burial above ground

The City of Breezy Point owns the Pelican Woods Cemetery and Nature Trail.  This is a unique cemetery as it was set up to take advantage of the woods and lands in a park like setting with a walking trail that surrounds the cemetery property.  The cemetery has been in existence since about 2000. 

To date 92 lots have been purchased and 53 persons have been laid to rest there.  Currently the cremains to traditional burials ratio is running about 68% cremains.  This trend is increasing with a state average of 53%. With cremains there are options.  Ashes can be scattered about, they can be buried, and some people prefer a Columbiaia placement.  

The Breezy Point Cemetery Commission has wanted to establish a columbarium for some time approaching the issue about 5 years ago.  At that time funds were limited and details hadn’t been sorted out so the issue did not move forward.  However the Commission revisited the issue this year towards the establishment of a columbarium.   

A couple of proposals were received for prebuilt columbarium that is trucked to the cemetery and installed on site.  The columbarium selected is considered a 48 niche columbarium but actually has 60 niches.  It is built with 24 double occupancy spaces on each side with bonus single occupancy niches of 6 on each end making the unit a 60 niche columbarium. 

The vendor awarded the contract for this is Clearwater Stone and Columbaria of St. Cloud, MN.  The cost for the slab and unit combined is $10,900.  Some additional installation costs will be incurred. It is anticipated that the columbarium will be available around the end of October of 2014.  Niche sales will commence shortly before installation. 

Public Works Supervisor

The city of Breezy Point has a limited number of staff and with that every person is very important to our operations.  With the age of a number of staff persons we are seeing some retirements.  One position that was recently vacated through retirement was the Roads Supervisor.  This position was held by Dave Szymanski and his final day of employment with the city was August 8^th, 2014. 

The city undertook a process of hiring a replacement for him starting in May.  Job descriptions were reviewed and updated.  The job title was changed to Public Works Supervisor as the job involves more than just maintaining roads.  Advertisements were made in trade organizations and the local press.  Applications were collected until June 13^th.  A total of 20 applications were received of which included a good number of people who could fill the position.  Five of these were selected for interviews. 

The city was faced with a number of very qualified individuals which was great news for us.  The downside to that is that only one candidate is offered the position.  The person selected to replace Dave Szymanski is Bryan Merta.  Bryan comes with a wealth of experience.  He has operated all sorts of heavy equipment.  He has surveying experience and he is a civil engineer.  He also is a resident of Breezy Point. 

The City Council hired him at their August 4^th meeting and Bryan started on the 5^th of August.  Bryan is getting accustomed to his new role and looks forward to the challenges it offers.  Although working in Public Works is a somewhat new role for him he feels he has the experience and qualifications to accomplish the job.  We are pleased to have Bryan Merta join the staff of the city of Breezy Point. 

Parkland dedication - Whitebirch Village

As cities grow and gain in population the need for parkland and park improvements increase.  Under Minnesota statutes cities are authorized to require parkland dedication from developers at the time of establishing a new subdivision.  The provision in law allows a city to require either land or cash donation as a condition of development.  Through the subdivision ordinance the city requires 10 percent of the land area or 10 percent of the value of the land in a cash dedication fee.  

Whitebirch Village is in the process of development.  As we worked through the utility issues an easement was needed to cross the golf course for sewer access to a lift station.  Sometimes minor easements are given at no cost but with a larger or longer easement, property owners seek compensation.  An easement does encumber the property.  Negotiating for the easement resulted in a “trade” of parkland dedication for the easement.  

Normally an easement for sewer purposes is paid for from the sewer fund.  Given the trade for an easement it was recognized that the parkland dedication fee was not available for park improvements.  It was recognized that the sewer fund should provide the dedication fee to the park improvement fund.  The parkland dedication requirements for Whitebirch Village amounted to $20,141.62.  The council approved a transfer of funds from the sewer fund to the park improvement fund.  This makes the park improvement fund whole given the trade for the easement to accommodate the sewer line across the golf course. 

Perimeter Easements in New Subdivisions

The city has recently updated the subdivision ordinance.  A number of changes were made to provide for better design requirements which accomplish a better end product.  One such end product is the establishment of Drainage and Utility Easements to be dedicated on the final plat. 

It is common to have these platted.  They occur along lot lines allowing the city or other utilities to work in the setback areas of lots to provide utility services or fine tune drainage needs that were not expected at the time of design.  In establishing the requirement a 6 foot easement was required on either side of an interior lot line and a 12 foot easement was required around the perimeter of the plat (outside edges). 

The city ran into problems with the perimeter easements in that most residential zones have a required side yard setback of 10 feet.  Having a 12 foot easement would require an additional 2 feet of setback for those lots that exist around the perimeter of the plat.  This creates an inconsistency and is problematic in that some areas would require 12 feet side yard setback and others would require 10.  Keeping track of when to use what setback creates uncertainty.  The interior lots with a 6 foot on either side of the line easement would not create a problem with a 10 foot setback but consistency was felt required. 

The Planning Commission reviewed the required Drainage and Utility Easement.  They felt it should be standardized to establish consistency and recommended that change.  The City Council agreed with the change and it was adopted at the June meeting. 

Counil Compensation

City Council members are never fully compensated for all the time that goes into being a member.  They don’t serve for the compensation they receive but it does offset some of the expenses they incur in doing the job.  In Breezy Point the amount of council compensation has remained the same since 1995.  Starting in 1995 the salaries paid to members of the council stand at $200 for mayor and $150 for council members per month.  

In contrast, the compensation paid to council members in neighboring communities is a bit higher.  

Nisswa         Mayor $350/month, 

                    Council members’ $300/month

                    Special Council meetings at $50/meeting

Crosslake     Mayor $450/month, 

                    Council members’ $350/month

                    Any additional meeting (committee or council)
                    up to 4/month at $20 each

Pequot Lakes    Mayor $350/month, 

                       Council members’ $325/month

                       Special Council meetings at $20/meeting

Minnesota statues allow council members to set salaries but it can only be done at certain times.  A siting council cannot increase its own salary.  No change in the salary can take effect until after the next succeeding regular city election. 

The Breezy Point City Council adopted an ordinance at their June meeting to increase the compensation for council members starting in 2015.  The new rate for council members will be $250 per month and the mayor will receive $300 per month.  Although compensation received for being a council member is not a significant amount it was hoped that the increase would be helpful in attracting individuals to run for election and be part of the city council.