Public outcry over potential cemetery sale

Strong public opposition was voiced to the possible sale of Sonoma’s cemeteries at a Thursday, Dec. 4 Town Hall meeting, which was held to give community members a chance to weigh in on the matter.
At issue is the sustainability of the city’s three cemeteries: the 4-acre Valley Cemetery, located on East MacArthur and deeded to the city in 1835 by General Mariano Vallejo; the 60-acre Mountain Cemetery, founded in 1841 on land deeded to the city by General Vallejo; and the 1.6-acre Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, acquired in 1996 and developed in 2002. According to public works director Milenka Bates, the cemeteries run an annual deficit of $80,00 to $90,000 per year.
The city council recently created an ad hoc committee to study the issue. Chaired by council member August Sebastiani, other members of the committee include Mayor Ken Brown; Milenka Bates, public works director of the city of Sonoma; George McKale, city historian; Carol Giovanato, assistant city manager; Robert Arnold of the Sonoma Veterans Association; and Duffy Conneely, funeral director at Duggan’s Mission Chapel.
Milenka Bates presented an overview of the finances involving the cemeteries and reviewed a timeline dating back to 2004, when the council first took up the matter. In 2005, after months of study by professional consultants, a comprehensive plan was brought to the council. The council adopted the plan but has taken no steps towards implementation.
Former Mayor and city council member Larry Barnett was the first community member to step to the podium. “Selling the cemeteries would be tantamount to selling the Plaza,” he said. “The tomb of Mariano Vallejo is in the cemetery, the luminaries and founders of the city are in the cemetery, and to place these into the hands of a private organization or business, to me, would be an absolute tragedy for this community.”
Barnett expressed the view that while the city staff can provide services, it is not a marketing operation. He suggested leasing the physical maintenance and management of the cemeteries to a private organization, which would work on a multi-year contract with the city, while keeping ownership and jurisdiction in the city’s hands.
Diane Smith of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society said that Mountain and Valley cemeteries are among the oldest operating cemeteries in California, and presented a resolution, passed by the Historical Society, opposing privatization of the cemeteries.
Community members spoke emotionally of the city’s moral responsibility to residents whose family members are buried in the cemeteries. Others reminded members of the ad hoc committee that Mountain Cemetery and Valley Cemetery were given to the city of Sonoma as gifts, and that should they be sold, the city would have no say over what would become of them.
The ad hoc committee will reconvene on Tuesday, Dec. 9 to begin the process of making its recommendation, which will be brought to the Sonoma City Council at its Jan. 21 meeting.