Beaver City staff urge master plan as cemetery expansion approaches capacity

Cemetery staff outlined maintenance priorities and the need to plan for expansion as the city evaluates use of a 60‑acre parcel for future cemetery space.

Sean (S3), who leads cemetery maintenance, said the city should update signage at entrances, repaint parking lanes, remove and trim problematic trees, and address long‑term turf and roadway maintenance. “I think you got about another 8, maybe 10 years of the cemetery before it's full,” Sean said, urging relocation and phased development planning rather than ad hoc changes.

Council members and the mayor discussed the 1.8 million dollars remaining from a prior bond and recommended using part of those funds to hire a professional firm for master planning, site layout and phasing. The mayor emphasized the need for a full layout before placing a permanent indoor basketball building or other major infrastructure: a site plan would allow the city to phase improvements over 10–20 years and avoid backing itself into future conflicts with water lines and power infrastructure that cross the parcel.

Elected officials and staff also discussed alternatives and adjacent properties as potential cemetery sites, noting tradeoffs including cost, water availability and adjacency to existing grounds. No final decision was made; council members asked staff to produce a site‑layout proposal and cost estimate before approving construction or reallocation of major fields.