Report to: General Committee Date Report Authored: August 27, 2010
SUBJECT: Thornhill Cemetery – Transfer of Assets to the Town of Markham
PREPARED BY: S. Huycke, Public Services & Records Coordinator (x4290)
RECOMMENDATION:
1) THAT the report entitled “Thornhill Cemetery – Transfer of Assets to the Town of Markham” be received; and,
2) THAT Council endorse a request by the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery to convey all the assets of the Trust to the Corporation of The Town of Markham; and,
3) THAT Council authorizes the Town to assume ownership of and responsibility for all of the assets of the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery; and,
4) THAT Staff be directed to submit a request to the Registrar, Ministry of Consumer Services, Consumer Protection Branch, Cemeteries Regulation Unit, to merge the assets of the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery ‘Care and Maintenance Fund’ into the Town’s Cemetery Trust Fund; and,
5) THAT a reserve entitled “Cemetery Operations Reserve” be established, and,
6) THAT the Cemetery Operations Reserve be funded through the financial assets in the General and Reserve Fund being assumed from the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery; and further
7) THAT Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to review and seek Council’s endorsement of a request by the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery (the “Trust”) to convey all of their assets to the Corporation of the Town of Markham.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Cemeteries Act, R.S.O., 1990, C.c.C.4., (the “Act”) the Corporation of the Town of Markham is responsible for the administration and maintenance of abandoned cemeteries in the Town. There are presently 17 such cemeteries in the Town. Of these 17 cemeteries, 5 are still active/open for the purchase of plots and/or burials and the remaining 12 are considered inactive (see Attachment “A”).
The Thornhill Cemetery is located at 1 Church Lane in the Thornhill Heritage Conservation District and is a 3 acre (12,100 m2) cemetery established in 1867. It is currently owned and operated by the Trust.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery have notified the Town that it is no longer in a position to maintain the cemetery due in-part to the inability of the Trust to attract new, suitable volunteer board members (see Attachment “B). The Thornhill Cemetery has always been governed by a volunteer board that is responsible for ensuring the proper maintenance of the property. The lack of a board will effectively cause the cemetery to become abandoned. Under the subsection 60(7) of the Act, the Town would be required to take possession of the Thornhill Cemetery should the District Court declare the cemetery to be abandoned. Staff believe that a mutually agreed upon transfer of the assets is more desirable than proceedings before the District Court. The Trust has requested that the Town assume responsibility for the cemetery on or about November 15, 2010 to coincide with the end of their operational year.
Care and Maintenance of the Thornhill Cemetery
The Thornhill Cemetery is an operational cemetery with approximately 15 to 20 internments occurring each calendar year. All internment rights have been sold and no further plot sales are anticipated. It is not possible to estimate the number of future internments that may occur due to the fact that internment rights permit the burial of family members in the same plots.
The cemetery is a park like setting with mature trees and grass, as well as park benches. It requires care of the grass and trees, as well as of the grave markers. The Town, recognizing the long and significant history of the Thornhill Cemetery and the many volunteers that have maintained it over its history, will undertake to maintain the property at current service levels. Further, should the cemetery be transitioned to the Town, staff will investigate means of appropriately recognizing the contribution of the Trust to the care and maintenance of the cemetery.
The Town currently manages and maintains its cemeteries through a combination of contracted services (grass cutting) and a volunteer Cemetery Board. The current contract for the mowing and trimming of grass expires at the end of 2010. Should the Town assume the Thornhill Cemetery, its maintenance will form part of the Town’s overall maintenance program, including any new contracted services. Additional expenses associated with maintaining and operating a cemetery (e.g. opening and closing graves, instillation of corner markers, etc.) are currently managed by the Town on a cost recovery basis.
An amending by-law to By-law 178-93, “A by-law to provide for the maintenance, management and control of the Town of Markham Cemeteries in accordance with the Cemeteries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.4,” will be brought forward as a housekeeping item upon approval of the transfer by the Registrar, Ministry of Consumer Services, Consumer Protection Branch, Cemeteries Regulation Unit (“Registrar’). The amendment will incorporate the Thornhill Cemetery into the Town’s cemetery management program and harmonize any fees levied by both the Town and the Trust.
Cemetery Trust Funds
The Town’s ‘Cemetery Trust Fund’ and the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery ‘Care and Maintenance Fund’ are both established under subsection 35(1) of the Act. Pursuant to subsection 35(4) of the Act an owner of a cemetery is required to use the income from the trust fund “…for the upkeep of the cemetery and the markers therein…” The value of the Thornhill Cemetery ‘Care and Maintenance Fund’ was $547,000 as of December 31, 2009, and the value of the Towns Cemetery Trust was $191,224 as of July 31, 2010.
Staff recommends a merger of the two care and maintenance trust funds. Income generated by the merged funds would be allocated by the Town for the maintenance of all the Town-owned cemeteries. If the trust funds are not merged, the income from the Thornhill Cemetery Care and Maintenance Fund could be used only for the care and maintenance of the Thornhill Cemetery. The Registrar must approve any such request prior to the funds being merged.
Other Financial Assets
In addition to the Care and Maintenance Fund, the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery have, as of December 31, 2009, approximately $88,000 in their General and Reserve funds. It is recommended that these assets be allocated by the Town to a new reserve fund to be used for future cemetery requirements such as the continuous care, maintenance and improvement of the Thornhill Cemetery and other Town owned cemeteries without any restrictions.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
As of December 31, 2009, The Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery reserves funds were approximately $635,000 ($547,000 Care & Maintenance Fund; $88,000 General and Reserve Funds). The Town will be assuming these reserves along with the maintenance responsibilities of the cemetery.
Assuming a 3.5% average rate of
return on the reserve, the reserve balances would generate approximately $22,000
in interest per annum. The cost incurred
by the Trust to maintain the 1.2 hectares of Thornhill Cemetery was
approximately $21,000 in 2009. The maintenance of Thornhill Cemetery will
be now assumed by the Town.
Based on the Town’s existing maintenance contract (approximately $5,000/year per hectare), it is expected to cost the Town approximately $6,000/year. All other expenses related to burials, headstones, etc., are 100% recovered through associated revenues. Therefore, the income earned from the reserve funds the Town is assuming will be sufficient to cover the maintenance costs of the Thornhill Cemetery.
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
Not applicable
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
Not applicable
RECOMMENDED
BY:
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment “A” – Town of Markham Cemeteries
Thornhill%20Cemetery%20Attachment%201.docx
Attachment “B” – Letter from the Trustees of Thornhill Cemetery, dated August 24, 2010
http://sharepoint.markham.ca/ert/General%20Committee/Thornhill%20Cemetery%20Attachment%202.pdf