As cemetery ownership transfers to some municipalities, so are the laws and fees for those locations. In that respect, Tay Township received high words of praise for their transition into the management role.
Municipalities facing abandonment of inactive cemeteries are increasingly taking on the task of keeping them up and running. As of the recent addition of the Waubaushene Protestant Cemetery in March, three active cemeteries are now owned and operated by Tay.
A 2019 bylaw for rules and regulations for the care and maintenance of cemeteries was established in Tay following the assumed ownership of the Victoria Harbour Union Cemetery; similarly came a cemetery price list bylaw to establish user fees and service charges.
At the recent meeting of council, a corporate services report outlining bylaw amendments was presented with municipal clerk Katelyn Johns offering council a high level summary.
“The main amendments are to include the addition of various lot sizes and respective marker monument maximum standards, to ensure that the wider lots at the other cemeteries allow for other larger marker monuments to be placed,” said Johns, “as well as the inclusion of cremation lots which are only available at the Waubaushene Protestant Cemetery currently.
“And the removal of the term ‘scattering rights’ and any variation thereof, just because we don’t currently offer that service.
“As for the amendments to Schedule B of the fees and charges bylaw,” Johns added, “that is our cemetery price list. All we’ve done there is just include all three cemeteries into that price list.”
The extensive report was praised by Coun. Paul Raymond, acknowledging the efforts of staff to address the municipal function.
“It’s really informative,” Raymond admitted, “and for the first time I have an understanding on how our cemeteries work here.”
Perhaps greater praise was provided by Deputy Mayor Barry Norris, who was a former assistant manager for the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. He echoed Raymond’s appreciation to both Johns as well as legislative coordinator Lacey McKay on the report.
Norris did have one further explanation to add as clarity on the allotted interments per grave section of the proposed bylaw amendment. “That’s for selling of new graves, where we’re saying you’ll have one full size with two cremations; everything else prior to that is all previous bylaws at the various cemeteries.”
The fees and charges bylaw amendments were later read and passed in the meeting, but the rules and regulations bylaw amendments were only received with intent to be addressed at a future council meeting subsequent to the notice requirements fulfillment of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario.
Information on Tay Township cemeteries, including bylaws and pricing, can be found on the cemeteries page of the municipal website.
The bylaw amendments report for cemetery management 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.
