HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-06-CSC-min10 Minutes of the
A: Lexington Ad Hoc Crematory Study Meeting
February 6, 2019
Location and Time: 201 Bedford Street; 2nd Floor Training Room; 7:00 P.M.
Members Present: Judith Crocker, Sara Iverson, Bridger McGaw, George Burnell (EDAC),
John Flynn (Board of Health)
Members Absent: Narain Bhatia, Msgr. Paul Garrity (LICA)
Others Present: Sanjay Padaki (Appropriation liaison), Sandy Beebee (Capital
Expenditures liaison), Douglas Lucente (Chair, and Board of Selectmen liaison), David
Pinsonneault (DPW liaison), Carolyn Kosnoff, John Himmel (Permanent Building
Committee)
Documents Presented:
Most documents discussed Ad Hoc Crematory Study committee meetings can be found on this
shared google drive:
httas://drive.aooale.com/drive/folders/lGabEsOCazhUb YXXoxKaa6if0tYdU5FW?usa=sharina
Additionally the committee discussed the draft presentation for the February 7th Ad Hoc Crematory
Public Hearing and Dinesh Patel's presentation to the Board of Selectmen from February 4, 2019.
Mr. Lucente called the meeting to order at 7:08pm. The committee unanimously approved the
minutes from the December 20th, 2018 and January 9th, 2019 meetings.
Mr. Lucente reviewed the draft slides he intended to present during the Ad Hoc Crematory Public
Hearing on February 7th. The committee decided which statistics would best illustrate cremation
trends, funeral practices amongst different faiths, the cost difference between burials and
cremations, death rates in Lexington, and the capacity at Westview Cemetery. In addition, the
group added a slide to show crematorium competitors in Massachusetts. The group decided on the
questions to ask audience members and finalized the format for the hearing.
Mr. Himmel presented his concern that if the committee were to recommend building crematory that
was attached to the Westview Cemetery maintenance building, it would interfere with that Westview
Cemetery Building's project timeline. The architect is on track to complete design development at
the end of February and the Department of Public Works will be requesting construction funds at
2019 ATM, with hopes to open the bidding process in May. Mr. Himmel suggested that one solution
could be for the architect on the Westview Cemetery project to undertake a second design
development to change the current design to accommodate a crematory addition at a later date
while also preparing construction documents on the current design. He expressed concerns that
another funding source would be necessary cover this additional design work.
Several members were concerned that a separate crematorium would make less financial sense
than one attached to the maintenance facility. Mr. McGaw expressed that if the current architectural
design could be made more efficient, additional design funds would be freed up to prepare for a
crematory addition. Mr. Pinsonneault cited that there had been a cost estimate of $200,000 to bring
a gas line to the Westview Cemetery maintenance building but this part of the project was
eliminated to reduce costs.
The group settled on a set of assumptions to use for the financial analysis part of the Crematory
study. This included an attached crematorium with one retort and a viewing area that could
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Lexington Ad Hoc Crematory Study Meeting
February 6, 2019
accommodate 10-25 people. Operational cost analysis assumptions would be decided on a later
date. Multiple committee members expressed concerns that designing the building so the crematory
and maintenance operations at Westview did not interfere with one another would be challenging.
Mr. Himmel suggested a possible plan if the committee decided in favor of adding a crematorium at
Westview Cemetery at a future date. 1) It could be a 2-3 phase project. 2) The Westview Cemetery
building design could continue but the architect should be warned there could be additional work to
accommodate the possibility of a crematorium with one to two retorts added at a later date. 3) The
committee should determine what is legally feasible given the language in the warrant. 4) The
committee needs to figure out how the town can pay for the design modifications on the Westview
Cemetery to prepare for the possibility of a future crematorium.
Mr. Lucente established the next meeting dates as: February 20, 2019 and March 6th. Town
meeting begins on March 25th, and financial articles are expected to be undertaken starting April 15t
The meeting adjourned at 10:30pm.
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