Buckley City Council members approved the use of $30,000 to build a showroom for the city cemetery by Memorial Day. The money will come from the cemetery endowment funds and not the city’s general fund.
The motion went before the council March 23 after being brought up in the March 17 meeting of the Community Services and Recreation committee, chaired by Councilwoman Melissa Patson.
Caretaker Scott deCarteret attended the committee meeting and cited a number of trends that make a showroom beneficial.
“At this time in our culture the cemetery is becoming insignificant in a sense,” he wrote in a letter to the committee. “With the growing shift toward cremation and the popularity of scattering, the cemetery has to be even more aggressive in how it provides for its families.”
The 14-foot by 26-foot showroom will be attached to the current shop and will have a view of the Pioneer section of the grounds. It will include a headstone and vase, display area, shelves to display urns and keepsake products and a vault display provided by the Wilbur Vault Co. of Tacoma.
Cost for the project was estimated at $10 to $15 per square foot, or $15,000. A legal requirement for a sewer hookup will increase the total estimated cost to $25,000. Council approved an additional $5,000 to account for unforeseen additional costs.
In other action, the council:
• agreed to switch the Fright Factory haunted house to a two-year contract for use of the Miller Property. The haunted house – owned by Double Dw LLC – wrote the city a check Jan. 31 for a little more than $5,500, the city’s share of the revenues.
• discussed options for dealing with raccoons found on the Miller property. A decision will be made pending research into laws for relocating raccoons.
• announced White River School District will host a town hall meeting to address underage drinking, beginning at 6 p.m. April 1 at the Multi-Purpose Center.
• approved an amendment to Buckley’s agreement with Cascade Land Conservancy to represent the city in purchasing property from Puget Sound Energy. The amendment will extend the agreement from March 31 to June 2011
• approved a permit for the Firehouse Pub to have a beer garden the weekend of the Buckley Log Show.
• authorized an agreement with WSDOT to proceed with a pedestrian crossing project on state Route 410 at Mason Avenue.
• approved Buckley Kiwanis’ application for a fireworks stand June 28 to July 6.
