The MD of Willow Creek will buy a 48-niche columbarium for the Granum cemetery with $30,000 to come from a cemetery reserve and $5,000 from the cemetery services operating budget.
A columbarium is a structure used to store and often display urns containing cremated remains.
The decision came at the July 26 meeting of council after reviewing a presentation from administration.
That report said as part of the ongoing effort to upgrade and improve the community profile of Granum it is important to provide a dignified and special place for the residents of Granum to inter their loved ones.
There have also been several inquiries from residents looking for columbarium interments.
A marble columbarium would provide that service, a place that would serve as a memorial for many decades to come.
A columbarium would also provide the MD of Willow Creek with more control over how interments and ceremonies are undertaken, and allow for residents and family members to deal directly with the municipality.
A 48-niche, horizontal columbarium in maple-mahogany marble, installed on a concrete slab with a concrete pathway, was proposed.
The total cost per niche for the installation of the columbarium is $ 741.66.
The MD of Willow Creek charges $700 for a basic interment, $500 for plot purchase, $350 for perpetual care and $50 for a memorial application, for a total of $1,600.
If the MD of Willow Creek were to sell 3.2 niches per year for the next 15 years at $1,300, plus engraving, opening and closing, the return would be $62,400, allowing the municipality to re-invest in another columbarium for the next 15 years.
The budget for the supply and installation of a columbarium is $35,600 plus GST.
A reserve from Town of Granum funds was established by the MD of Willow Creek following dissolution of the town into a hamlet in the municipal district, as a “cemetery reserve” of $30,000 for future improvements.
A total of $5,000 is required from the cemetery services operating budget if this project is approved by council.
“It’s a good idea,” Reeve Maryanne Sandberg said. “More and more people are going to cremation.”
“I think this is a great idea,” Coun. Brian Nelson added.
Council approved the purchase of the columbarium.
