Orange County legislators approved a supplemental appropriation to support continued improvements and expansion at the Orange County Veterans Cemetery, after an update from Christian Farrell, director of the Veterans Service Agency.

Farrell told the Legislature the supplemental request is intended to prepare a 19-acre parcel for future burials and to address slope, clearing and grading needs. “We have 98 veterans who have been buried at the Veterans Cemetery this year, so we're kinda on pace for 200‑plus burials,” Farrell said, and added that recent work has opened a new section “to the far upper left” of the grounds.

The request was described during the meeting as tied to capital project numbering discussed on the record: a supplemental appropriation related to the Orange County Veterans Cemetery (capital project numbers referenced during the discussion included “240” and a 2025 capital plan reference described as “project number 158” and “legislative request number 170”). A motion to approve the appropriation was moved and seconded on the floor; the Legislature approved the measure by voice vote. When asked if there were any questions, the presiding officer called for the vote and respondents answered “Aye.”

Farrell emphasized that preparing the recently acquired acreage requires substantial work—removing stumps, regrading steep slopes and establishing turf—and noted that those site conditions mean the county will need continued funding to keep capacity ahead of demand. He said the most recent expansion has extended cemetery space beyond the access road and that the site will accommodate burials “for a few more years” once the new area is finished.

No ordinance, statute, grant program or regulatory citation was offered during the update. The record shows the Legislature approved the supplemental appropriation by voice vote; mover and seconder were recorded on the transcript as unnamed, and no roll-call tally was provided.

The approval directs county staff to proceed with the cemetery improvement work funded by the supplemental appropriation; the meeting did not include a detailed financing breakdown in the public remarks, nor did the director outline a construction schedule beyond saying the work is time‑ and cost‑intensive.