MV Cemetery board faces challenges

MONTE VISTA—The directors of the Monte Vista Cemetery Association invite all to come to do the Monte Vista Cemetery on Memorial Day weekend. The board will be on hand at the cemetery Saturday, Sunday and Monday for a part of each day.
As the Monte Vista Cemetery enters its 128th year, they are facing a challenging summer. As with the southwest, and more importantly the San Luis Valley, the board is trying to cope with a very severe drought and what is looking like an extremely hot summer. While the cemetery has some water rights and will most likely have a little water for the biggest part of the summer, there simply won’t be enough to keep the cemetery as green and beautiful as it has been in the last few years. There is a well and water can be pumped, which is quite costly. In time, the board will have to augment what is taken out or pay for the extra water used under the new sub-district rules. The cemetery board made a plea to the sub-district board asking for a cap or a reduced fee on water costs as a nonprofit, but the request was denied.
There are volunteers  to irrigate, mow and maintain the grounds, but there simply isn’t money to pay anyone for doing this job— it can be quite time consuming.
With the most recent windstorm there were three trees blown down, which a volunteer took out— this was a huge job. In the process of assessing the wind damage 10 more trees, which are completely dead, were marked for immediate removal. They are a liability for the cemetery and could fall down at any time. Two of those trees have been removed, and the goal is to have the rest removed when the board can afford it. This is tricky, because of the grave stones; heavy equipment can’t be used in many cases.  
When the cemetery was plotted and all the beautiful evergreens were planted, the current water situation could never have been imagined. After 128 years, many of the trees have simply lived their natural lifespan. With the original problem of a water shortage, more trees will likely be lost if this drought continues. It’s a vicious cycle.
The Monte Vista Cemetery is a perpetual care cemetery; it is not funded by the county. They exist on the sale of lots, the opening and closing of graves and by generous donations  from the stakeholders and their families.
There is a current trend in Monte Vista Vista, which is common throughout cemeteries everywhere— there are fewer and fewer burials. Cremation has become the new normal. Last year, cremation surpassed traditional burial for the first time in the United States. That’s a huge milestone and marks a big change in funeral traditions. In 1970, just five percent of people opted for cremation. This year, about 55 percent of those who die will be cremated, says the Cremation Association of North America, and by 2030 that number is predicted to rise to 71 percent. The main reason people are choosing cremation instead of being embalmed, is because cremation is a lot cheaper, costing one-third as much as a regular burial. It also saves natural resources, like land for a burial and wood or steel for a coffin. Simply put, cremation leaves a cleaner, smaller and softer footprint on the earth than embalmment and traditional burial.
The board continues to ask the question, “What can we do to remain valid and sustainable in the current and future Monte Vista? “
The suggestions are a columbarium, an ossuary, creation of a cremains-only area, offering green burials, creating a space for tree pot-cremains burials, spreading Colorado native wildflower seed instead of grass in the bare places, to name only a few. Again, each of these suggestions costs money. All are in agreement that it is imperative to maintain the beauty and dignity of the cemetery.
The directors welcome ideas and suggestions as well as donations. Please stop by the cemetery part during Memorial Day weekend or the office is located at 121 Adams Street , (P.O. Box 43) and the phone number is 852-5196. Please don’t hesitate to share thoughts and remember as  stakeholders at the cemetery “we’re all in this together!”


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