A July presentation by an innovative cemetery business wasn’t quite what Tay Township council was ready for, as the municipality declined to go further on a pitch that could have involved the Waubaushene Protestant Cemetery.
During the July meeting, Tay council received a presentation for a municipal cemetery adoption program by the president and co-founder of AWAKE, who introduced a unique method of saving space in cemeteries through a patented method of returning ashes back into a natural earthen state.
Council received the result of the staff report at the recent meeting, whereupon municipal clerk Katelyn Johns provided the summary that staff did not recommend undertaking the option.
“Essentially, while we were very impressed with AWAKE’s sustainable and innovative approach to cemetery operations,” said Johns at the meeting, “upon further analysis of our cemetery budgets at this moment, and our municipal resources, it’s not recommended that our township participate in (the municipal cemetery adoption program).”
As noted in the report, the requirements for the project would have involved $8,800 plus HST in consulting and material program fees, as well as 50 square feet of available space; staff had looked to the Waubaushene Protestant Cemetery as the most viable option for their research.
Despite ‘the potential to generate over $250,000 revenue through interments’ according to the report, Tay staff noted that participation costs would ‘not comfortably fall within the township cemetery budgets at this time’. A municipal report from March fully explored the costs to run the township’s three active cemeteries.
“The recommendation also states that staff will continue to explore innovative, sustainable, and budget-friendly solutions for future implementation at our cemeteries,” Johns concluded.
The staff recommendation was approved without further questions or comments.
Increasing ownership and responsibility of cemeteries by municipalities has been a recent cause for concern, as addressed by Tiny Township during a council meeting earlier in the year.
The municipal cemetery adoption program report regarding AWAKE can be found in the agenda page on the Tay Township website.
Tay council meets for committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday of the month, and regular council meetings every fourth Wednesday of the month. Archives and livestreams of council meetings are available through the Tay Township YouTube channel.
