Fees set for Gleichen columbarium

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

In 2015, the Gleichen Lions Club placed two columbarium towers in the Gleichen cemetery. The purchase and installation cost was covered by fundraising and supplemented by a $10,000 grant from the county.
The columbarium niches, plaques and plots are for sale, but prices have gone up. On April 19, a fee amendment to Bylaw 2013-19 was set by council, along with some guideline revisions regarding cemetery care issues and maintenance.
A niche or lot will cost $600 for residents and $1200 for non-residents and plaques will cost $150, excluding the engraving.
There is a $100 disinterment fee for lots and a $50 processing fee. Plaques posted on the columbarium scattering wall, for those loved ones ashes scattered in the memorial garden, will also have different prices for residents ($300) or non-residents ($600).
“The fees are based on comparisons from other area cemeteries. We are considerably lower than everyone else,” said Wheatland CAO Alan Parkin.
In 2013, cemetery lots in Toronto were selling for $15,000 and columbarium niches were selling for $7,000 each. A current Kijji ad for Westlawn Cemetery in Edmonton lists a lot at $4,500, and several privately listed Kijji ads at Mountainview Cemetery at $3,600 per lot, which is less than half price of what new plots are sold for by the cemetery company itself.
Staff gave council a clarification as to the definition of a resident, being families living in the county (not just Gleichen), or someone who previously purchased a lot, or if the deceased was a resident of the county for at least 15 years.
Wheatland Funeral Home has been retained as an agent to sell and coordinate placements. Families can deal with any funeral home, but coordination for placement will be handled by Wheatland Funeral home.
The funds from sales of the lots and plaques will go into a fund managed by Wheatland County for the Gleichen Lions, as they have agreed to continue to maintain the cemetery and install new columbaria, when the existing spots are filled.
For more details see www.wheatlandcounty.ca under Bylaw 2013-19 and April 19 council agenda.