COAT-ARM Hastings District Council

 

Civic Administration Building

Lyndon Road East, Hastings 4156

Phone:  (06) 871 5000

Fax:  (06) 871 5100

www.hastingsdc.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

 

OPEN

 

M I N U T E S

 

 

 

 

HB Crematorium Committee

 

 

 

Meeting Date:

Monday, 8 April 2019

 


CG-14-11-00009                                                                         1

Minutes of a Meeting of the HB Crematorium Committee held on

8 April 2019 at 10.00am

 

Table of Contents

 

Item                                                                                    Page No.

 

1.         Apologies  1

2.         Conflicts of Interest 1

3.         Confirmation of Minutes  1

4.         Crematorium - Fees & Charges 2019  1

5.         Additional Business Items  3

6.         Extraordinary Business Items  3

 

 


CG-14-11-00009                                                                         1

 

HASTINGS DISTRICT COUNCIL

 

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE HB Crematorium Committee

HELD IN THE Landmarks Room, Ground Floor, Civic Administration Building, Lyndon Road East, Hastings ON

 Monday, 8 April 2019 AT 10.00am

 

 

 

Present:                          Chair: Councillor Dixon (HDC)

                                               Councillor Watkins (HDC)

Councillors McGrath and Taylor (NCC)

 

IN ATTENDANCE:             Group Manager: Community Facilities & Programmes (Mrs A Banks)

                                               Cemetery Manager   (Mr Isak Bester)

Committee Secretary (Mrs C Hunt)

 

 

1.         Apologies

 

Councillor Watkins/Councillor Dixon

That an apology for absence from Councillor Tennent (Central Hawke’s Bay District Council) and an apology for lateness from Councillor Taylor (Napier City Council) be accepted.

CARRIED

   

 

2.         Conflicts of Interest

There were no declarations of conflicts of interest.

 

3.         Confirmation of Minutes

 

Councillor Watkins/ McGrath

That the minutes of the Hawke’s Bay Crematorium Committee Meeting held Wednesday 5 December 2018 be confirmed as a true and correct record and be adopted.

CARRIED

 

 

4.

Crematorium - Fees & Charges 2019

(Document 19/326)

Councillor Taylor (NCC) joined the meeting at 10.08am

 

 

The Cemetery Manager, Mr Bester advised that at the last meeting on 5 December 2018, the Committee had requested officers to investigate the implementation of a relevant charge for the cost of cremating oversize caskets.  There had not been any increase in the fees and charges since 2012.

 

A report to the Council meeting on 21 February 2019 on the Cemeteries and Crematorium Fees and Charges was referred back to the Crematorium Committee to reconsider the criteria for setting Fees and Charges.

 

Currently the Hawke’s Bay Crematorium handles eight oversize casket cremations per year out of a total of 757.  An oversize casket takes approximately 5.5 hours to complete with a 30 minute cool down period.  It takes two staff members to manage the process required for oversize caskets.

 

Mr Bester advised that the cremator was the only one in the North Island that could accommodate large caskets.  With cremation being a cheaper option than burial there was an increasing demand for cremations and more requests from outside the district for the larger casket cremation. 

 

It was noted that the costs for providing burial and cremation services as well as the maintenance of facilities, machinery and equipment increases yearly and the current fees and charges were not sufficient to recoup costs.  The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council required additional air discharge testing under the new cremator consent conditions at a cost of $18,000. Increasing the fees and charges would address cost recovery levels.  The consent conditions also imposed strict times that the Crematorium could operate ie 7.00am to 7.00pm due to air discharge and noise.

 

The meeting agreed that increasing the fees by 7.5% would not recover costs and that a 10% increase was more realistic.

 

Councillor Dixon/Councillor Taylor

A)      That the report of the Cemetery Manager titled Crematorium - Fees & Charges 2019 dated 8/04/2019 be received.

B)     That the Hawke’s Bay Crematorium Committee recommend to Council that the amended Crematorium Fees and Charges Schedule (CG-14-11-00010) be adopted.

 

C)     That the Crematorium Fees and Charges be increased by 10% effective from 1 July 2019 to address cost recovery.

 

D)     That the Hawke’s Bay Crematorium Committee recommend to Council that there be no charge for cremation of preterm and still born infants or children 0-11 years of age, effective from 1 July 2019.

 

E)     That costs be investigated for an additional cremator as part of the proposed Mangaroa Cemetery Redevelopment Plan.

 

With the reasons for this decision being that the objective of the decision will contribute to meeting the current and future needs of communities for good quality local infrastructure and local public services in regards to cemeteries and crematoria.

 

CARRIED

 

5.         Additional Business Items

            There were no additional business items.

 

6.         Extraordinary Business Items

            There were no extraordinary business items.

   

________________________

 

The meeting closed at 10.25am

 

Confirmed:

 

 

 

 

Chairman:

Date: