1999 AGN MAR 02 I13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT Council Meeting of March 2, 1999 TO: Honorable Mayor and Counci6Mer4rbers APPROVAL: Henry T. Garcia, City M FROM: Daryl J. Parrish, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT': Authorize the Release of Request for Proposals to Manage, Operate, Maintain, Develop, Sell Internment Rights, and Cemetery Merchandise at the Hermosa Gardens Cemetery DATE: February 20, 1999 BACKGROUND: The City of Colton currently owns and operates the Hermosa Gardens Cemetery (as a municipal cemetery) located at 900 North Meridian Avenue. The cemetery consists of approximately seventeen (17) acres of developed property and approximately fifteen (15) acres of undeveloped property for a total of approximately thirty-two (32) acres. The City presently owns, operates, sells internment rights, maintains cemetery records, prepares and maintains internment sites, performs general landscape maintenance and rodent: control at the cemetery. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: In recent years the Cemetery Fund has performed poorly and has required assistance in the form of subsidies (loans in the amount of $163,918) from other funds. In order to reverse this trend staff is suggesting to test the market to determine if a suitable Contractor can be found to manage, operate, maintain, develop, and sell internment rights, and cemetery merchandise at the Hermosa Gardens Cemetery. As the attached Request for Proposals bears out, the City is amenable to a long-term lease, lease, or, lease, lease back arrangement. It is not however, at the present time amenable to the outright sale of Hermosa Gardens Cemetery. In addition to the reasons stated above, we must ask ourselves the following very basic questions related to the City of Colton's ongoing operation of Hermosa Gardens Cemetery: ❑ Does the; City wish to continue to subsidize Hermosa at the expense of other City programs? ❑ Does the City wish to compete with private sector businesses that specialize in managing, maintaining, operating and marketing cemeteries? Do we have the personnel, capital, and financial resources to compete with the private operators? o If we wish to compete, are we willing to make the investment necessary to be truly cornpetRive without any guarantee that there will ever be a positive return on our investment? Item # 13