191029 PBC MIN The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg
Parks, Beautification and
Cemetery Advisory Committee
October 29, 2019
3:30 p.m.
Suite 203, 200 Broadway, 2nd Floor
MINUTES
Present: Paul DeCloet, Christine Nagy, Marian Smith, Donna Scanlan, Mike Dean, Ken Butcher,
Penny Esseltine, Robert Verhoeve Paul Wareing & Bob Marsden
Absent with Regrets: Sue Saelens
Also Present: Corey Hill, Rick Cox, Donna Wilson
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.
2. General Business
2.1. Procedural Review;
Corey Hill, Staff Liaison, presented a procedural review of how the Committee makes
recommendations to Council and the role of the Staff Liaison and the Committee Chair in that
process.
2.2. History of Committee’s involvement with Scattering Gardens;
Corey Hill, Staff Liaison, presented a historical review of the current Committee’s (as well as the
previous Heritage, Beautification & Cemetery Committee) involvement with the issue of scattering
gardens. This information was presented in a chronological format and included the following
information:
Sept 20/16 – The Committee toured Mount Pleasant Cemetery in London including
scattering gardens area;
May 10/17 – The Committee toured Williamsburg Cemetery in Kitchener including a
scattering garden & ossuary.
Nov 2/17 – Town Councillor Brian Stephenson attended a Committee meeting and inquired
into the Committee pursuing more burial choices. Specifically Councillor Stephenson
identified a desire for a scattering gardens and possibly putting a columbarium into the
Catholic section of cemetery. The Committee requested a review of the Cemetery Master
Plan at the following meeting.
Dec 7/17 – Rick Cox, Director of Recreation, Culture & Parks Dept, attended the Committee
meeting and conducted a presentation including conceptual drawings of the Cemetery
Master Plan. The planned location of a future scattering garden was in the direct vicinity of
the Columbaria area. After discussions, the Committee felt that the scattering gardens
should be in a more secluded area and directed staff to relocate to the proposed scattering
garden to the planned in-ground cremains area. In addition, staff was also directed to
escalate the timing on the creation of the scattering gardens to the next budget year.
2018 Capital Budget - $25,000 was allocated as a part of the 2018 capital budget process
towards the implementation of the Cemetery Master Plan. These dollars were allocated
towards the hiring of a consulting firm to design & create specifications for the scattering
gardens in the updated location.
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Date: October 29, 2019
April 2018 - The design work was awarded to Snow Larc Landscape Architects and work
commenced.
Aug 9/18 – Snow Larc conceptual drawings of the scattering gardens were shared with the
Committee. The Committee supported the design.
Sept 27/18 – The Committee meeting was a tour of the Tillsonburg Cemetery and the
updated location of the scattering gardens was reviewed as well as an explanation of the
design and how it would be applied in the specific area. The Committee supported the
location and the plans.
2019 Capital Budget – using the Consultant’s design specifications and cost estimations,
$99,000 capital budget was requested to implement the first 2 of a 3 year plan for the
scattering gardens. This consisted of $67,000 in 2019, $32,000 in 2020 and $40,000 in the
future as needs required.
Mar 7/19 – The Committee meeting included a presentation by Rick Cox, Director of
Recreation, Culture & Parks Dept., of the 2014 Cemetery Master Plan including updates that
were completed in 2018 to the Columbaria area & the Scattering Garden conceptual design.
The meeting also included an update on the capital budget where it was noted the scattering
gardens budget was not approved.
April 4/19 – The Committee struck a sub-committee to determine the success of scattering
gardens, including the demand and potential users, in a similar sized municipality AND to
report its findings back to the committee at the August 2019 committee meeting. The
members of the sub-committee will be Paul Wareing, Ken Butcher, Maurice Verhoeve & Bob
Marsden with Corey Hill acting as staff liaison.
Sept 5/19 – At the Committee Meeting, Ken Butcher, Chair of the Scattering Gardens Sub-
Committee, presented a final summary of the Sub-Committee’s work. It was noted that 43
Cemeteries had been contacted and that approximately 25% either had Scattering Gardens
or were working towards implementing a Scattering Garden. Cemeteries that have
Scattering Gardens reported that scatterings are regularly utilized, although it represents a
small percentage of their overall services. Following the report, the Committee engaged in
a discussion regarding the findings and whether a recommendation would be made
supporting of the development of a Scattering Garden within the Tillsonburg Cemetery.
2.3. Committee’s Recommendation on Scattering Gardens;
Corey Hill, Staff Liaison, presented that as a result of the discussions at the Sept 5/19 meeting, the
following recommendation was tabled at the Sept 5/19 meeting:
Moved by: Ken Butcher & Seconded by: Marian Smith THAT the Parks, Beautification & Cemetery
Advisory Committee recommends that a Scattering Garden is developed within the Tillsonburg
Cemetery as identified within the amended Cemetery Master Plan; and THAT Council allocates
budget for a three (3) year phased implementation of a Scattering Garden commencing with the
2020 capital budget. This was unanimously carried by the Committee. As a result, and in keeping
with the procedure as reviewed in item 2.1, the Staff Liaison drafted a report detailing the
Committee recommendation and it was reviewed by the Chair of the Committee. The report was
submitted to Rick Cox on Sept 6/19 in order to be on the agenda for the Sept 23/19 Council
meeting.
2.4. Council Report on Committee’s Recommendation & Outcome;
Rick Cox spoke to the committee regarding his involvement with the report. Being the report
referenced an item that had previously been submitted to Council as a part of the 2019 Capital
budget considerations, Mr.Cox stated that he followed normal practice by attaching the previous
memo as a historical reference for Council. However, when the item was discussed at the Sept
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Date: October 29, 2019
23/19 Council meeting, the memo prompted Council to focus on the costs as included in the
attached 2019 memo and altered the intent of the Committee’s recommendation (which had
purposefully omitted an amount of budget to be allocated). Mr.Cox further reported that this was an
unintended outcome and in retrospect the memo should not have been attached the Committee’s
report. Donna Wilson, Town Clerk, also reported that the report was inserted into the Council
agenda as a departmental report versus a Committee report attached to Committee minutes. This
also contributed to Council treating the recommendation as a departmental request for $139,000
budget allocation based on the 2019 request versus a new and stand-alone Committee
recommendation. As a result of an amendment on the floor, the $139,000 budget referenced within
the 2019 memo was removed and Council deferred the scattering gardens item to 2020 budget
deliberations.
2.5. Open Discussion;
The Committee discussed the information that was presented and expressed a desire to provide an
updated recommendation to Council for a scattering garden to be considered on a smaller scale.
As a result of the discussion, the following direction was issued to staff;
Resolution #1
Moved by: Penny Esseltine
Seconded by: Christine Nagy
THAT the Parks, Beautification & Cemetery Advisory Committee ask staff to bring forward a report
outlining development of a naturalized scattering garden at the Tillsonburg Cemetery, from
beginning through to completion, growing as use grows including an opportunity for name
recognition on a plaque from the beginning.
Carried
3. Next Meeting
There was consensus to change to next meeting to Thursday, November 14, 2019, at 9:00a.m.at
the Corporate Office Annex Suite 203 meeting room.
4. Adjournment
Resolution #2
Moved by: Marian Smith
Seconded by: Christine Nagy
THAT the October 29, 2019, Parks, Beautification and Cemetery Advisory Committee meeting be
adjourned at 4:25p.m.
Carried