By Greg Higgins

City cemetery running low on reserved plots

Feb 24, 2017 | 9:30 AM

Changes are coming to the North Battleford City Cemetery for its current and future tenants. 

According to administrators who attended a city planning meeting on Monday, Feb. 20, the city cemetery is close to being booked up and advises anyone making their life’s final plans to do so soon or risk losing a plot.

The North Battleford city planning committee was recently addressed by administration about amending bylaws pertaining to cemeteries. City Manager, Jim Puffalt, said fees haven’t been addressed since 2010. The city will be narrowing the amount of individual fees by bundling some together and eliminating others, but prices are increasing.

Prices are currently set at $1,000 for a full burial lot and $1,800 for a niche at the columbarium.

Councillor Steinborn, a former funeral director, asked the city’s director of operations, Stewart Schafer, about expansion options at the cemetery.  

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“For burials we are filling up very quickly but we still have a few plots available. If anyone wishes to make reservations now we still can accommodate you,” Schafer said. “For cremations we just installed a brand new columbarium so we have some space in there.”

Schafer said in terms of expansion another columbarium could be built to accommodate more urns. He added the Woodlawn Cemetery just southeast of the city on Highway 16 has a lot of burial plots left.

City staff are also focusing on the aesthetic of the graves. Puffalt said the city is very sensitive to people and their loved ones but added the sight of dead flowers in a cemetery can be unpleasant. He added the city is working to create guidelines on what is appropriate to place at headstones.
 

Greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins.