STERLING — It was standing room only at the Sterling City Council meeting Tuesday, in response to a call for support from the Friends of Sunset Memorial Gardens, Inc. One of only a handful of items on the agenda for the regular meeting was an update from the group on the conditions at the privately-owned cemetery and progress on resolving some of the issues that have been identified. Dr. Bob Patten addressed the council, reminding them that the group had given a presentation three months before asking the council to come to the table with the committee and the Logan County Commissioners to try to reach an agreement on the future of the cemetery. The owner, Richard Lawler, has agreed to hand over the cemetery to a governmental agency once title issues have been resolved. That motion has been filed in court and should be resolved soon, Dr. Patten noted. Theres a huge interest in this community in whats happening with this cemetery, he said. Everybody knows somebody, has somebody, or could possibly end up there. Acting City Manager Bob Brown said the city has been willing to talk about the situation and help in any way it can. Show us where the table is and tell us what time, he said. We need to know whats wanted from us. Mayor Dan Torres echoed that sentiment, asking what kinds of materials the city could provide to help with cleanup efforts at the cemetery. Several council members asked what kinds of priorities have been set for the work that needs to be done at the cemetery. Dr. Patten said he thought that resolving water-related issues should be number one; there is a non-functioning well on the site — although Lawler said during the meeting he believes that well was intended to service the home on the property — and the cemetery owns six shares in the Springdale Ditch. The irrigation system for the cemetery does not work. He noted that one of the things they are looking for from the city and county is expertise: None of us are in the cemetery business, he said, referring to the Friends committee. Dr. Patten said the committee is hoping to get an intergovernmental agreement between the city and county for services each entity could provide for maintaining the cemetery, such as lawn mowing by the citys Parks Department, and noxious weed spraying or gravel for the roads from the county. He noted the numbers of volunteers willing to help with cleaning up the site, but because the progress on the ownership issue has stalled, My arms are tired of pushing people back, saying No, you cant do that, not yet. Theres a ton of energy here waiting to be utilized to clean that up. The council also discussed some monetary figures presented by city staff for estimates on what it would cost to bring the cemetery back to pristine condition. The total cost for restoration was estimated at $2,208,000, with an annual maintenance budget $200,000. Obviously, we cant do this total, and Im not so sure we could do this total, all three of us together, overnight, Torres said. I think we need to do it in steps. Torres said he thought the volunteer efforts on cleaning up the cemetery should move forward while the legal work, including clearing and transferring the title to new ownership, continues. The more financially demanding projects, such as replacing the irrigation system or removing the buildings — which may contain asbestos — can be done in future phases, he said. He suggested that the committee should appoint someone to coordinate volunteer projects. A number of the audience members were wearing orange Team Depot shirts, and Sterling Home Depot store manager Randy Champ said the store has committed to leveling the grave markers on every veterans grave in the cemetery, with white marble rock around it and a flag put on it by Memorial Day. The stores 80 associates have volunteered for two work days so far, starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 10, and at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 12. They will start on debris and trash removal; anyone wanting to volunteer is invited to join them on those work days. Champ said additional dates will be scheduled as needed to meet the Memorial Day deadline. Dave Hutt, who owns a lawnmowing business, said he and his son will provide four Walker mowers to mow the occupied plots by Memorial Day weekend. Hutt also said he planned to attend the next Logan County Commissioners meeting, on April 15, to discuss the cemetery. He said this morning that the issue is on the commissioners agenda for about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Several other members of the audience offered suggestions about materials and services that might be donated by the city, county or local businesses to aid in the cleanup efforts. Brown planned to meet with Champ today about the materials the city might be able to provide. Dr. Patten said he was pleased with the response from the council. Youve made my night, he told them. Sterling Journal Advocate
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:12:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015