Title
Communication: From the Mayor relative to renovations to Cemetery caretaker’s home.
Body
Dear Honorable Members of the City Council:
I write to request a resolve of the City Council on the proposed renovations to the caretaker’s home at the Forest Dale Cemetery.
The Cemetery Board of Trustees and Jim Cahill, Director of the Cemetery Department, have been working on potential upgrades to the residence for some time and there is now a contract before me which would allow the project to move forward. I thought it prudent to gain the sense of the City Council as this project is different from the typical work on the Cemetery grounds such as building additional grave lots and repairing broken tombstones.
Specifically, these renovations are set forth in the attached page from the bid proposal and include a replacement of the current heating system and radiators, the installation of a central air conditioning system, upgrade of the existing two-wood fire places to gas-fire, installation of two new bathroom exhaust fans, and installation of a separate cooling system for the sunroom.
The contract price for the proposed work is $133,640 plus additional costs to Meridian to oversee installation. The funds would be provided through the Perpetual Care interest account which as you know are funds that sit outside of the city budget to be used for the on-going care and maintenance of the cemetery. This contract represents phase one of the potential upgrades planned for the Cemetery residence. The Trustees plan on taking up a second phase at a later date which will include upgrades to the exterior of the house.
Again, since this is outside the normal scope of what we usually fund for the ongoing operation of the Cemetery Department, I think it’s important that the City Council weigh in by way of a resolve. I am going to hold off on signing the contract pending that vote and in the meantime, the Contractor has agreed to honor the bid pending consensus.
Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions at 781-397-7000, extension 6 or mayor@cityofmalden.org <mailto:mayor@cityofmalden.org>.
Sincerely,
GARY CHRISTENSON, Mayor