Historic preservation committee reviews student GPR survey of Templeton Cemetery and discusses fundraising, data handoff

Members of the Woodland Park Historic Preservation Committee on an undated meeting discussed results of a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic survey of Templeton Cemetery performed by a team of students and considered options for fundraising and data handoff to support restoration work.

The committee reported that four students — three women and one man — performed both GPR and magnetic scans and set survey grids and GPS control. Committee members said the students planned to return to stake any features they located, but committee volunteers also offered to accept GPS coordinates and stake sites themselves if the student team could provide compatible data files. One committee member said she had already tied perimeter stakes to known reference points and could share latitude/longitude coordinates for the committee’s survey grid.

The discussion emphasized data formats and transfer. Committee members described having AutoCAD and Trimble Business Center (TBC) files and asked whether the students’ GPS output could be converted or integrated; they agreed to coordinate file types so the committee could stake features without waiting for the students’ return. The committee also discussed the timing of the student work; members said the students had been in town the week around the 20th (committee reference), and one member described visiting the site afterward to tie stakes into the committee’s control points.

Committee members described out-of-pocket expenses related to hosting the students: the school covered student per diems, a donated VRBO was used for lodging with the only student cost a $50 cleaning fee per student, and volunteers reported small expenses (clearing driveways, running a tractor/trailer) that they recorded but did not request formal reimbursement for during the meeting.

Fundraising and online presence were a substantive part of the discussion. Committee members reported multiple public inquiries asking where donors could give money to support headstone restoration. They discussed whether to set up a social media page or website to publicize work and accept donations, and agreed to check with city staff about rules and “guardrails” for fundraising, because some cemeteries they work on lie outside city ownership. A committee member said the group had previously been unable to accept donations directly and wanted clarity on whether a city conduit, a separate nonprofit, or another mechanism would be required.

The committee discussed an upcoming public presentation: members plan a fall 2025 report to city council that would include before-and-after photos and a PowerPoint documenting Woodland Park and Templeton work. Committee volunteers said they would continue to document stones and produce outreach materials to help with fundraising.

Committee member Steve (committee member) described a vision for Templeton Cemetery that included new headstones for named and unidentified graves, a larger interpretive monument telling the Templeton story, split-rail fencing, and perimeter rock work. He estimated per-stone costs in a general range and said he expected to rely primarily on private donations and volunteer labor rather than city funding.

The committee agreed to follow up by asking the students for GPS files, contacting city staff about the process for accepting donations, and preparing a presentation for council later in the year.