Blufftown councilors discuss creating town-managed Bluff Cemetery, SHPO grant and survey/conveyance questions

Council members spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing steps to establish a town-managed Bluff Cemetery and to organize cemetery records.

The chair said San Juan County had not completed the process to create a special service district for the cemetery and that the town’s legal position (to be reviewed by town attorney Chris McEnany) is that funds tied to the cemetery run with the cemetery and may be available to the town if the town creates a cemetery board or ordinance. The chair said they had collected records from Robin Bond, including bank-account information from a previously defunct cemetery board.

The chair announced the town had secured a $10,000 grant from the State Historic Preservation Office to digitize and organize cemetery records; the grant requires a $2,500 match and the town has about $4,500 in a related account that could be used. The chair said the grant could pay for an engineering/surveying firm to map burial plots and that an intern could assist with data work to meet state reporting requirements.

Councilmembers asked how the survey would handle multiple property owners and whether the grant covered older graves as well as newer burials. The chair and others said surveying is needed to determine property lines and where burials have occurred, and that survey results would inform any agreement or deed work with San Juan County and private entities such as the Hole in the Rock Foundation and Southwest Heritage.

The chair reported, as conveyed in a recent county meeting, that county officials indicated they would convey their section of the cemetery property to the Hole in the Rock Foundation for $1. Councilmembers agreed to have the town attorney review title and conveyance options and discussed whether the town should pursue a quit-claim, negotiate directly, or consider bidding if the county disposes of property interests. No formal transfer occurred during the meeting; the claim about a $1 conveyance was reported by the chair and not confirmed by a county representative at the meeting.

Councilmembers proposed forming a community advisory committee and noted the need to clarify management responsibilities (who sells lots, who handles funds) in the draft ordinance. The chair said they would draft an ordinance, circulate it to councilors and the town attorney for review, and aim to have an implementation plan by early fall. The council also discussed coordination with organizations that have used burial plots, such as the Hole in the Rock Foundation and Southwest Heritage, and the physical issues of parking and site access.

What it means: The town is moving from ad hoc record-keeping to a formal ordinance and mapped cemetery records, supported by a modest state grant, but the ownership and conveyance questions with the county and other landholders remain unresolved and will require legal and title work before any formal transfer or consolidated town cemetery is established.