Consultants outline master plan for Fernley Cemetery, seek public input

Consultants engaged by the City of Fernley presented initial work on a master plan for the Fernley Cemetery and asked the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee to help publicize a community survey and upcoming open houses.

"Sloan Consulting Group is, if you'll believe it, a consult to mostly historic and municipal cemeteries," said William Sloan, who said the project team is soliciting community feedback through a SurveyMonkey survey and expects to finish recommendations by November.

Landscape architect Wendy Fry said her site visit showed several opportunities: clearer signage and wayfinding from town, formalizing and clearing the cemetery entrance, adding shade and considering irrigated turf versus native, desert-adapted landscaping, and planning for cremation options to meet growing demand. "We want to address that. We want to address the opportunities for teaming and make... cooperating with the veteran cemetery that's just to the north," Fry said, noting possible partnerships with the nearby veterans cemetery.

Consultants said additional on-site visits and at least one public open house are planned in the coming months; they asked the committee to advise on outreach channels. Committee members suggested broad distribution of the survey (city website, social media, water-bill inserts, paper copies at the senior center and QR codes onsite) to reach residents who may not use the internet.

The team said there is additional developable land around the cemetery (north, east and south) and that recommendations will address how to use those parcels, improve accessibility for visitors and consider cremation-related facilities that are more commonly used in Nevada.

Next steps: consultants will work with city staff on distribution, schedule one or two public meetings in late summer or fall, and present draft recommendations for committee and public review before finalizing the master plan.