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Northfield updates: cemetery fee increase, cemetery delays, siren installation and holiday services
Summary
Council heard multiple community-services updates: Cemetery Board raised graves fees and flagged delays installing headstones; Fire Chief Jason Buss reported the new storm siren is nearly installed and COVID-safe event planning may cancel the department’s Santa event; leaf pickup ends Dec. 4.
Council heard a cluster of community-services updates at the Nov. 11 meeting.
Cemetery: Mayor Jesse Nehez reported the Cemetery Board met Nov. 3 and decided to raise the fee for new graves by $100, move the cemetery’s internet service from Windstream to Spectrum to save money, and commission a new website at a cost of $4,000. The board also noted an expected 7.8% increase in employee health insurance costs for 2021, planned to paint the fence black and flagged several dying trees that need removal or trimming. Councilperson Renell Noack said she had received complaints that some gravestones had been on-site for more than three months without installation and she asked the mayor to follow up.
Fire and holiday services: Fire Chief Jason Buss said he circulated a COVID-19 public transmission warning email earlier in the week, reported that the new storm warning siren is about 90% installed and is waiting final electrical hookup and meter placement by Ohio Edison, and that department COVID-related safety equipment is scheduled to arrive before year-end. Chief Buss said this year’s Department Santa Event will likely be cancelled because of the pandemic; council discussed a possible drive-by alternative.
Service Department: Superintendent Jason Walters said leaf pickup will end Dec. 4. He described the Houghton Road water-main break and emergency road repair (Mid-Ohio Asphalt & Concrete completed the work) that council later authorized payment for.
Why it matters: The cemetery changes touch families using village burial services and raised immediate customer-service concerns about stone installation timing. Fire and service updates affect resident safety and holiday service operations.
Next steps: The mayor will follow up with the Cemetery Board about installation delays; department staff will coordinate siren finalization with Ohio Edison and confirm whether alternate Santa-event formats are feasible.
