PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the status of improvements to the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery since the Town Council adopted resolutions specifying the uses of $220,000 in funding for these improvements at their December 6, 2004 meeting.

BACKGROUND

The Old Chapel Hill Cemetery Task Force was appointed by the Council in January 2004 to provide recommendations for improvements to the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery that could be undertaken with $150,000 in available funding. This $150,000 included $50,000 allocated by the Council from the Town’s fund balance and an additional $100,000 to be provided by the University as stipulated in the Council’s approval of the Special Use Permit for the University’s Cobb parking deck and chiller plant.

The Task Force members met from March until November 2004. After holding a public forum in November, the Task Force presented its recommendations to the Town Council on December 6, 2004. The Manager’s report was presented by the staff and included three resolutions and a budget ordinance for the Council’s consideration (Attachment 2). Attachment 3 is an excerpt from the minutes of the December 6, 2004 Town Council meeting that summarizes the Council’s deliberations on these items. Upon conclusion of their deliberations the Council passed the following three resolutions and one budget ordinance:

1. A Resolution approving the use of $150,000 in available funding as proposed in the Manager’s report and allocating an additional $50,000 for grave marker restoration work.

2. A Resolution directing the Town Manager to submit future Old Cemetery Capital Improvement Project Proposals to the Historic District Commission for review and comment prior to implementation.

3. A Resolution directing the Manager to refer the issue of a possible role in overseeing future cemetery improvements to the Historic District Commission for their consideration.

4. An Ordinance appropriating $70,000 to the Capital Improvements Program Fund. This amount included $20,000 for stone gutter construction in addition to the supplemental $50,000 for marker restoration addressed in the above resolution.

DISCUSSION

The table below lists the specific improvements approved by the Council, the amount of funding allocated for each project, and the expenditures to date. The improvements are in three categories: historic preservation, pedestrian improvements, and archives and public information.

Old Chapel Hill Cemetery Improvements
Description	Available Funding	Expenditures to Date
Historic Preservation
Repair Di and Phi Cast Iron Fences	$52,000
Stump Removal & Adjacent Marker Repair	$3,000
Prioritized Marker Restoration	$55,000
Pedestrian Improvements
Light Two Primary Pathways	$44,000	$44,009
Install Stone Entrance Markers at Primary Paths	$4,000
Install Pole-Mounted Directional Signage	$1,000
Repair Stone Pathway Gutters	$20,000	$10,800
Plant Trees Adjacent to Pathways	$1,000	$1000
Archives and Public Information
Replace Interpretive Display at Gazebo	$5,000
Fund Study Costs and Implement Improvements Recommended by Archives Graduate Student	$35,000
Total	$220,000	$55,809

Town staff is currently working with University’s representatives to coordinate the transfer of $100,000 in funds to the Cemetery Capital Improvements Project account, as stipulated in the Council’s approval of the Cobb parking deck and chiller plant Special Use Permit. We anticipate providing the Council with a budget amendment to appropriate those funds once the transfer is completed.

The current status of the staff’s work to implement the recommended improvements is as follows:

Historic Preservation

Repair dialectic and Philanthropic Societies cast iron fences at an estimated cost of $52,000. A 10-page document detailing the specifications for repair of the fences has been prepared by the University’s Historic Preservation Manager, approved by Town staff, and reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office Division of Archives and History Restoration Branch. We believe final State approval is pending at which point a request for proposals for the restoration work will be advertised and directly distributed to contractors that have previously contacted the Town staff regarding this work.
Maple stump removal and adjacent marker repair at an estimated cost of $3000. Last fall the majority of the large stump of a tree that had grown around an old marker was removed by the Town’s arborist to the extent possible without damaging the embedded marker. Contractors being consulted regarding marker repair throughout the cemetery are being asked to include work in their bids for removing the remainder of the stump and resetting the stone.
Prioritized marker restoration at an estimated cost of $55,000. Public Works staff is currently soliciting bids from qualified monument companies familiar with the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery for maintenance work to secure and straighten unstable markers. This effort will be ongoing as the selected contractor has time available for this repair work. We anticipate that marker repairs will begin in the spring of 2006 and continue in a west-to-east direction across the cemetery until complete. Once these stones are stabilized throughout the cemetery, remaining funds are anticipated be used to hire a marker restoration specialist to work on selected damaged markers, notably, that of Cornelia Phillips Spencer located in Section I.

Pedestrian Improvements

Light two primary pathways at an estimated cost of $44,000. Ten pedestrian level lights selected to be consistent in design with the pedestrian fixtures on the University’s campus were installed during the summer of 2005 at a cost of $44,009.
Install stone entrance markers at primary paths at an estimated cost of $4,000. Design and placement of entrance markers are being considered as components of the public information study currently underway (see item 10 below). Public Works Staff will consult the Historic District Commission as final designs for entrance markers are developed.
Install pole-mounted directional signage at an estimated cost of $1,000. The design and placement of signage is being considered as components of the public information study currently underway (see item 10 below). Public Works Staff will consult the Historic District Commission as final designs for signage are developed.
Construct stone pathway gutters at an estimated cost of $20,000. A new stone gutter was constructed along the western-most pathway during the spring of 2005 at a cost of $10,800.
Plant large trees adjacent to pathways with Town labor where adequate Town-owned land exists at an estimated cost of $1,000. In recognition of Arbor Day 2004, 10 red cedar trees, 6-8 feet tall were planted along the length of the central pathway using Town labor at a total cost of $1,000.

Archives and Public Information

Replace gazebo interpretive information at an estimated cost of $5,000. The design and placement of interpretive improvements are being considered as a component of the public information study currently underway (see item 10 below). Public Works Staff will consult the Historic District Commission as final designs for interpretive improvements are developed.
Cover study costs and implement improvements recommended by archives graduate student. Public Works staff is finalizing negotiations on a scope of work with a graduate student from the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) to undertake a public information study on the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. Simultaneously, staff is working with Dr. Jeffery Pomerantz, a professor in the School of Information and Library Science, to develop a graduate level class project scheduled to be undertaken in the spring semester of 2006. This class project is anticipated to involve development of an Old Chapel Hill Cemetery map-based interactive web page with links to sources of historical information about the Cemetery. A primary element of the scope of work for the graduate student undertaking the public information study will be to coordinate the gathering of information needed to assist Dr. Pomerantz’s students with their project. In addition to this, the scope of work is expected to include developing a plan for improved interpretive materials about the Cemetery including, entrance markers, signage, a new gazebo Cemetery map and a new Cemetery brochure, to replace the out-of-print brochure developed in the early 1990’s. We anticipate that the graduate class project, information study and preliminary designs for new interpretive materials will be complete in the summer of 2006.

SUMMARY

In summary, a total of $55,809 has been spent to date on improvements such as trees, lighting, and stone gutter construction. We anticipate that a request for proposals for repair of the cast iron fences will be put out this winter, with work likely to begin on these repairs in spring 2006. We anticipate that marker repairs will begin this winter and will be ongoing for approximately one year. We also expect the public information study to begin this winter and be completed in summer 2006. Once the public information study is completed it will be possible to include the newly developed Cemetery web page on the Town’s web site. Implementation of physical improvements recommended as part of the public information study, including new entrance markers, signage and the gazebo map will likely begin in fall 2006, after detailed plans for these improvements are reviewed by the Historic District Commission.

The second and third resolutions adopted by the Town Council on December 6, 2004 involved the role of the Historic District Commission in the oversight of future capital improvements to the Old Cemetery. We anticipate initiating this new role for the Historic District Commission once the public information study is fully underway and before the design of new interpretive materials is finalized.

ATTACHMENTS

1. December 6, 2004 Town Council Agenda Item #9a (p. 6).

2. December 6, 2006 Agenda Item #9b (p. 31).

3. Excerpt of Minutes from December 6, 2004 Town Council Regular Business Meeting (p. 37).