Hay River town council had voted to proceed with a new cemetery at the estimated cost of $1 million.
The new graveyard will cost $700,000 more than the original cemetery expansion plan. That additional expense is being covered by $600,000 though the 2025-26 capital plan, which will tap into reserves, and by deleting the $100,000 allocated under the previous cemetery site expansion project.
At the July 22 council meeting, Coun. Tom Lakusta expressed reservations about the new cemetery, pointing out that the town's budget is "pretty tight" and suggested that the graveyard project would account for close to five per cent of Hay River's tax base.
"[It's] a $1 million expenditure over a three-year period where I think there might be more attractive and cheaper options out there that haven't been explored," he said.
Senior administrative officer Glenn Smith said this matter wasn't new to council as it had been discussed earlier this year. Administration was "just following direction that this council approved to get to this point," said Smith. He added that the former plan to expand the existing cemetery is problematic due to the site being prone to flooding.
Other land adjacent to the existing graveyard was explored as an option but rejected because the "price tag seems to be higher than the option that's presented," Smith told council.
Responding to further questions from Lakusta, Smith said Hay River has averaged 25 burials annually over the past five years. Thirty-two plots are currently reserved, primarily by people hoping to be buried alongside family members. The existing cemetery had 34 other sites left until it reaches full capacity. However, this summer, it was determined that 24 additional sites could be developed within the current cemetery, adding about one more year to its lifespan.
Coun. Robert Bouchard said public consultations should take place at some point in the future.
"I think it's something the community needs... I think we need to move forward with it. We can't afford not to do it," he said of the new graveyard. "This area will be a very large area, setting us up for many years to come."
Lakusta spoke up once again and said he's still not convinced that the new site is the best option and contended that other prospects should still be examined. He was the only councillor not to vote in favour of the motion to proceed with the new cemetery, although Coun. Brian Willows was absent for the meeting.
At the Feb. 24 council meeting, council passed a motion approving a planning and engineering assessment of two lots to determine which would be most sufficient as a new cemetery site. It was found that the larger of the two potential locations SA国际影视传媒� 17.8 acres versus 6.4 acres SA国际影视传媒� was superior.
The final summary of the report from Stantec, the firm contracted to carry out the review, stated that the smaller plot faced challenges due to adjacent land usage creating "significant issues due to the expansion of operations into half of
the subject site, unknown cleanup requirements from fill activities, and potential legal issues with building removals, site cleanup and expropriation."
Meanwhile, the larger site provides an "aesthetically more attractive site and is more flexible for layout of the cemetery if there is a desire to avoid lower wet areas. There are also fewer unknowns, so budgeting and timing for development work for Site #2 will have a higher level of certainty,SA国际影视传媒� the Stantec report noted.
The anticipated schedule for development of the new cemetery indicates that the land plan and layout should be completed this year; tree removal, grubbing and grading is expected to be done next year and final construction should take place in 2027.
