Park Township increases grave fees at local cemeteries

PARK TWP. – The Town of Park made several decisions regarding local cemeteries on Thursday, August 8.

Lakewood Cemetery, Lakeshore Cemetery and Ventura Cemetery have increased fees for both residents and non-residents.

Lakewood Cemetery: Fees for residents increase from $650 to $1,000. Fees for non-residents increase from $1,500 to $2,500.

Lakeside Cemetery: Fees for residents increase from $450 to $1,000. Fees for non-residents increase from $1,200 to $2,500.

Ventura Cemetery: Fees for residents increase from $450 to $1,000. Fees for non-residents increase from $1,200 to $2,500.

The changes are expected to increase revenue by $28,500 per year.

A planned improvement project at Lakeshore Cemetery, meanwhile, is expected to provide “consistent quality” for a total of $63,400. The budget includes tree removal ($4,200), excavation, grading and topsoil ($14,000), wells ($9,500), irrigation ($6,000), raking and seeding ($9,500), construction ($14,200) and a $6,000 reserve.

The trustees also discussed building a columbarium, a structure for storing urns, at Lakewood Cemetery. The columbarium would have 154 niches and cost $228,000.

Township Manager Howard Fink said maintenance costs for a full year would probably be less than $5,000. Currently, the township’s annual cemetery budget is $70,000 for mowing, fertilizing, leaf removal and other items.

The cost per niche would be $2,000, and Fink expects 20 sales per year. At that rate, Fink says, it would take a little over six years to recoup the initial investment.

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“If demand remains as we expect, we will build more columbaria,” Fink wrote in a report.

Discussions on the issue largely came to a halt Thursday after board members requested additional representations and information. They expect to return to the issue at their next meeting.

— Contact reporter Austin Metz at [email protected].

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