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Cemetery board asks county to plan for power and water upgrades as reserves grow
Summary
Daniels County's cemetery board reviewed its budget and told commissioners it needs an electricity feed and reliable water to sustain irrigation and tree planting. Commissioners and staff discussed options, costs and funding paths, including wells, tanks and traveling sprinklers.
The Daniels County cemetery board told county commissioners it needs a long‑term plan for reliable water and electricity to maintain turf and plant trees at the new cemetery, and asked the county to help evaluate costs and options.
Why it matters: cemetery upkeep has shifted from emergency, ad‑hoc watering to recurring maintenance as volunteers and part‑time crews mow and irrigate. The cemetery's cash carryover has grown in recent years, prompting board members to recommend setting aside funds and prioritizing projects such as power, a sprinkler system, and the possibility of a well and storage tank.
At the meeting, cemetery representatives outlined the tradeoffs they face: continuing to buy water for irrigation from a regional supplier is costly and can limit tree planting; wells have drilling and pumping costs and may require pressure tanks or pumps to meet sprinkler PSI; installing a traveling sprinkler would ease irrigation but requires adequate flow. Commissioners and staff discussed options including trenching for power from a nearby transformer, contacting utility representatives to identify service boundaries, exploring solar with battery backup and pursuing grant funding or reserve budgeting for capital improvements.
The emergency manager present described how funding, grant readiness and technical requirements affect grant applications; he offered to run a demo of a mobile public‑alert system (see separate article) and to help the cemetery identify cost estimates that could be included in future budgets. County staff recommended the cemetery compile a prioritized list of projects with rough cost estimates so commissioners can consider them during the budget process.
Direct quotations: County Emergency Services official: "If you want electricity, get a cost estimate and we'll work through grant or capital funding options." Cemetery board representative: "We need to decide what we're planning for so we can save for it — water, power, sprinkler lines, trees."
Next steps: Cemetery board to assemble a prioritized project list (power, sprinkler system, well/tank options) with estimated costs; county staff will help contact utilities (MDU, NorVal) and check whether existing nearby feeders can be tapped; commissioners asked staff to include options in budget planning and to pursue quotes for trenching, wiring and pump/tank solutions.
