Money from the county’s discretionary Louis Dreyfus fund will go toward work at a township cemetery for the first time since the inception of the fund.
The Highland Township trustees applied for $5,000 for work done at the cemetery. According to trustee John McCormick, chief deputy Jack Williams provided them with the grant application. Williams recently applied for and received Dreyfus funds for a new garage door at the law enforcement center.
The Highland Township grant application was to cover the cost of roadwork and tree removal at the cemetery.
In considering the request, the county supervisors were careful not to open the door for all township boards to request funding for their cemeteries. Generally, elected township trustees set a property tax levy rate that will cover cemetery expenses.
County engineer Wade Weiss was present when McCormick and trustee Mick Towers met with the supervisors about the grant application Monday. Weiss explained that the Highland Township cemetery, on the east edge of Churdan on Highway 4, and the Paton Township cemetery south of Paton on Highway 144, must meet Iowa Department of Transportation guidelines for access drives off the highway. The DOT requires a minimum 18-inch pipe under the drive, which is larger and more costly than what’s needed at other cemeteries.
Weiss said the secondary roads department assists at all township cemeteries as needs arise as an in-kind donation.
The supervisors agreed to fund $2,500 of the Highland Township application, the cost of the arched pipe installed to meet DOT specs. Work done inside the cemetery like tree removal and road work was not funded.
