Meeting Minutes – September 2014
Members Present: Mike Martinez John Sheehan
Members Absent: Dick Cleveland
Staff:
Sidney Harrington, Ray Sforzo
MINTURN CEMETERY DISTRICT REGULAR MEETING MINUTES September 8, 2014
I CALL TO ORDER
John Sheehan called the regular meeting to order at approximately 4:12 p.m. at the Riverview
Cemetery Mausoleum, Minturn, CO.
II ROLL CALL
John, Mike, Ray and Sidney were all present. Dick was absent.
III PUBLIC COMMENTS
n/a
IV APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
John motioned to approve the meeting minutes from August 18, 2014. John seconded the motion and all were in favor.
STAFF DISCUSSION
- A. Ray reported that all of the scheduled landscaping improvements were installed including trees to the south of the property and the new flower bed in the area just below the bathroom.
Ray is collecting building bids for the shed extension. Ways to minimize costs of the building is to utilize the existing asphalt. The bid that we have received thus far is for approximately $27,000. Ray will gather more bids and report back. We may want to call a special meeting to move forward.
Minturn is selling their old Police truck. It is a white extended-cab automatic vehicle. TOM would like to sell it for $5,000. It has approximately 60,000 miles on it. It is a nicer truck that looks a lot better than the Ranger. Board agreed that it is a good price and our new logo on the white truck would be more professional looking than the old truck.
Ray has been struggling to get our excavator to fall in line with our expectations that include protection of the lawn and clean up. Ray believes Robert Martinez has been given several chances; however, when Ray was out of town, he really disappointed staff. He only performs the tasks that were added to the sub-contract when being supervised resulting in extra hours for cemetery staff. Other times a mess is left beyond resulting in staff clean-up hours. Ray would like to put Robert on notice (to end his contract) and obtain a couple of other excavators to have on hand. John suggested Joe Smith. We are also seeking alternative snow removal bids to consider. Ray has been coaching Martinez to
improvement in both excavating and snow removal and it is not working out. Board and staff believe that some of “the old ways” of cemetery operations are lingering with subs. Now that we have a lot of capital invested in this property, we need to protect it and work with professional sub-contractors who are motivated to perform.
Protection of the landscaping and grounds was further addressed and John motioned to purchase MUD-TRAKS lawn mats for the heavy machinery to protect the lawn at a price not to exceed $5200 (includes shipping). Mike seconded and all were in favor.
Snow removal was discussed including obtaining several bids for per plow service. Sidney commented that plowing last year was under-bid as Ray confirmed it takes 2 hours to plow the cemetery thoroughly. Perhaps we obtain bids based on a 2 hour plow service.
- B. Sidney gave an Administrator report:
We had a burial on August 28 in the upper cemetery. It rained and 3 tents were set up for the burial service and all went very well. Mike commented that a tent is very important even in the heat as he recently experienced. Ray used 2 of his own tents to pull it off. John motioned to approve the purchase of 2 three-sided tents for this purpose and Mike seconded. Family of the deceased also observed the grave site closing excavation from inside the mausoleum while it rained.
The credit card payment system is up and running and there will be a monthly electronic funds transfer of $60/mo.
The Cemetery Tour was well attended and we had over 200 people come through the tour. It was a beautiful day and everything went smoothly. Attendees said it was highly entertaining.
Sidney reported that Benjamin Linscott with the Eagle County Coronors office has inquired about burying the “unknown” human remains that were found in Vail here in Minturn. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the Coroner is not going to cremate the remains, rather, bury the remains. Benjamin was directed to the web site for pricing, and Sidney said that we could customize an excavation price based his unique needs (2×3 box vs. a casket, no need for lowering device). The question also came up regarding storing the bones in a crypt space for a few months until they are ready to put him into the ground. Board and staff discussed and agreed that the District would not allow something like this.
Board and staff discussed potential 2015 capital expenditures (projects and improvements). John commented how nice the cemetery looks and that we are on the right track. Landscaping looks really good. The following projects were suggested:
- 1. Exterior front gate paving: pending TOM intergovernmental agreement, it would be nice to replace the gravel with asphalt directly outside the three front gates.
- 2. Lawn-friendly vehicle for turf maintenance: Ray would like a machine that is suitable for driving on grass (something that has a dump bed and something for spreading gravel in winter). John suggested the Kubota ATV 1100. Mike concurred that this would be a good asse
- 3. Continued landscape improvements
- 4. Stucco replacement for exterior wall at mausoleum
- Board and staff toured the cemetery grounds to view potential improvement projects for the immediate future and for 2015. The drainage issue by the public restroom will be fixed as soon as possible. John motioned to move forward with building the staircase up to the bathroom at a price not to exceed $3500 (including iron railing).
VI BILL PAYING
The following electronic funds transfers were made:
EFT 9/8/2014 Century Link 260.01
EFT 9/1/2014 First Bank 60.00
EFT 9/2/2014 Vail Honeywagon 31.15
EFT 9/1/2014 Waste Management 50.00
EFT 9/5/2014 Waste Management 50.00
The following checks were signed:
| 9/8/2014 | 1733 | Avignon Stone & Outdoor Living 2,500.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1734 | Chase Ink 792.63 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1735 | Great Divide Construction, Inc. 397.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1736 | Hayes, Phillips, Hoffmann & Carberry 1,202.50 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1737 | Home Depot 489.69 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1738 | Martinez Trucking, Inc. 400.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1739 | Mountain Valley Ventures, Inc. 2,300.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1731 | Robertson & Marchetti, P.C. 262.45 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1732 | Orkin Pest Control 500.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1742 | Sforzo Enterprises, Inc. 5,862.50 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1741 | Ray Sforzo 34.34 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1743 | Sidney Harrington 1,680.00 |
| 9/8/2014 | 1740 | Xcel Energy 171.03 |
IX FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Snow removal contract Excavation contract
Maintenance building expansion bids
2015 budget
IX ADJOURNMENT
John motioned to adjourn the regular meeting and Mike seconded at approximately 6:35 PM.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 13, 4:00 p.m., at the Minturn
Riverview Cemetery Mausoleum, Minturn, CO.
ATTEST:
Respectfully Submitted: Sidney Harrington Administrator
Mike Martinez
Minturn Cemetery District
Secretary/Treasurer
