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Cedar Fort cemetery committee races to finish map for June grant deadline, discusses gazebo and service project
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Summary
At a committee meeting, members heard that an aerial overlay of the cemetery contained many errors and that about 75 corrections have been made; they discussed a gazebo and gravel parking proposal, planned a volunteer service day, and approved the March 2 minutes.
Vicky Draper, filling in for Andrew Carter, said the committee must finalize a detailed cemetery map for a grant with a June deadline and turned the update over to Harry, who has been updating the records.
"I've already made 75 corrections," Harry said, reporting that an aerial overlay contained deficient information and that he still needs to add grave locations and the block and burial-site numbers required by the grant. He and other members said some birth and death details will be hard to find and that they will use FamilySearch and community outreach to fill gaps.
The map work matters for multiple reasons: it will be posted on the committee's site so relatives can locate graves, it feeds the grant deliverable the committee must complete by June, and inaccurate coordinates mean some burials are currently recorded in the wrong locations, committee members said.
Committee members also discussed a site-improvement proposal: placing a gazebo behind the west entrance, relocating benches into it, and installing a gravel drive to create parking and reduce fire risk during summer services. One member cited a 12-by-12, 4-inch concrete pad with an estimated cost of $1,050 for the foundation; members said some materials and labor would be donated by local groups such as Sons and Daughters.
The committee set a goal of having a veterans recognition element in place near the gazebo by Memorial Day. Members said planning for the veterans wall and the logistics of listing names will likely be handled as a separate task after the map is more complete.
Volunteers will also take part in a service project to flag and clear graves, move non-marker rocks out of mowing paths, and remove tall weeds. The committee asked volunteers to bring weed whackers, rakes, gloves and trash bags; town staff were scheduled to spray weeds the following Wednesday. Members discussed who has authority to remove persistent decorations and referenced an ordinance but did not specify which ordinance the transcript cites.
On routine business, a motion to approve the minutes of March 2 was made and seconded; members voted "Aye" and the minutes were approved. The meeting adjourned at 07:40.
Next steps recorded by the committee include continuing map corrections, printing and saving updated maps to the drive/thumb drive, walking the site at the next meeting to finalize the gazebo/parking layout and coordinating with town staff to turn on water and mark graves for upcoming burials and the service project.
