A proposal before the Lake Orion Village Council on May 12 to plat a section of East Lawn Cemetery turned into a request from the council to seek proposals for a “master plan” of sorts for the property.
The original request stemmed from a request from DPW director John Ranville, who at the April 28 meeting asked to purchase 25 Arbor Vitae, five feet to six feet tall, to be planted at the cemetery on Orion Road. The council asked the matter be set over until the May 12 meeting, so that a plan could be presented showing where the trees would be planted.
The understanding was that the trees would be planted to become a backdrop for additional gravesites for veterans. The village had in the past donated 20 sites to the American Legion to be used for needy veterans.
Nine additional sites were later also set aside for that purpose, and village manager JoAnn Van Tassel said it was her understanding all but two of the sites for veterans had been used. She said in 1998, the council authorized donating 20 more sites, but the agreement did not specify where the sites would be located.
Van Tassel recommended that the council, at its May 12 meeting, seek proposals to plat the section where the sites would be located, and reserve 20 for needy veterans. The remaining sites would be available for sale, and the Arbor Vitae could be planted to provide screening from a nearby home.
“I’m not in favor of developing that section in the garden area,” Ranville told the council, saying he would like to keep the section the way it is.
“There are other areas to develop, if need be,” he said.
Council member Douglas Dendel said the village needed a “master plan” for development of the whole cemetery.
“Drainage would be the biggest issue,” Ranville said.
“So in the future, when it’s handed down to someone else, they would know what to do,” Dendel said. “We need a plan, I think.”
“This is not a large budget item,” said council member Harry Stephen. “What is the cost of doing something like this?”
Dendel said the council could seek bids for a planner.
“It looks like there are enough sites (right now) for veterans,” said council president Bill Siver. “There are two left.”
“I don’t know where we’d have two left,” Ranville responded. “We just keep adding to it…I figured my next burial would be in the new section.
“There’s still room in that section,” he said. “I think we’ve got time to get proposals…if you want to do the whole cemetery, that’s fine by me.”