will be happy to do his Eagle Scout project of adding a bench near the chapel, and he will also be removing planter boxes at the Section 8 arbor, repairing any wood on the arbor as needed, and matching the current state of the existing structure. And that arbor work is in preparation for the Veterans Tribute Garden that is to be installed this fall as planned and funded by the Friends of Prairie Home Cemetery. And Colin and Mike are out of town this week, but Colin will provide an update at a future meeting. Is that on the record? And then review of the services. Got a lot of history here. And just of note is if you look at the bottom of the report, the percent that are cremation services, So far this year is 57%. Last year in total we were at 58%. The year before was 50. So we can see a trend of that demand increasing. And according to CANA, which is the Cremation Association of North America, they're estimating that by 2030 the cremation rate projected to reach 69.1%. It's currently at 62.8, that's nationwide. And as Don mentioned, not everyone does a final placement of the commuted remains, but it's still trending upward. All right, and then just a note about sales and natural, well about natural burial. So as you can see on the bottom of the services report, too, our percent of services that were in the natural burial area was 8% so far this year through July. But we are seeing a big increase in pre-need sales for natural burial. So it's really gaining in popularity. And of our pre-need sales, it's approaching 40%. Even though our services aren't showing it, people are planning ahead and wanting to take part in the natural burial services. So given that, I am in the process of reaching out to a company that will survey, that does surveying and planning of cemetery sections. If you're familiar with where the current natural burial area is, section 12, it's in the southwest part of the cemetery. There is another area just to the east of it that is about 1.6 acres that is planted as a prairie, but that would be our next phase for adding another natural burial section. I'm getting quotes and estimates on what that would cost.

Question, what is the percentage of the current natural burial space that's currently? Sold. Thank you.

Sold, okay.

Where's the correct word?

Yeah, well, for full-size graves, we have about 560 full-size graves and about 192 that are still available. So that would allow, based on our sales numbers, the last year and this year, and we're seeing it increase, probably two to three years of sales. Before we would need a new . And then regarding the prairie, we are still planning for a prairie burn. Hopefully it will happen this fall. It didn't happen in the spring because of conditions. So fingers crossed. And then just an update on our current CIP projects, where they're at. The exterior tuck pointing of the chapel building is complete. I think it looks nice. It did a good job as far as I know. And then our security cameras should all be installed and in use by the end of this month. And the autumn garden phase one of our caulking project is complete this year. And then the next one for this year is our autumn garden roofing project, which is to commence late summer, early fall. And then we will be participating in the citywide Waukesha Unlocked event, October 10th and 11th. And thanks to Friends of the Prairie Home Cemetery, we'll be offering wagon ride tours, guided tours through the cemetery both days from 10 to 4. All right, I think that's it, unless there's questions.

Okay, thank you so much for that. Friends of the, huh, Friends of Prairie Home Cemetery President's Report. Do they have anything?

I don't have, I have some notes, but Terry's on the Friends, so I don't know if you'd like to.

Well, probably the last one. You're opposed as president of the cemetery commission. Is the red room number to replace it or not?

That's up to the mayor.

You have to apply there at her office. Thank you. I'm very good. I'm sure she can go.

So other friends items, they are on track to get the veteran tribute garden installed before Waukesha unlocked. And a big thanks to all who supported the project through donations and participating in the Tombstone Trot, which has been a great fundraiser for this. And then also the Culbers and Taco John's fundraising events. So thank you to everyone that has contributed. And then also mark your calendars for the third annual Tombstone Trot. You have a flyer in your packet. It is scheduled.

If you have not had the opportunity to participate, it's a great family event. It was very interesting. We found names, and one of my family did it the first year. And then we looked them up. It was just like, oh, that's just like an extra name. Or that name is tied to this street. A lot of history.

Oh, yes. It's where we would say 177 years of Waukesha's history is etched in stone. I like it.

It surprised me. Because, you know, the Horning Cemetery is there, and I was surprised that even though they were closing the school and making it a STEM school, that they would have kept the Horning name to the school, given the family legacy in the town. It's in my neighborhood, that's why I thought it was Horning School. Very good.

Okay. The Cemetery Commission.

Oh, it's the director. My report.

I have no official report for you this evening. So moving on to the Alderman's report.

Got nothing for everybody.

Okay, well, we're two for two for you all. Next on the agenda is the referrals. You guys, it's been a long week. We're good, we got this. Any referrals? All right, seeing none. The next item on our agenda is to set the next meeting date. October. Yeah, so let's say October, and then as we alternate months. Oops, that's not the right time. 12th.

October 12th.

Monday, October 12th.

Wait, at 5.30, right? 5.30.

I was here at 5. Good job. Thanks.

And I'm still late.

Camacho motions. Any second?

I'll second.

Ron Brown seconds. All those in favor to adjourn? Say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you, folks, for your time. Adjourned at 6 p.m. On the dot.

Wow.

Well, be careful.