The “quality of afterlife” will improve at Martinsville Cemetery in Sumpter Township.
Members of the board of trustees agreed at the July 11 meeting to use up to $250,000 of the expected American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to make improvements at the Willis Court facility.
Township Manager Anthony Burdick brought the proposal to the board members noting that the cost of the planned improvements and repairs were estimated at $150,00 to $180,000 and that he had used the $250,000 number in an effort to offset any unexpected increases in cost and the anticipated rise in pricing for the planned work. He added that state is being “aggressive” with timelines for the proposed use of the federal funding which is being administered by state officials.
Trustee Matt Oddy said he would be more comfortable in approving the use of funds if exact costs were included. Financial Manager Scott Holtz assured the board members that if the allocated funding was not spent, it could be transferred to another project. He noted that this was only a portion of the anticipated ARPA funding.
In response to questions, Burdick explained that the ARPA regulations require that the funding must be used “for the public good.”
He added that the next project under consideration for use of the federal funding would be the township parks.
Oddy commented that he was concerned with the “quality of afterlife” at the cemetery for those buried at the site and their families. He said currently, with the traffic patterns and access to the cemetery, residents with homes nearby have installed chains across their driveways to ensure privacy and safety due to the number of drivers using the driveways to turn their vehicles around.
Burdick agreed that the situation needed attention and noted that when visitors find the cemetery gates locked, they use private driveways to turn around because of the configuration of the road into the cemetery, a situation the proposed improvement plan would hopefully correct.
In the excused absence of Trustee Don LaPorte, the trustees approved designating the funding for cemetery improvements by unanimous vote.
