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Volunteers, students advance Templeton Cemetery survey as committee weighs donation, outreach options
Summary
Historic Preservation Committee members reported completion of ground-penetrating radar and magnetic surveys at Templeton Cemetery by a university student team, discussed sharing GPS data to mark graves, and debated whether to solicit private donations through a city-controlled page or separate nonprofit conduit.
Members of the Woodland Park Historic Preservation Committee said a four-student university team completed ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic surveys at Templeton Cemetery in late February and early March, and committee volunteers have begun tying the students' work to on-site stakes and GPS reference points.
The students, described by committee members as conducting the fieldwork as a senior project, performed both GPR and magnetic scans so the data sets can be compared. Committee volunteers said they already have perimeter stakes and GPS coordinates for the cemetery and offered to exchange digital files with the students to allow the site to be staked without a separate return trip by the student team.
Committee member Steve (committee member) described follow-up plans for the cemetery and outlined a private-funding approach for restoration. He said he wants to install a larger monument telling the story of Andrew Templeton and the Templeton Cemetery, place individual headstones for known and previously unknown interments, lay a perimeter of quarried rock around graves and erect a split-rail fence. Steve estimated small marker stones would cost roughly $40–$50 each and said a larger monument might cost about $500–$600; he added he has volunteers and equipment that could reduce labor costs. "That's my vision for Templeton," he said.
Committee members also discussed uncertainties about ownership and municipal responsibility. Members said Templeton Cemetery lies inside Woodland Park city limits but is not city-owned; the committee does not have a confirmed owner listed in county records available to them. Because the site may not be a municipal asset, several committee members emphasized a preference for pursuing private donations to avoid city expenditure and potential procedural delays.
The committee discussed public outreach to collect donations and document restorations, noting multiple residents have asked where to give money. Members asked staff to check legal and administrative constraints before creating a Facebook page or website to solicit funds. The committee agreed to ask city staff and the city’s social media manager about “guardrails” that would apply if the committee used city-controlled channels; they also discussed the possibility of a separate nonprofit or other conduit if the city cannot accept donations on the committee’s behalf.
Committee members said they have before-and-after photos and several videos documenting headstone repairs and that such material could be posted online to show work completed and to guide prospective donors. They plan to follow up with the city to determine whether the committee may accept donations directly, must route gifts through the city, or should establish an independent fundraising mechanism.
Members said they plan a public update for city council this fall to present Templeton progress alongside the completed Woodland Park Cemetery work and that volunteers will continue field and fundraising activities in the meantime.
