Cemetery running out of room, Sudbury OKs $4M expansion
With a waitlist in place for some burial services, Greater Sudbury has approved a $4 million expansion of the Civic Memorial Mausoleum.
Built in 2000, the facility on Second Avenue has been expanded four times, most recently in 2012. It offers such services as in-ground burials, crypts that hold caskets and niches for cremated remains.
But the facility is reaching capacity, particularly for crypts, a staff report on the project said.
"As of December 2019, there are no crypt spaces available and the inventory for niche spaces will require replenishment by 2023 based on historic sales," the report said.
"There is a continued demand for interior crypt and niche spaces. Currently, there is a waiting list for approximately 100 crypts."
Originally slated to cost $2 million when approved in 2021, soaring global inflation has helped drive up the total budget to $4 million, an increase approved by city council Tuesday evening.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
While the budget has doubled, the extra costs won’t be taken from municipal taxpayers. There is a reserve fund in place to finance the expansion, which will be repaid as the new crypts and niches are sold.
"We kind of gave the resolution to go forward with the $4 million build, so now it'll take about 18 months," said Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre.
"There's a lot of work involved with engineering and architects but after that we figure it'll be about 18 months before people are able to purchase crypts and niches."
"The additional $1,950,000 would be borrowed from the Cemetery Care & Maintenance Trust Fund to cover the remaining total project cost of $4,000,000 resulting in no property tax levy impact from the project construction," the staff report said.
"This project is expected to generate total net revenue which will be sufficient to fully replenish the … fund of $4,000,000 by 2036."
City staff expects all of the additional space to be sold by 2036.
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.