At last, in-person service at Lakeview Cemetery has resumed.
As ThoroldToday reported, for the past year cemetery support staff has been working out of the Thorold Community Arenas because the building at Lakeview Cemetery has issues ranging from black mold to asbestos.
But now the city is happy to announce that staff has been brought back to the cemetery.
"In order to provide enhanced customer service to the community, the City has recently installed a trailer at the cemetery to function as a short-term office space until renovations to the building are complete," reads a news release from City Hall.
The cost for the trailer was approved during the 2023 City Budget Deliberations, and comes in at $60,000 for the year.
The city is currently putting out a tender for bids for the renovation of the administration building at the cemetery.
That project has an estimated cost of $996,000, and not every councillor is happy with the price tag.
“I just think it’s a terrible waste of tax payers' money," said Councillor Carmen DeRose, during last week's city council meeting. "As a tax payer whose bill went up, even though it was the Region, not us, it's frustrating to know we're spending $1M to fix up a building that to me was physically in good shape."
The City's Director of Community Services, Geoff Holman, explained that during the pandemic the building wasn't often used, which is why mold issues went unnoticed.
"We did try to clean it up, put a fresh coat of paint on," Holman told council members. "We were concerned about having our staff working in this environment. We hired Ontario Environmental to come in an do a proper assessment. Their analysis recommends that we move immediately to remediate the contamination."
Councillor Henry D'Angela said he is in full support of the renovation because the lack of service at the cemetery is the one issue he hears about the most from residents.
"This building is going to cost a bit of money, but I think it is going to add some efficiencies to have better costumer service," he said.
Councillor Tim O'Hare asked if there is any possibility of re-purposing parts of the building so that the project could cost less.
"I'm sure that when you're dealing with mold, asbestos, and water damage, anything you might be able to recover from a renovation project doesn't have a significant amount of value," Holman answered. "But we can direct that it be repurposed if it can."
Holman estimates that it will take ten to twelve months for the renovations to complete, but first, City Hall has to find a contractor.
With the trailer currently in place at the cemetery, visitors looking for information will at least have a place to go.
The Lakeview Cemetery temporary office is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
To make an appointment or to speak with someone at the cemetery, please contact Cemetery Services at 905-227-6613 x264 or [email protected], or visit staff in-person at the temporary office.
For more information about the City’s cemetery services, visit www.thorold.ca/cemeteries.
