WATERLOO - The City of Waterloo has decided to keep and upgrade a municipally-owned crematorium at Parkview Cemetery.
While it's not a service most people would be reminded of daily, city councilors were told before they approved the move on Monday night, that the crematorium has benefited thousands of families and taxpayers for decades.
"We hear loud and clear from all of our stakeholders that essentially Parkview meets their needs and what keeps people coming to Parkview is the exceptional service and care provided by our staff," says Jeffrey Silcox-Childs, Waterloo’s Director of Environment and Parks.
"Essentially, people were looking for a continuation of the crematorium but not a massive expansion.”
Monday’s decision to keep the crematorium came after Silcox-Childs made a pitch to Council based partly on the public feedback collected while the city was studying three options for the future of the aging facility.
Initially the city was looking at three options: shut it down; keep it and invest in some, but not all of the upgrades; or bring in a private partner to run it.
The crematorium will require almost $1.7 million in upgrades, most of which will pay for two new retorts, which are machines that do the burning, and a new cooler.
It will also need $100,000 in upgrades to its HVAC system. The city says the end result will reduce carbon emissions and make the facility more environmentally friendly.
Work is set to begin next year and the money will come from a reserve fund, which the city forecasts it will be able to top back up again over the decade.
Officials say this will result in no added cost to taxpayers.
Silcox-Childs says the decision is an important one – not only for the municipality as the owner.
"Our customers, funeral home providers and our staff have been awaiting a decision for quite some time. HVAC repairs need to be undertaken immediately. And, given the age and grandfathered status of the existing retorts, the planning, approvals and procurement for the replacements need to commence as soon as possible," said Silcox-Childs.
But, he added, the pitch is more than a business case.
“You've been hearing a lot of numbers, and statistics and forecasts, and those are certainly a big part of this story”, he told Council.
“But I don't want to lose sight of the human connection. These are people;these are members of our communities and families. These are our loved ones. What Parkview does is not simply a business. We interact with and we help people at their most emotional and vulnerable times.”
The city has owned the crematorium for 42 years and it performs about 1,300 cremations a year.
The city says the facility brings in about $750,000 in revenue per year, though it’s not all profit: some has to cover operating costs.
