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Council approves updated cemetery fees and adds 'aquamation' to cremation language
Summary
Council approved proposed increases to several burial and service fees at Cherryville cemeteries and directed staff to add 'aquamation' to cremation-related language; fees for holiday burials and weekend services were among the changes.
The Cherryville City Council approved revised cemetery fees and amended the language to expressly include aquamation alongside cremation.
Staff presented proposed rate increases for several categories, including cremation interment openings, baby graves, adult graves and oversized adult graves. The presentation noted increased costs for holiday interments (New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day) and a change that would make funerals beginning after 3:30 p.m. subject to an additional charge; staff said the later-start fee was adjusted because funerals increasingly begin at later hours and the contractor lacks lighting for later evening operations. Staff also reported increased demand for Saturday and Sunday funerals and recommended raising the additional weekend fee from $125 to $150; the council agreed that those costs would be passed through to customers because they reflect contractor charges.
One councilmember proposed amending the fee schedule to read "cremation/aquamation" to reflect families choosing water-based (alkaline hydrolysis) processing; council accepted that amendment and approved the revised fee schedule as amended. The changes also included matching adjustments to the columbarium and two-by-two cremation sections. Council voted to adopt the fee changes as presented with the amendment.
Council members asked procedural questions about how aquamation remains would be handled and whether funeral homes in the area currently offer the service; staff said aquamation remains fit into standard urns and that the city has handled at least one aquamation burial recently but could confirm details with funeral homes.
