Consultants present Hillcrest Cemetery master plan: phased roadwork, memorial gardens and staffing suggested

Consultants from LS Sloan Consulting Group presented a master plan for Hillcrest Cemetery at the March 6 council workshop that recommended phased road and drainage repairs, creation of cremation/memorial gardens, new pedestrian connections to adjacent parks and a modest staffing increase to operate burials and maintenance in‑house.

Stephanie Sloan, principal with LS Sloan Consulting Group, and landscape architect Greg (last name variously transcribed) described survey work, two public open houses and a stakeholder questionnaire that informed the plan. Road surface and drainage were the top concerns cited by survey respondents. The consultants proposed a defined permanent paved circulation network that would bring most graves within a 50‑foot standard access distance from a roadway, address failing culverts and consolidate travel onto new paved routes while leaving some low‑use roads available for phased repurposing.

Inventory and memorial options

The plan recommended offering a mix of traditional casketed burial, cremation products and memorial gardens. Consultants said the light green sections in their plan contain roughly 1,800 existing burial spaces, converting darker‑green road closures to burial inventory could add about 4,000 spaces, a portion of the site requiring further research might yield about 600 spaces, and a two‑acre future expansion area could add about 2,250 spaces — together producing approximately 8,700 burial spaces in the mapped area. Consultants said the current annual sale rate is about 70 units, with an assumed planning number of roughly 90 annual sales in modeling; using that forecast the consultants estimated about 96 years of useful life for the combined inventory under the plan. Consultants noted cremation is increasing statewide and said offering a range of cremation memorial options (in‑ground cremation plots, columbarium niches and linear memorial gardens) would extend useful life and appeal to resident preferences.

Operations and finances

The consultants recommended bringing burial services in‑house and adding two dedicated grounds employees who would be responsible for conducting burials, leveling graves after interment, and raising overall maintenance standards. The workshop presentation said the city currently pays an outside contractor roughly $1,275 per burial and averages about 74 burials over the last five years; that contractor remits $100 per burial to the city. Consultants suggested that in‑house operations combined with modest price adjustments could largely offset the cost of two staff positions and improve scheduling, liability management and service performance.

Site connections and amenities

The master plan also proposed stronger pedestrian connectivity between Hillcrest, adjacent Miller Park and a new Nugent Dog Park to create a roughly 30‑acre contiguous green corridor. A more ambitious recommendation would close a portion of Shell Avenue, remove the institutional chain‑link fencing and create multiuse pedestrian paths flanked by prairie‑type plantings and interpretive signage focusing on the cemetery’s history and monument art. Consultants said enhanced public access, programming and better maintenance would raise public visibility and encourage respectful use of the historic site.

Costs and phasing

Consultants presented order‑of‑magnitude costs split into immediate (1–2 years), intermediate (3–5 years) and long‑term phases. The largest near‑term capital items were road and drainage work and capital equipment for on‑site burial operations (backhoe, dump truck, etc.). Intermediate items included the Shell Avenue closure and partial detention and pond improvements; long‑term items focused on aesthetics, expanded memorial gardens and interpretive investments. Consultants recommended sensitive, phased enforcement and education to reduce illegal dumping and to bring decorations into compliance with the city’s existing ordinance while allowing a humane transition period for grieving families.

Next steps

Consultants and staff said additional detailed engineering, final costing and an implementation schedule will follow; council asked clarifying operational questions and discussed funding and potential endowment approaches but made no formal decision at the workshop.