Residents who want to place a monument on a loved one’s grave will have to ensure the structure is less than three feet tall, based on proposed new regulations.
The parks and recreation department operates and maintains the old and new cemeteries at 1005 Caribou Street East and the Rosedale Cemetery at 1804 Caribou Street West. The monument regulations were first implemented in 1999 and updated in 2013.
The parks department is now proposing to update the existing regulations to better reflect the current standards and practices around monuments in cemeteries. The department presented the proposed adjustments during city council’s Jan. 27 executive committee meeting. Council voted 6-1 to approve the recommendation — Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed — and will have to approve it during the Feb. 10 regular meeting for it to be official.
Proposed changes
Suggested changes to the monument regulations include:
• Monuments are now permitted on community graves;
• The maximum height for the base, sub-base and monument is 36 inches (three feet). These restrictions are consistent with other cemeteries in Saskatchewan and allow the municipality to safely move the monuments and properly maintain around them;
• A permit is now required for the inscriptions of extra names on a monument. Previously inscriptions didn’t require a permit. The permit allows the municipality to ensure proper records are kept when names are added after the structure has been installed;
• Permits can only be submitted by monument companies and not families. This ensures professional installers are completing the work with the necessary insurance and licences in place;
• Urns are allowed inside of a monument, which is a practice other cemeteries permit;
• Clauses about the process and regulations for columbarium and scattering garden memorialization have been added for clarity;
• Risk management practices have been updated and monument companies are now required to hold a business licence, must provide a letter of good standing with the Workers’ Compensation Board and must possess a minimum of $5 million in commercial liability insurance coverage.
The parks and recreation department contacted two funeral homes and six monument installation companies about the proposed changes, parks director Derek Blais told city council. Some of the feedback the businesses provided included:
• Installers wondered if there would be a fee to add inscriptions after monuments are installed. The department indicated a monument permit and applicable fee are required when names are added but not when death dates are added;
• A monument installer asked that the municipality consider adding two inches to the width of structures for child graves. City hall reviewed the suggestion and determined the increased would not affect grass cutting around the monuments updated the dimensions;
• An installer pointed out the $5 million commercial liability insurance requirement is high and the installer carried only $2 million in coverage;
• A monument installer indicated obtaining the signature of an applicant on the permit form can be challenging.
Council reaction
The insurance concern is valid, said Coun. Scott McMann. He pointed out the agreement with SaskPower asks the Crown corporation to have $2 million in insurance. He wondered why $5 million was needed in this area.
A municipal policy says insurance must start at $5 million; that policy was recently updated, said Blais. City hall is now following that policy across the board. When McMann pressed him about what policy that was, Blais indicated it was an internal statute.
McMann also wondered why a signature was needed from the installer when dealing with them. Blais replied it shows the applicant agrees with the changes made to the monument. It didn’t necessarily need to be a physical signature but could be something else such as an email affirmation. He acknowledged that the form could be changed to indicate an approval by email was acceptable.
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, Feb. 10.
