NorthwestNovember 3, 2015

Work on master plan for Normal Hill graveyard uncovers some interesting statistics

People aren't going to stop dying any time soon, and people in Lewiston are dying more than 50 percent faster than the state average.

To a man like Erik Lees, this isn't necessarily bad news.

"From a business standpoint, this is a good thing," Lees told the Lewiston City Council during a Monday work session at city hall. "It probably explains why we have three healthy cemeteries in town."

The city hired cemetery consulting and planning firm Lees and Associates several months ago to create something Mayor Jim Kleeburg said was long overdue: a master plan to chart the future of the Normal Hill Cemetery.

Lees presented an extensive draft to the council that included dozens of interesting statistics, like Lewiston's rate of 12.4 deaths per 1,000 people each year. The state average is 7.5, and the difference can be attributed to the city's aging population, Lees said.

That means there will be about 11,500 deaths over the next 25 years, and the cemetery will need to develop about 2.2 acres to accommodate those who choose to inter their loved ones there. If it doesn't, Lees said all of the in-ground casket lots will be sold within 10 years, and all of the in-ground cremation lots will be sold within two years.

To ensure there is enough burial space over that time period, the company recommended the development of additional cremation lot sites, new columbaria (buildings to house above-ground urns), and the creation of other cremation options like gardens where urns can be interred or ashes can be scattered.

The cemetery has 6.3 acres of undeveloped land on a hillside between its current southern edge and Southway Avenue. If the city eventually develops all that land for the cemetery, it will meet burial needs for up to 75 years.

But because of budgetary constraints, Lees recommended breaking that development into four phases, with only the first two phases completed initially. The first phase would beautify what Lees called the "derelict" hillside by grading the acreage and planting trees around its perimeter as soon as the city can afford it, possibly in 2017.

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The following year could see the development of the first new burial lots, adjacent to 15th Avenue.

Lees also recommended running the cemetery more like a business, with a new focus on marketing, customer service and increased rates that are on par with competitors. Parks and Recreation Director Tim Barker agreed, saying the facility has basically run the same way for 125 years.

Barker and Lees will work on finalizing the draft plan by the end of November, and answering some questions posed by councilors. Barker will then make a final presentation in December to the council, which will consider it for adoption.

The council also heard a report from City Manager Jim Bennett about the potential of scrapping the city's observance of Columbus Day in favor of Martin Luther King Jr.-Idaho Human Rights Day. Bennett said non-represented city employees have joined with the firefighter and police unions to support the change, representing about 83 percent of the city's workforce.

Only the technicians union has expressed no interest in making the change. Bennett said he has approached the group twice, but will try one more time before the human rights holiday in January.

If the union doesn't agree to the change, its 35 employees will still have Columbus Day off next year, and be the only city employees to work Jan. 18. Bennett agreed to clock in to supervise the employees on that day. But he guessed that will be a one-time occurrence because the union will negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the city next year, and the holiday swap could be part of that agreement.

Bennett recommended the change because Lewiston is the only Idaho city that still gives its employees Columbus Day off. School districts, colleges and counties don't observe the holiday, creating scheduling problems for many employees, he said.

Councilor Jesse Maldonado said the change is also needed because of the harm Christopher Columbus inflicted on American Indian populations, while King actually helped people.

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Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.

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