Cedar Fort cemetery committee approves minutes, advances mapping corrections and plans gazebo, parking and Memorial Day cleanup

Cedar Fort — The Cemetery Committee approved the March 2 minutes and spent most of the meeting reviewing mapping errors, a near-term grant deadline and several maintenance projects, including a proposed gazebo and new gravel parking to improve access.

"I'm Vicky Draper. I'm filling in for Andrew Carter, who is absent," the member leading the meeting said, opening discussion about the town's effort to correct cemetery records and meet grant requirements. Committee members agreed to the minutes after a motion and voice vote.

Harry, who was introduced by the meeting leader to provide the mapping update, told the committee that aerial overlays and the existing map contain numerous omissions and errors. "I've already made 75 corrections," he said, and described work to add burial locations and reconcile names where the overlay failed to show spouses or adjacent grave sites. Members discussed using FamilySearch and church records to supplement missing birth or death dates when local records cannot be found.

Committee members said the grant requires documentation of hours and statistics. The chair said there are roughly two more committee meetings before a June deadline to finish the grant work, and urged members to continue field verification and data entry so the mapping files can be updated and printed for volunteers.

The group also discussed a site-improvement proposal to place a gazebo behind the west entrance, relocate existing benches into that structure and install a straight gravel drive to provide parking and reduce mud and fire risk near graves. "He wanted to take it from here, make a road clear across, put gravel so there could be parking there," the lead member said. Attendees agreed to inspect the site at the next meeting and to consider small barriers or rocks to protect adjacent graves from vehicles.

Members planned a volunteer service project — with youth participation expected — to flag suspected unmarked graves, move non-marker rocks into piles for removal, trim overgrown areas and place temporary signs so rocks are not confused with grave markers. Volunteers were asked to bring weed whackers, rakes, gloves and trash bags; the committee discussed coordinating start time (announced materials showed an original 4 p.m. time that was later circulated as 6 p.m.).

The committee confirmed that a contractor is scheduled to spray weeds and unwanted vegetation in and around the cemetery the coming Wednesday, and emphasized that dead material will still need to be removed after spraying.

A committee member asked who had the authority to remove old decorations that were left on graves. Other members responded that the matter is covered by an ordinance but the transcript did not name the ordinance; the committee indicated that items deemed 'tacky' after the allowed period could be discarded. "If it looks tacky, it could be thrown away," one member said.

Other operational details discussed included correcting plot-number mismatches (examples were raised where only one spouse appeared on the overlay), integrating Harry's corrected data into printable maps, and arranging for town staff to assist with water access and sprinkler work in a section of the grounds. One speaker estimated a cement cost for a small concrete pad at about $1,050 as part of site-improvement planning.

Members also noted that a previously installed camera or monitoring device appears to have been removed; the committee will continue mapping and verification work. The meeting was adjourned at 07:40 with plans for a site visit at the next meeting and continued work to meet the grant deadline in June.