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Resident urges action on city cemetery conditions; city staff explain irrigation history and contractor response
Summary
A resident raised concerns about overgrown sand spurs, ant mounds and limited contractor responsiveness at a city-owned cemetery; city staff explained a past reclaimed-water irrigation system was discontinued due to damage to headstones and said contractor visits were increased and a follow-up meeting would be scheduled.
During public comment on Dec. 11 resident Robbie Claunch described poor conditions at a city-owned cemetery, citing sand spurs, ant piles and an apparent lack of timely communication from city staff. Claunch said repeated emails and calls since Nov. 7 had not produced a definitive plan and offered to help with repairs and irrigation work if the city would accept volunteer assistance.
City staff responded that the cemetery previously had an irrigation system supplied by reclaimed water, but the practice produced complaints and reportedly damaged headstones; that reuse water feed was later redirected to other city needs (to the airport) and is no longer available to support irrigation at the cemetery. Public-works staff said bringing irrigation back would require running municipal water a distance, incurring substantial capital and operating costs (city staff estimated major annual operating costs if municipal water were used) and that contractors have been asked to increase maintenance frequency. The city acknowledged communication gaps and offered a follow-up meeting to review specific requests and possible volunteer assistance.
Next steps: staff agreed to meet with the resident to review options, confirmed increased contractor visits to the cemetery and said they will continue monitoring; commissioners sought better public communication while weighing capital and operational costs of any irrigation reintroduction.
