[0:02] You are watching Access
[0:04] LaPorte County Channel 97. Next up is the
[0:09] Michigan City Board of Trustees meeting on October 8th. You
[0:11] can find more
[0:13] information about this
[0:15] meeting at
[0:16] www.accesslaportecounty.org.
[0:27] Elsa?
[0:27] Yes.
[0:28] So, let's begin.
[0:30] Announcement of the order of business for the meeting of the
[0:32] Cemetery Board of Trustees on
[0:33] Thursday, October 8,
[0:34] 2026, here at
[0:36] Swan Lake Memorial Gardens. We
[0:38] are holding a call to
[0:39] order, and that's what it is
[0:40] . We are going to
[0:41] hold a roll call
[0:42] vote. Vera
[0:43] Gaston.
[0:44] Present.
[0:45] Bernadette Dump Demkey.
[0:47] Present.
[0:48] Uh, Kat, and I do this all
[0:50] the time. Suggestions?
[0:53] Here's Kat. Right now.
[0:55] Kat Hodgins
[0:56] was also present. We have a
[0:57] quorum. We have three
[0:59] vacant positions.
[1:02] Please submit your applications
[1:03] . We have the next
[1:06] item on the
[1:06] agenda - the election of the vice
[1:08] president. We
[1:09] need this. Any
[1:11] candidates?
[1:15] I
[1:15] nominate Vera
[1:16] Gaston.
[1:17] And I nominate you,
[1:23] Kat Hodgins.
[1:28] Well, uh, we can
[1:29] vote. Uh,
[1:34] everyone for Vera. One. Are
[1:41] you voting too?
[1:43] Uh, I'm out of the
[1:44] voting pool, as you can see.
[1:46] And you?
[1:47] Yes.
[1:47] I thought you were supposed to
[1:48] vote.
[1:49] As president, you
[1:50] cannot show any
[1:53] personal allegiance to any party when
[1:54] voting.
[1:55] What?
[1:56] But we can get away with, uh
[1:58] , yeah, sorry. We
[2:00] make options "for
[2:02] cats", "for cats".
[2:04] I vote for cats
[2:06] .
[2:06] You have two "for cats". Is everyone in
[2:09] favor of Kotov becoming the
[2:10] new vice
[2:10] president?
[2:11] I am
[2:12] me.
[2:13] Perfectly. You are in favor.
[2:14] Hooray.
[2:15] Good.
[2:16] No. No, no, no. I already...
[2:18] she was...
[2:19] Yes, yes. I agree. I
[2:22] completely agree.
[2:25] Approval
[2:25] of the protocol. Everyone
[2:27] should have a copy of this
[2:28] in front of them.
[2:32] I vote that
[2:34] we adopt the minutes of
[2:35] our last
[2:36] meeting. This will be
[2:40] September 10, 2026.
[2:46] I will support it, but I was
[2:47] n't here. Is this
[2:48] legal? I
[2:49] mean, I read them. Did
[2:51] you have a copy in front of
[2:51] you?
[2:52] Yes, I read them too.
[2:53] Good. So,
[2:54] I support that it is
[2:55] legal.
[2:56] Good. This is one. All in favor of
[2:58] adopting the minutes
[2:59] as presented
[3:00] .
[3:02] I.
[3:02] Any objections?
[3:04] This is accepted. I'm
[3:05] going to go
[3:06] straight to the council report.
[3:07] Good. I think everything is
[3:09] fine. Do you have an
[3:10] agenda?
[3:10] You can start.
[3:12] I have a protocol.
[3:13] Good. Good. The
[3:14] copies I gave
[3:15] you before we
[3:16] started. And starting
[3:17] from the first page. This is a
[3:20] summary
[3:21] of the quarterly
[3:22] dividend information that
[3:23] was added. The account
[3:26] decreased by 2.05% per
[3:28] month and by 1.39% since
[3:30] the beginning of the year.
[3:33] Let's move on to the
[3:35] permanent maintenance fund account
[3:36] . This account
[3:39] has decreased by 1.39% per
[3:41] month and by 0.26% since
[3:43] the beginning of the year.
[3:46] Let's move on to the second
[3:47] page. Saving the
[3:50] expansion fund.
[3:52] The yield decreased
[3:55] by 1.67% per month and by
[3:57] 0.86% since the beginning of the year. And
[4:01] finally, as
[4:02] for the
[4:03] diversified
[4:04] commission fund,
[4:05] alternative
[4:06] investments fell
[4:08] by 0.42% for the month.
[4:09] Moon, sorry. Since
[4:11] the beginning of the year, it has grown
[4:14] by 1.22%. Moving on to the
[4:18] third page, we
[4:19] will provide more
[4:20] detail in some of the
[4:21] information provided. The
[4:25] money market
[4:26] is at 3.46%, up
[4:28] from
[4:29] last
[4:32] month's return of 3.56%. The overall
[4:34] total return of
[4:36] mutual funds
[4:37] is 3.68%, which is
[4:39] higher than
[4:40] last
[4:42] month's return of 3.42%. And the
[4:44] total return on
[4:46] the account is 3.67%
[4:48] , which is higher than
[4:49] last
[4:52] month's return of 3.46%.
[4:55] Moving on to
[4:56] page four, we'll
[4:57] look at the details
[4:59] regarding the overall
[5:00] bill for
[5:00] Small Lake maintenance
[5:01] . The total return of
[5:06] these funds is
[5:08] 3.52%, which is higher than
[5:10] last
[5:12] month's return of 3.30%. And the
[5:13] total return on
[5:16] the account is 3.58%
[5:18] , which is higher than
[5:19] last
[5:21] month's return of 3.43%.
[5:24] Moving on to the fifth
[5:26] page, let's look at the
[5:28] expansion fund account, the total
[5:30] return on mutual
[5:32] funds is 3.57%,
[5:33] which is higher than
[5:35] last
[5:36] month's return of 3.34%. And the
[5:37] total return
[5:39] on the account is
[5:42] 3.60%, which is higher than
[5:43] last
[5:45] month's return of 4.32%. And again
[5:50] , the balance of these
[5:51] commercial funds,
[5:53] mutual funds, and
[5:54] all of you is 3.63
[5:56] %, which is higher than
[5:58] last
[6:00] month's return of 3.37%. And the
[6:03] total return
[6:05] is 3.64%, which is
[6:07] higher than
[6:08] last
[6:10] month's return of 3.51%. And now with
[6:13] some of the highest
[6:15] yields around
[6:16] 3%. Large markets, uh,
[6:19] national and
[6:20] ultra-municipal
[6:21] bonds. Good.
[6:25] Uh, as
[6:25] mentioned in the
[6:26] financial reports, the
[6:27] market value
[6:29] is generally
[6:30] this big or
[6:31] small decline
[6:32] this year. Uh, it
[6:35] depends a lot on the
[6:37] interest rate environment.
[6:38] So, we have, uh, the Fed
[6:39] recently raised
[6:41] its
[6:43] Fed Funds Rate by 1/4%. Uh,
[6:45] inflation is not
[6:45] coming down to the level
[6:47] they are
[6:48] targeting. That's
[6:50] why they raised the
[6:51] Fed's interest rate,
[6:53] and it
[6:54] could potentially go up again by the
[6:55] end of the year. One of the
[6:58] main
[7:02] instruments
[7:02] influencing the market
[7:03] value of some of
[7:04] these funds
[7:05] held in the
[7:06] account is the 10-year
[7:07] Treasury
[7:07] bond. A few
[7:09] months ago, 10-year
[7:10] Treasury
[7:11] bonds were in the
[7:12] 4.4-and-a-
[7:12] half range.
[7:14] They recently reached a
[7:16] decade-high of around
[7:18] 5.3. So this
[7:20] increase in the 10-year
[7:21] Treasury
[7:22] note that you
[7:23] saw is a significant
[7:24] increase this
[7:25] year. In essence, this
[7:28] negatively affects the
[7:29] market value of
[7:30] existing bonds.
[7:33] Therefore, there is an inverse
[7:34] relationship between
[7:35] interest rates
[7:36] and
[7:37] bond prices. However,
[7:40] the income from the funds is still
[7:41] very good.
[7:42] You know, many of these
[7:43] funds pay
[7:44] returns in the mid-
[7:45] 3% range. I think there is
[7:46] one that
[7:47] pays about a 4%
[7:48] yield. So, you
[7:49] get a good
[7:50] return from these funds,
[7:52] but the market value of the
[7:53] investment has
[7:54] declined a bit this year,
[7:55] and that goes for the
[7:56] entire
[7:57] bond market. Um, you know,
[7:58] Matt Barry mentioned
[8:00] a few accounts
[8:01] where bonds were
[8:02] down
[8:04] about 1% year-to-date, then down
[8:05] 1.6%, then in that
[8:07] range. Um, the
[8:08] overall market, the
[8:09] aggregate bond index is
[8:12] down about
[8:13] 2.8% year to date. So, um, you know,
[8:15] the accounts that you
[8:16] have investments in are
[8:17] weathering the storm
[8:18] a little better than the
[8:19] general
[8:20] bond index. So that's
[8:22] good. Um, plus, as I
[8:23] mentioned, you know, the
[8:25] income you
[8:26] get from these
[8:27] investments is still
[8:28] very healthy. Um, as far as the
[8:32] overall
[8:33] economy is concerned, it's
[8:36] still very healthy by most measures.
[8:38] Um, corporate
[8:40] profits are at
[8:42] record levels right now.
[8:43] They are in the
[8:45] 30% range by
[8:46] 2026, which is very good
[8:48] for the US stock market
[8:49] . Um, the
[8:50] unemployment rate is
[8:52] about 4.2. It grew a little
[8:54] last month.
[8:57] Um, there's a slight dip,
[8:58] but the weekly
[9:01] jobless claims, um, have
[9:02] n't accelerated in any way
[9:03] . It's
[9:06] been around
[9:08] 200,000 for a few months now, and that's very
[9:09] timely, um, data
[9:10] that we're looking at in the
[9:12] files. This is a good
[9:14] sign. Um, credit
[9:16] spreads, um, in terms of
[9:17] the state of corporations that
[9:18] can borrow
[9:20] money, are still very
[9:21] limited, um, which is
[9:22] good. Um, it's been like that
[9:24] all year,
[9:26] basically. So we don't
[9:27] see any panic
[9:29] about
[9:29] investors, you know, not
[9:31] wanting to lend
[9:32] money to corporations.
[9:34] Um, and you know, as we
[9:35] mentioned,
[9:36] corporate profits
[9:37] and the labor market are also
[9:38] pretty healthy. So,
[9:41] um, we're now
[9:42] a little
[9:43] over 1%, I
[9:44] think, from the highs of the
[9:45] S&P 500, so the stock
[9:47] market has really been
[9:48] resilient during the
[9:49] ongoing conflict
[9:50] in Iran. As you know,
[9:52] oil prices here
[9:53] exceed
[9:54] $70 per barrel.
[9:55] Um, as you mentioned,
[9:56] accelerating
[9:57] interest rates.
[9:58] But, even with all of this in mind
[9:59] , the
[10:00] stock market
[10:01] has indeed continued to
[10:02] struggle, driven by
[10:03] corporate
[10:04] profits. And
[10:05] the growth of
[10:05] corporate
[10:06] profits. So, um, we
[10:07] definitely don't expect it to
[10:09] last on these
[10:10] bubbles. Hmm, we
[10:12] expect a
[10:13] slowdown in
[10:14] 2027, hmm, but we
[10:16] don't expect any
[10:18] recession at all. Hmm, and we've
[10:19] talked about this
[10:20] before, you know, when
[10:22] corporate
[10:23] earnings growth is positive,
[10:24] we haven't seen a recession
[10:25] in this country. Hmm, so,
[10:26] um, that's a good sign
[10:27] that, you know, we
[10:28] can weather the storm
[10:30] if there's
[10:31] some kind of
[10:32] mid-cycle slowdown, as they
[10:33] call it, in
[10:35] 2027. Good. So yeah, that's pretty much where
[10:36] we
[10:37] are.
[10:41] Look at
[10:42] any comments.
[10:43] Any questions or
[10:45] comments?
[10:47] Thank you. I propose
[10:52] to adopt the financial
[10:54] report.
[10:55] I support.
[10:56] Perfectly. We can
[10:57] vote to
[10:58] accept the
[10:58] financial report
[10:59] on behalf of all our
[11:00] friends at Horizon. All "for
[11:02] "?
[11:02] Yes.
[11:02] No objections,
[11:03] accepted. Thank you very much.
[11:05] Thank you for
[11:06] voting "yes". Happy
[11:09] New Year. We have a
[11:15] guest today.
[11:16] You know, the
[11:17] registration office. You have a word
[11:19] . How can we
[11:20] help you?
[11:21] Thank you. Well, I have
[11:22] something to
[11:23] show and
[11:24] tell. Um, and when
[11:26] I come in and notice
[11:27] these big fences
[11:28] around
[11:29] the lawnmower, is that
[11:30] temporary or
[11:31] permanent?
[11:33] This is temporary.
[11:35] Good. Are the swans here?
[11:38] Yes, yes, they are
[11:39] there now.
[11:40] Okay, and I had to lift the
[11:42] , uh, bench in front.
[11:45] Yes, thank you. Em. Do you
[11:48] mind if I
[11:49] stand up?
[11:49] Of course.
[11:50] So, my mother
[11:51] is buried right there.
[11:53] Em. We buried her in
[11:55] 1972. I was 19
[11:57] years old. I just
[11:58] turned 74. Um.
[12:00] Women are not allowed
[12:00] to tell their age,
[12:01] but I refused to do
[12:02] that. Yes, I still do it
[12:03] . I'm just
[12:05] glad to be alive,
[12:06] okay? So, uh, this is a
[12:08] photo of my
[12:09] mother. She died
[12:11] at the age of 51. Thank you very much. Uh
[12:14] , she, uh. You know,
[12:16] everyone smoked back then. And at the
[12:19] old
[12:19] St. Anthony's Hospital,
[12:20] nuns would bring in
[12:22] boxes of cigarettes
[12:23] after breast cancer surgery
[12:24] . I
[12:25] remember
[12:26] thinking as a child,
[12:28] "Get out of here!"
[12:29] But that's what made her perfect.
[12:32] The doctor gave her 2 weeks to
[12:34] live, and she walked for 10
[12:35] years. I just want to
[12:38] show you her
[12:39] picture. She was
[12:40] very helpful to
[12:41] our community. She,
[12:43] along with four
[12:44] other women,
[12:45] founded what
[12:46] is now the Westmont Art Center
[12:47] . There were
[12:50] all women
[12:50] doing summer
[12:51] theater, and then they
[12:52] moved it to another
[12:54] location on A Street, and
[12:55] then Westmont
[12:56] bought it again and started it
[12:57] . So I'm very proud of
[12:59] her help to this
[13:00] community. If you don't
[13:02] mind, I can
[13:03] show you this
[13:04] photo.
[13:05] Donald, could you
[13:06] take this, if you don't
[13:07] mind, little one?
[13:08] We can.
[13:09] Okay, thank you.
[13:10] Yes, and when...When
[13:11] they held her
[13:12] funeral, people loved
[13:14] my mother. I
[13:15] could never understand her as a
[13:16] child. They
[13:17] just came and
[13:18] talked
[13:19] to her all the time, asking her for
[13:20] advice. She was
[13:21] classically beautiful.
[13:22] My brother, who is
[13:23] older than me and is
[13:24] now also in
[13:24] heaven, he looked like
[13:25] her. I was
[13:26] more like
[13:27] my dad, who
[13:28] I'll talk about in a minute
[13:29] . So, um...
[13:30] Anyway, I
[13:31] made a living doing
[13:32] radio and
[13:33] television, so
[13:34] if you can
[13:34] tell me to
[13:35] shut up, if I'm
[13:36] late, I'll try to
[13:37] say it quickly. So
[13:38] my mother, um, she
[13:40] lived here for, um, 10 years,
[13:41] and we came here, I
[13:43] think they just
[13:44] made it your
[13:45] Michigan City. It
[13:47] was privately
[13:48] owned and then
[13:49] became part of
[13:50] Michigan City. Um, so for
[13:51] years I talked to
[13:53] my mom like this, and I went back and forth
[13:54] to New
[13:55] York when I was born
[13:56] , um, to go to
[13:58] graduate school, and the
[13:59] previous husband
[14:00] who was here for years,
[14:01] who was your, um,
[14:02] he was a
[14:04] Vietnam veteran,
[14:05] you know who I'm
[14:06] talking about, your
[14:07] principal. One day
[14:08] he came out with
[14:09] me and said, “Don,
[14:10] you’re talking to
[14:11] your mother’s feet.
[14:12] Her head is over there." So
[14:16] I had to
[14:17] learn a lot, but, uh
[14:18] , when she died,
[14:20] uh, she was at
[14:21] Our Tavern, and
[14:22] then we went down
[14:23] Franklin Street and all the way
[14:25] here to Notre
[14:26] Dame Parish, and people thought
[14:27] she was some kind of saint or
[14:29] something. There were 2,000
[14:32] cars there. Well, I
[14:35] mean, following
[14:36] my mother and me
[14:38] , uh, that always
[14:39] amazed me. She was
[14:42] very modest, you know
[14:43] . I don't know, there's
[14:44] something about it. I called
[14:46] her the local guru in
[14:47] our community. Uh, I'm
[14:50] trying to
[14:51] show you these
[14:52] photos first, and, uh, this
[14:54] was when she was, uh,
[14:56] 21 years old, living in New
[14:57] York. My father was
[14:59] her first, uh,
[15:00] sales manager
[15:02] at Barnes & Noble. Mr. Barnes and
[15:03] Mr. Noble were in my
[15:04] house in Long Beach, where
[15:06] I live among
[15:06] millionaires that
[15:08] I'm not one of, and, uh,
[15:09] they bought this
[15:10] house in 1961
[15:11] when, uh, Mr. Barnes and
[15:12] Mr. Noble asked
[15:13] my father
[15:14] to move to the
[15:14] midwest
[15:16] so he could
[15:17] hire all the
[15:17] salespeople.
[15:20] $13,000 and 66 cents,
[15:21] a handshake, a piece of
[15:23] paper, and I asked
[15:25] him if he was, uh, the
[15:26] local treasurer. What
[15:28] was that 66 cents?
[15:30] They said, "A nice
[15:32] tropical family."
[15:33] Donna, how much property tax do you pay here
[15:35] ?
[15:36] I can, if I can
[15:37] think of one, almost
[15:38] $5,000.
[15:39] Well, 66 cents was the
[15:40] property tax in 1961
[15:42] when your
[15:43] parents bought
[15:45] the house. So, that's
[15:46] how much it all
[15:47] changed. And I
[15:48] watched what
[15:49] you did here. I
[15:50] mean, it's
[15:51] amazing. And I give
[15:52] you all the credit. I
[15:53] try to watch
[15:54] your board of
[15:55] directors meetings whenever
[15:56] possible. But right now I'm
[15:58] just humbly
[15:59] asking you about the
[15:59] swans I've
[16:00] talked to for years.
[16:02] At least once a
[16:02] week I would walk
[16:03] by, wave to them
[16:04] and talk, and they would
[16:05] swim up and call out to
[16:07] me, "Hey, hey, hey." So
[16:08] I was very sad
[16:09] when they died.
[16:10] So thank you for
[16:11] sharing this. Um...
[16:13] This is my father, a
[16:14] veteran of
[16:15] World War II. He
[16:18] equipped
[16:19] the bombers.
[16:21] He swam across the ocean.
[16:24] He was an officer with 2,000
[16:25] men under a
[16:26] ship in waves
[16:27] that were like this and
[16:28] almost capsized the
[16:29] ship. They
[16:31] landed at the Cape of
[16:32] Good Hope in Africa
[16:34] and were almost
[16:34] shot down. They
[16:36] got on a train and
[16:37] went to India, and
[16:38] then climbed to the
[16:39] top of the Himalayas, where
[16:40] his whole group
[16:41] equipped the
[16:41] bombers
[16:43] that were to arrive,
[16:44] our American
[16:45] bombers and
[16:46] English
[16:47] bombers.
[16:48] He equipped them, and
[16:49] they flew to bomb the
[16:51] Nazis. And I'm
[16:52] part German, so
[16:54] you know...But that's what
[16:55] he did. And
[16:57] then he worked at
[16:58] Barnes&Noble all these years.
[17:00] He was in
[17:01] Los Angeles for a while, then he
[17:02] passed out, and I
[17:02] brought him back here.
[17:03] He died in 2012.
[17:06] He was my
[17:06] best friend because he
[17:07] took
[17:08] my mother's place after she died
[17:09] . This is a photo of him and me
[17:10] . I
[17:11] put it on
[17:12] my radio and
[17:13] TV show, which was broadcast in
[17:14] Chicago. This is my father.
[17:17] And this is an article they
[17:18] wrote in the Chicago Tribune
[17:20] when I had a
[17:21] talk show here called
[17:22] Talk of the Town in
[17:23] Michigan City. You
[17:25] may remember him
[17:27] on WBBM, and that's my dad,
[17:28] okay? So, the
[17:31] poor guy we
[17:32] filmed. It was a great
[17:33] steakhouse in Chicago, and
[17:35] he couldn't eat it
[17:36] . He had to get
[17:38] on a plane after filming.
[17:40] But you would
[17:41] like him. He loved
[17:42] Michigan City, and, uh, I'd
[17:44] like to bury
[17:45] him here. I cremated
[17:46] him according to his wishes
[17:48] . Uh, he's a veteran,
[17:49] so the veterans
[17:50] will pay for the
[17:52] plaque. But I was
[17:54] told it costs
[17:55] about $5,000 to
[17:56] dig up the place and
[17:58] put up a plaque, dusting it
[17:59] ,
[18:00] so that's one of the things
[18:01] I'd like to
[18:02] ask you about. You don't
[18:04] have to answer
[18:05] this right now, but
[18:06] maybe someone could
[18:07] contact me, because
[18:08] this is one of the things I
[18:09] need to do. Um, and he,
[18:12] uh, also received
[18:13] awards for his
[18:14] service in
[18:15] World War II, as did
[18:17] many of our people in
[18:18] Michigan City. Um, and
[18:21] finally, uh, I have
[18:23] pets. I
[18:26] tried to get married three times
[18:27] . The first
[18:28] person cheated on me
[18:29] before our wedding.
[18:31] The second was
[18:31] manic-
[18:32] depressive and attacked
[18:33] me before
[18:34] the wedding, and the third
[18:35] was an alcoholic,
[18:36] so I didn't get
[18:37] married. If you've
[18:39] ever seen the movie "
[18:40] Runaway Bride,"
[18:41] it's about me, because I
[18:42] went from here to
[18:42] Hollywood. I acted for
[18:44] years, and then I
[18:44] went back to New
[18:45] York
[18:46] University and
[18:47] did a movie.
[18:48] Sister Eileen was
[18:49] voted one of the
[18:50] top 10 films of
[18:51] the year, and then when I
[18:52] retired, I
[18:53] moved back to my
[18:54] beloved Michigan
[18:55] City. Okay, I love
[18:56] this city. So, I'm still
[18:57] working. I just got
[18:59] hired as an
[19:01] investigative reporter at the Hoosier
[19:02] Enquirer. You can call
[19:04] me Madam President.
[19:05] I'm the president of
[19:06] the board, okay? And I
[19:07] try to keep a
[19:08] sense of humor, but
[19:10] I have cats. And many
[19:12] of us, members of my
[19:14] tribe, feed cats
[19:15] throughout the forest. We
[19:18] castrate them in Freeze and are
[19:19] told to catch and
[19:20] release. So,
[19:23] we have a tribe that
[19:24] goes outside 365
[19:26] days a year. If it's
[19:27] a blizzard, we feed the
[19:29] cats. But you
[19:30] were going, I know, at the
[19:31] last meeting
[19:32] I was at, and I'm always
[19:33] wrong, so
[19:34] please tell me to
[19:35] shut up. I won't be
[19:36] offended. But you
[19:37] were going to set up a
[19:39] pet cemetery here. You
[19:40] thought about it. I didn't
[19:41] see it there. So,
[19:45] I'm asking someone to
[19:46] contact me about
[19:47] this, because I
[19:48] buried all of my
[19:49] animals, cats and dogs,
[19:51] in little
[19:52] doggy bags in the
[19:53] backyard. And all my friends
[19:57] asked me about
[19:58] this reasoning of yours. And
[20:01] I know there are
[20:02] pet cemeteries, I
[20:03] think, in Maryville
[20:05] and other places, but there are
[20:06] so many people who would
[20:07] contribute
[20:09] to Swan Creek and
[20:09] help you
[20:11] organize it. Because
[20:12] , you know, we love
[20:13] our animals. And what do you
[20:15] do with them? You know, it's
[20:17] so hard to
[20:18] let them go. They are
[20:19] your children. And in my
[20:21] case, that was definitely the
[20:22] case. I have three
[20:23] , uh, rescued
[20:24] cats right now, and they're all
[20:25] male, and
[20:27] they all sit together
[20:28] . They're like best
[20:29] friends, okay? You know,
[20:32] I just...And I feed them
[20:34] ...Please
[20:35] block this. You're
[20:37] really good at this
[20:38] , but, uh
[20:39] , there's a whole tribe of cats that
[20:41] we've been neutered, and
[20:42] Freeze helped us with
[20:43] that. Local
[20:44] veterinarians helped
[20:45] us. And then they
[20:46] said "catch and
[20:48] release" at one
[20:53] of the big, uh, places
[20:54] next to Wendy's in the woods.
[20:58] So we feed them.
[20:59] We have a group of people who
[21:01] feed them
[21:01] 24/7, er,
[21:02] at least once a day
[21:04] in all weathers.
[21:05] They are happy. They were
[21:07] neutered and
[21:08] released, but,
[21:09] you know,
[21:10] someone threw a beer
[21:11] can at one of them on the playground
[21:12] behind these, and one of
[21:14] them went to mess with the
[21:15] beer and cut off his
[21:16] tongue. And it actually
[21:18] killed the cat, and
[21:19] we had to put him to
[21:20] sleep. So we are very
[21:21] careful. But, you know,
[21:23] where do we hide the cat? What are
[21:24] we doing? Some people
[21:26] just throw them in the
[21:27] trash. This is
[21:28] terrible. So,
[21:29] anyway, thank you for
[21:31] listening to me. I
[21:33] would like to help
[21:34] you, by the way, in any way I can,
[21:36] because I have a good job right now
[21:37] , uh, I'm
[21:38] broadcasting from Fuji and Kwai.
[21:40] Write it down and
[21:41] check it. Uh, we're going to
[21:42] go all over the
[21:43] country under
[21:45] my leadership. Uh
[21:46] , I worked at WNIT for 13
[21:48] years. I have a
[21:49] radio show about Michigan
[21:51] that goes
[21:51] nationwide. I can
[21:52] help you in
[21:53] any way, uh,
[21:54] spread the word
[21:55] or help you
[21:56] find things, whatever you
[21:57] need to
[21:58] do. And, uh, I
[21:59] was listening to what you said
[22:00] about the green, uh,
[22:06] Islamic
[22:07] funeral garden.
[22:09] You know, this is a really
[22:10] great thing. Because
[22:12] true Islamists
[22:13] are Sharia, wonderful
[22:14] people. And, um, being a
[22:16] Catholic his whole
[22:17] life, Father Joel,
[22:18] if anyone knew him,
[22:19] he was a wonderful
[22:20] priest at
[22:22] St. Anne's Church and a
[22:23] lawyer. And it
[22:24] has united us all from
[22:25] all religions at different
[22:26] times. And I was in their
[22:28] mosque. They are just
[22:29] wonderful people. They
[22:30] get a short
[22:32] fate. So I'm
[22:33] done. I'll leave
[22:34] you alone, but
[22:35] please take care
[22:36] of these swans. I'll
[22:37] pass by and
[22:38] honk at them. They were
[22:39] yelling at me when
[22:41] I came here, and I
[22:42] just parked my
[22:43] car nearby and
[22:44] talked to them from
[22:45] my car. So
[22:47] I'm just, um, really
[22:48] sad that they're cats,
[22:50] but things
[22:51] happen, and, um,
[22:52] thanks for listening.
[22:54] You are very kind. I love the
[22:55] work you do
[22:57] for all the people who don't
[22:58] realize what it
[22:59] takes to
[22:59] keep this going. And I
[23:00] brought sandwiches
[23:02] and other things to your
[23:03] team at various times.
[23:04] Me, I tried
[23:05] to help when I could. I
[23:07] packed up my stuff in the yard and,
[23:09] you know, I...I've actually
[23:11] been coming here since
[23:13] 1972. So, uh, I'll
[23:15] come, you know, help in any
[23:16] way I can
[23:17] , and if you
[23:19] need my
[23:20] help,
[23:20] call me. You are
[23:21] all wonderful.
[23:23] Thank you very much. Thank you. You are
[23:24] wonderful. Thank you for
[23:25] filming this.
[23:26] Please. Donna, we're
[23:28] going to
[23:28] address the
[23:29] scattered area
[23:30] in the cemetery.
[23:31] Yes, yes, yes.
[23:32] We are going to
[23:33] move forward
[23:34] as quickly as possible, but
[23:35] it won't be fast.
[23:36] Well, I understand, and I'll tell
[23:38] you, there
[23:39] are a whole bunch of
[23:40] people in my tribe who will help
[23:41] you with that. If you
[23:42] need money for this
[23:43] or if you need
[23:44] any help,
[23:45] you know, I know you've got
[23:47] volunteers out here, right? It's
[23:48] like something happened to one of us
[23:50] or
[23:51] something. Is that right
[23:53] ?
[23:53] Hmm.
[23:54] Otherwise, I could
[23:55] find a lot of people to
[23:57] help you,
[23:58] but, um, there are definitely a bunch of
[23:59] animal lovers who
[24:01] can help you with this,
[24:02] okay? So,
[24:03] anyway, thank you for
[24:05] listening. Who will tell
[24:06] me to shut up?
[24:07] No one.
[24:10] Well, thank you and Andy,
[24:12] thank you for filming, and
[24:13] God bless you.
[24:15] Thank you. See you later.
[24:16] Thank you. And the bills
[24:21] presented for payment
[24:23] are the next item. Are there
[24:53] any
[24:54] problems here? No. Good.
[25:00] Maybe it's just how things
[25:02] turned out, to be
[25:03] honest...how things
[25:04] turned out.
[25:04] Yes, maybe that's how it
[25:06] turned out.
[25:06] Thank you.
[25:07] We received it the day we
[25:08] received it yesterday.
[25:09] Good.
[25:10] Oh, that was yesterday.
[25:12] Yes, of course.
[25:13] I was just
[25:14] curious. Thank you. First thing
[25:16] about Cintas?
[25:18] Uh, this is our
[25:20] uniform manufacturing company that
[25:21] supplies uniforms,
[25:22] carpets.
[25:23] So they wore the
[25:24] state uniform
[25:25] last month.
[25:27] We are going to
[25:27] leave them until
[25:28] mid-November,
[25:29] until
[25:30] our
[25:31] contract expires, and then
[25:32] it is
[25:32] renewed, because we
[25:33] are using that
[25:34] money to pay
[25:35] the exterminator for
[25:37] next year's pest control. And I
[25:38] will announce things.
[25:39] Good. Thank you. And Ricks
[25:42] Outdoor Power, which was...
[25:43] It's mostly our
[25:44] ... It was a bad
[25:45] month, a bad few
[25:46] months for our
[25:47] equipment, and a lot of
[25:48] our lawn mowers
[25:50] broke down, and at
[25:51] one point three of
[25:52] our four, uh,
[25:53] lawn mowers in
[25:54] Greenwood broke down
[25:55] , so we
[25:55] spent a lot of
[25:56] money fixing those
[25:57] lawn mowers.
[25:58] Repair of lawn mowers
[26:00] .
[26:00] Yes.
[26:00] Thank you. I propose to
[26:11] adopt the
[26:12] cemetery payment register.
[26:14] Is there a second offer?
[26:17] I support.
[26:18] Perfectly. We both
[26:19] accepted bills
[26:20] presented for payment
[26:22] . Everyone "in favor"?
[26:22] Yes.
[26:23] Without objection,
[26:24] the proposal was accepted.
[26:25] We also move on
[26:26] to the chief's report.
[26:28] Okay, let's start with
[26:29] the statistics for the
[26:30] past month.
[26:31] Last month was
[26:32] very slow, although it didn't
[26:33] seem like it
[26:35] was, considering all the
[26:36] renovations and
[26:37] staffing issues. We
[26:40] had three
[26:41] swan burials in Greenwood last month. Uh
[26:43] , not a single full one,
[26:44] not a single two-minute one,
[26:45] a total of three
[26:46] swan burials. In
[26:48] Swan Lake,
[26:49] we had seven burials
[26:51] , three complete burials,
[26:52] 10 in total, 13 in total.
[26:54] That's how we compare
[26:55] burial methods. Uh-huh.
[26:58] And then, here's how we
[27:00] compare year-over-
[27:01] year. One of the
[27:03] slowest
[27:04] months in a
[27:05] while, so...
[27:06] Okay.
[27:08] Uh, next, off the top of my
[27:09] head, obviously, uh,
[27:10] we discussed this
[27:11] before, the
[27:13] swan donation. Uh, we
[27:14] got our pair of
[27:15] new swans, and I'd
[27:17] like to thank,
[27:18] uh, Chris from
[27:19] Grant's Swan Farm. Uh, once again
[27:22] ,
[27:22] oh.
[27:23] He donated them, uh
[27:24] , for free to
[27:26] us. Originally, he was
[27:27] planning, uh, that he
[27:28] was going to give
[27:29] us a pair of swans, a
[27:30] male and a female, but
[27:31] his breeding didn't
[27:32] work out that way. So
[27:33] he ended up with, uh,
[27:34] extra males, so he
[27:35] assured me that they were brother swans
[27:36] , so
[27:37] he should say
[27:38] that we shouldn't
[27:39] have any
[27:39] territorial
[27:41] problems if one of
[27:42] them tries to
[27:42] chase the other away, like you would
[27:43] if you
[27:44] put two,
[27:45] uh, strangers together. So right
[27:46] now they're still, uh,
[27:48] young. That's why they have
[27:50] gray feathers, but
[27:51] eventually they will shed their
[27:52] gray feathers and become
[27:53] white swans. They
[27:54] seem quite
[27:55] happy.
[27:56] They were very
[27:57] timid at first, but, uh,
[27:58] they're getting back to
[27:59] normal. They are not so
[28:01] scared and we can
[28:02] feed them and so on. The
[28:03] reason we
[28:04] have the fence there is
[28:05] just so
[28:05] it lasts
[28:06] until they get
[28:07] acclimated to the
[28:08] environment here. It's
[28:09] pretty noisy on the highway, which
[28:10] might scare them
[28:11] at first, so we
[28:12] just didn't want to
[28:13] wander down the highway or
[28:15] wander into the woods with them
[28:16] where they'd get eaten by a coyote or
[28:17] something. It was
[28:18] nice to have the fence
[28:19] because we didn't have to
[28:20] worry about them on the
[28:21] weekends. Uh, I
[28:22] come every
[28:23] weekend and feed them. Uh
[28:25] , it's nice, no...
[28:27] nice to know that
[28:28] if I'm not here
[28:29] this weekend, they won't
[28:30] be killed by coyotes. Uh,
[28:36] then I thought of a
[28:37] green
[28:39] funeral card. Uh, Larry
[28:40] and Ted, who were behind the
[28:42] green
[28:43] burial movement, uh, they
[28:44] brought it up a few
[28:45] days ago, and they
[28:46] suggested, and I
[28:47] think it's a good
[28:49] idea that we have
[28:51] materials at the front desk for
[28:52] them to just
[28:53] inform
[28:54] the public that it's an
[28:55] option. This winter, we'll
[28:57] be working
[28:58] on our website again,
[29:00] which is linked to the
[29:01] city's website, and we'll
[29:02] try to put
[29:03] this information there
[29:04] so that more people
[29:05] know that green
[29:06] burial is now an
[29:08] option. Uh, so I
[29:09] appreciate their efforts, and
[29:11] I gave a copy of this to
[29:12] everyone. If you have
[29:13] any suggestions, you
[29:14] can add them to the
[29:15] plan.
[29:16] Very good.
[29:17] I have a question. Yes. At
[29:20] the bottom of the first
[29:21] page, it talks about
[29:22] using a
[29:23] perforated
[29:24] pentagonal
[29:24] vaulted
[29:25] dome, and I didn't think
[29:26] we would be able to
[29:27] get this
[29:28] concrete dome in a
[29:29] perforated
[29:34] design. You know,
[29:36] we remember
[29:38] talking about this.
[29:40] Yes.
[29:42] And that would be
[29:42] wrong.
[29:44] Right. We could
[29:45] change that.
[29:46] You know, when I was
[29:47] talking, I wrote
[29:48] Ted an
[29:49] email about it. I said I didn't
[29:50] understand because
[29:51] I thought we couldn't do
[29:53] it. So I would like to
[29:55] ask you
[29:56] .
[29:57] Uh, I'll have to
[29:58] talk to
[29:59] Scott, who
[30:00] oversees most of the
[30:01] storage here. I
[30:02] mean, we've
[30:03] talked about this
[30:04] before, not
[30:05] necessarily
[30:06] something pre-
[30:07] built like this
[30:08] , but something
[30:09] we could
[30:09] drill holes into
[30:11] later in a regular
[30:12] vault to see
[30:13] if it would work.
[30:14] You know, I wouldn't want
[30:15] it to be
[30:16] made public and then
[30:17] become
[30:17] unavailable. So you're
[30:19] going to
[30:19] talk to
[30:20] Scott to
[30:21] see if this is
[30:23] something, if it's available, if
[30:24] it's an option. If not,
[30:25] we will remove it from the
[30:27] plan.
[30:27] Thank you.
[30:29] And then, actually, Lauren
[30:30] and Chad were here a few
[30:32] weeks ago,
[30:32] looking at some of the
[30:34] areas in the
[30:35] green burial section, and
[30:36] they suggested
[30:37] maybe putting up a
[30:38] sign there that would
[30:39] just inform
[30:40] the public that this
[30:41] area is reserved
[30:43] for green burials,
[30:44] and just explain
[30:45] what green
[30:46] burials are. So, again
[30:47] , that's something we'll
[30:49] probably
[30:50] look into as well. Hmm, we'll
[30:52] probably coordinate
[30:53] the design with the new
[30:54] signs we've already
[30:56] installed here this
[30:57] year. So
[30:59] good. Thank you.
[31:00] Uh, the next item
[31:01] is the master plan
[31:02] or, excuse me,
[31:03] the memorandum of
[31:04] understanding for the
[31:05] Islamic
[31:06] burial garden. Uh, after the
[31:07] last meeting, I
[31:09] handed the document over to
[31:12] Amvrel Page, the
[31:13] city attorney.
[31:14] She proposed
[31:15] some minor
[31:16] legal changes to
[31:17] it. So, these changes
[31:18] were made. I
[31:20] gave the revised
[31:21] copy to, uh, Mr.
[31:22] Melland. Uh, he's
[31:24] submitted it to his board
[31:25] , and we're just waiting
[31:26] for the signatures, and
[31:27] then once it's
[31:28] signed, I'll
[31:29] present it to the
[31:30] board president so
[31:31] he can sign it
[31:32] and do it. Again
[31:34] , we plan to
[31:38] do this as
[31:39] soon as possible, and that
[31:39] brings us to the
[31:40] next point. Um
[31:42] , master
[31:43] planning, and, uh, I
[31:44] know at the last
[31:45] meeting I said I
[31:47] found two firms
[31:48] that specialize
[31:49] in cemetery planning and
[31:50] development. Um
[31:53] , I'm still coordinating
[31:55] the logistics of their
[31:56] presence here on Zoom.
[31:58] So, hopefully,
[31:59] at least by the
[32:00] next meeting,
[32:01] if not sooner, I
[32:02] would like to have something
[32:03] planned. If we
[32:04] can't do it
[32:06] in a meeting,
[32:06] schedule something in
[32:07] advance so that at least
[32:08] both of these firms can
[32:10] show up via Zoom and
[32:11] just explain what
[32:12] their services are, what they
[32:13] offer, and what
[32:15] price range we're
[32:16] looking at. Because, as a
[32:20] previous guest pointed out
[32:21] , there are not only
[32:22] Islamic or green
[32:23] burial grounds, there are also
[32:25] pet cemeteries,
[32:26] scattered gardens. It will be
[32:29] much easier
[32:30] to decide where we
[32:31] can place them,
[32:32] what our
[32:33] costs will be, if we
[32:34] know exactly where
[32:36] they can be placed
[32:37] on our property.
[32:38] We just don't want to
[32:39] throw away something that
[32:40] will ruin any
[32:41] future plans. Uh,
[32:43] because, as most of
[32:45] you have seen,
[32:45] the aerial photos of
[32:46] Swan
[32:48] Lake Cemetery are a really
[32:50] thoughtful design with
[32:52] circular gardens. And
[32:54] anything we add to that
[32:55] , we would like to
[32:56] keep it
[32:57] consistent.
[32:59] And I believe that
[33:00] Islamic burials
[33:01] should be a certain
[33:03] way. And that's why
[33:04] we can't
[33:06] just
[33:06] not
[33:06] place them at the
[33:07] center of what we
[33:08] already have, unfortunately. So, like
[33:10] we did with
[33:10] green burials
[33:12] , a
[33:12] little bit of special
[33:13] planning. Will
[33:14] this plan include
[33:15] any
[33:16] drainage issues that you
[33:17] should...Yes, it
[33:18] should include
[33:19] drainage. And then,
[33:20] depending on
[33:21] how big the
[33:22] garden is, we'll have to
[33:24] consider whether
[33:24] we need more
[33:26] roads, like
[33:27] asphalt paving,
[33:28] um, things like that–all of that is
[33:29] taken into account.
[33:31] Obviously, we want to
[33:32] start this as soon as possible
[33:33] because it will
[33:34] take
[33:36] some time to first
[33:36] find financing
[33:38] and then do the
[33:39] design and
[33:40] construction. This is a
[33:41] long process, so
[33:43] ...But, obviously, we have
[33:44] great aspirations.
[33:46] We have a lot of land here
[33:47] for development and
[33:48] a lot of new
[33:49] burial methods that could be
[33:51] used here,
[33:52] so we want to get
[33:52] started.
[33:53] Good. Uh
[33:55] , yes.
[33:56] I'll make a mark.
[33:57] A note that, uh,
[33:58] a lot of people don't
[33:59] know what a
[34:00] memorandum of
[34:01] understanding is. Er
[34:02] , a memorandum of
[34:03] understanding. Yes. Uh
[34:05] ,
[34:06] great. Uh, the
[34:08] next point
[34:09] I had was,
[34:10] uh, I said we
[34:11] purchased a new
[34:12] truck here
[34:13] earlier this year and
[34:15] the plan was to
[34:16] equip it with a
[34:17] snow blower. That's
[34:18] why we bought such a
[34:19] bigger truck. Uh
[34:21] , I waited until the end of the
[34:22] year to
[34:23] make sure
[34:24] we didn't have any
[34:25] unexpected, uh,
[34:26] expenses like the
[34:27] cost of the furnace. So
[34:28] hopefully we can get
[34:29] this done
[34:30] within the year so we
[34:31] can spend that
[34:32] money on what was
[34:33] planned, uh,
[34:34] snowplow. So,
[34:36] I received two price
[34:37] quotes, as
[34:38] required by city
[34:39] ordinance. The first one
[34:44] came from Rigg's Outdoor
[34:45] Power Equipment, and it's
[34:47] for a complete
[34:48] installation of, uh, the
[34:49] side of the truck, the
[34:51] dump, and that's going to be
[34:52] $8,730. And the second
[34:54] price quote
[34:55] was received from W.A.
[34:57] Jones Equipment, and it
[34:58] will cost
[35:00] $8,870. Uh, we
[35:05] have
[35:06] about $8,900 in the expansion fund right now in this article,
[35:07] so it's barely there,
[35:09] but, uh. So, I'm asking
[35:12] that we select
[35:13] the lowest and
[35:14] most responsible
[35:15] bidder or a
[35:16] price quote,
[35:18] let's say a price
[35:19] quote, or
[35:20] $8,730 for Rigg's Outdoor
[35:21] Power Equipment.
[35:24] Second. Ya.
[35:26] Oh, come on. I suggest
[35:29] accepting.
[35:30] I was going to ask this,
[35:32] but is
[35:32] the warranty the same for
[35:33] both?
[35:34] Uh, yes, these are different
[35:35] manufacturers. Rigg's will be the
[35:37] Western plow, and W.A. Jones-
[35:39] plow Boss. But, almost
[35:40] ... Are
[35:41] you dealing with
[35:42] Rigg's?
[35:42] Yes, quite a lot.
[35:44] Yes. Good.
[35:46] You have a good relationship.
[35:47] Yes.
[35:49] I propose to accept,
[35:51] uh, on the recommendation
[35:52] of the boss, we
[35:53] will accept a price
[35:54] quote from Rigg's
[35:56] Outdoor Power Equipment for a
[35:57] snow blower
[35:58] .
[36:00] I will support.
[36:01] Perfectly. We can
[36:03] vote.
[36:04] to
[36:04] approve the
[36:05] purchase of
[36:07] Rigg's Outdoor
[36:08] Power Equipment snow removal equipment for
[36:09] $8,730. Everyone "in favor"?
[36:11] 1.
[36:11] Are there any objections?
[36:13] Good. We can
[36:15] continue.
[36:15] And finally, obviously,
[36:17] we're putting up all the
[36:18] new signage, and the plan was to
[36:20] paint those, um,
[36:21] sign posts, so
[36:22] we started doing that.
[36:24] We've almost completed
[36:25] Greenwood, and then once
[36:25] that's
[36:26] installed, um, we'll
[36:27] start here on Swan Lake
[36:29] and hopefully
[36:30] paint it all. I think
[36:31] it looks 100%
[36:32] better than
[36:33] raw wood
[36:34] with paint. Therefore. Uh, and
[36:37] one more thing I did
[36:39] n't include here. I
[36:40] just mentioned the
[36:41] fall cleanup that
[36:43] both cemeteries
[36:44] will start on
[36:45] August 15th and, sorry,
[36:47] October 15th, and it
[36:47] will last for one
[36:49] week. So we're
[36:50] just asking everyone
[36:51] to remove everything they have
[36:53] there. After the 15th, if
[36:55] it's approved,
[36:56] sorry, after the week of
[36:58] the 15th, after
[36:59] everything is cleaned up and
[37:00] everything is tidied up, they
[37:02] can have
[37:03] their decorations back.
[37:07] But we are simply
[37:08] reminding
[37:09] visitors to
[37:09] Swan
[37:11] Lake Cemetery that on November 15th,
[37:12] you should
[37:13] turn the vases over and
[37:14] put them back on their
[37:15] marks so they don't get
[37:17] waterlogged and
[37:18] crack. And then,
[37:25] around October 15th,
[37:26] we'll turn off the water in
[37:27] Greenwood for a year to keep the
[37:29] pipes from freezing.
[37:31] So, I think that's
[37:33] all I can say
[37:34] .
[37:41] I propose to accept the
[37:42] chief's report.
[37:45] I support this.
[37:46] Perfectly. Um, we're
[37:48] going to
[37:49] vote. All are in favor of
[37:50] accepting the
[37:51] chief's report without changes.
[37:53] All in favor?
[37:54] Yes. Are there
[37:55] any objections?
[37:56] Also accepted. We
[37:58] are moving to an
[37:59] open forum.
[38:03] What happened to the
[38:03] water situation in
[38:05] Greenwood? And with
[38:08] which one?
[38:09] You know we
[38:10] shared water with the
[38:13] "Oh, yeah" section.
[38:15] We still share
[38:16] water. It seems like
[38:17] not
[38:18] many people
[38:19] are using water there right now,
[38:20] but this is what happened: we
[38:21] begged them
[38:22] to fix the lines because
[38:23] they were on their
[38:24] property and they
[38:25] hit them, but
[38:27] we couldn't
[38:28] solve anything. So
[38:30] Dave, the foreman from
[38:31] Greenwood, and I went
[38:32] there and ended up
[38:33] fixing it ourselves. So
[38:35] we managed to
[38:36] get the water back on in
[38:37] Greenwood. But again
[38:40] , without any...We
[38:42] looked at all the
[38:43] Greenwood maps or
[38:44] resource maps here.
[38:46] We can't find
[38:47] any maps that
[38:48] show where
[38:48] these
[38:49] water lines are, and
[38:50] there are kilometers,
[38:51] probably kilometers, of
[38:52] water lines.
[38:53] There are so many
[38:54] poles, probably
[38:55] hundreds of poles there in
[38:56] Greenwood.
[38:57] Ahem.
[38:59] So, not knowing exactly
[39:01] where they enter the, uh,
[39:02] Jewish part
[39:03] there.
[39:05] Ahem.
[39:06] Without knowing where they
[39:07] enter and exit,
[39:08] um, we would have to
[39:09] dig all this up to
[39:11] shut down this
[39:11] service. So,
[39:14] at this point, it's
[39:15] simply cheaper
[39:16] to provide them with services
[39:17] than to
[39:18] spend money
[39:19] digging all
[39:20] this up to shut
[39:21] it down. Therefore.
[39:22] Thanks for fixing
[39:23] that.
[39:30] Good. Um, I don't know
[39:31] if we've had any
[39:32] updates on the, uh,
[39:34] ordinance that we're
[39:35] trying to pass
[39:36] , or the changes to the
[39:37] ordinance regarding...
[39:38] I stopped
[39:40] by the mayor's office today, and the young
[39:41] woman at the, uh, front desk
[39:42] said
[39:44] that they're working on
[39:45] a few people to
[39:46] get them involved. Therefore.
[39:49] And what? So is it correct
[39:51] that they can be
[39:52] outside? You see,
[39:54] we haven't adopted this
[39:55] resolution yet. It has to
[39:57] go through approval from, uh
[39:59] , the city attorney
[40:00] , and then it has to be
[40:01] voted on by the council.
[40:04] Okay, so we're still a
[40:05] long way from...
[40:07] Well, they're
[40:08] working on the
[40:09] budget right now, so that's
[40:10] kind of pushed it to the
[40:11] back burner, but I have
[40:12] Council Member Randy Adney
[40:14] and Council Member Nancy
[40:15] Boldenour
[40:16] sponsoring it. So,
[40:18] when they go through the
[40:19] budget process,
[40:20] then we
[40:21] can probably come back
[40:22] to this issue.
[40:26] And I will remember this tonight
[40:28] . Well,
[40:29] I meant...
[40:32] Well, it should be soon.
[40:37] Any other calls
[40:38] , old business?
[40:40] I don't know if this is old
[40:42] business, but I had a
[40:43] question when
[40:44] I was talking to Don and
[40:45] Kevin. Do we
[40:49] as an organization have the right
[40:50] to accept donations
[40:51] from the public?
[40:53] I would have to
[40:54] talk to the city
[40:55] attorney. I think there
[40:56] should be some kind of
[40:58] donation account where this
[40:59] money would go.
[41:00] Or at least some
[41:02] line item in our
[41:02] budget so we
[41:03] have a place where we
[41:04] can put this money
[41:05] . So I would have to
[41:07] check that out.
[41:09] Regarding
[41:10] volunteers, have
[41:11] we ever encountered any
[41:12] problems with
[41:13] this?
[41:13] Yes, no, for
[41:14] insurance reasons?
[41:15] Right. No, I
[41:16] understand that, but I wonder
[41:18] about the real money.
[41:20] If someone is so
[41:21] concerned about
[41:23] having a
[41:24] pet cemetery
[41:25] , I mean
[41:27] , who knows. Someone could
[41:29] make a huge
[41:30] donation that
[41:31] would allow this to happen,
[41:32] but there's no point in it
[41:33] .
[41:33] Of course, if someone
[41:34] wanted to make a
[41:34] huge
[41:35] donation, we would
[41:36] find a way. a
[41:37] way to accept it.
[41:38] I think this is funny,
[41:40] everyone. You hear about this
[41:42] . You know, people
[41:43] take care of their
[41:44] pets, that...
[41:45] What?
[41:46] Pet owners
[41:47] are
[41:48] pet owners. They
[41:49] consider them children.
[41:50] Of course. Oh, of course. I have it
[41:52] .
[41:53] I have
[41:54] pets. Me too.
[41:56] Me
[41:56] too. I take care of
[41:57] my feet, I take
[41:59] them to the doctor like a
[42:00] child.
[42:00] Yes.
[42:01] So I just can't
[42:03] claim it on
[42:04] my taxes. Yes,
[42:06] don't mess with
[42:07] my animals. Katie
[42:09] will be behind you. Emm. Are there
[42:14] other old cases we don't know about
[42:15] ?
[42:17] In the finance section...
[42:18] Our regulations
[42:20] talk about
[42:20] gifts. See?
[42:24] Gifts, donations.
[42:26] So this is listed in
[42:27] our resolution.
[42:29] Acceptance...Yes.
[42:32] So you can
[42:33] accept...
[42:33] We can. We can
[42:37] accept...accept
[42:38] if someone is
[42:39] watching. Yes.
[42:41] If we ever
[42:42] define the area we have
[42:44] at the
[42:45] moment...
[42:46] Yes.
[42:46] Okay then.
[42:47] Move on with
[42:49] any new
[42:49] things.
[42:56] Swans. They are here. When did
[42:59] they appear?
[43:01] Tomorrow, the 17th of last
[43:03] month, it seems.
[43:07] And when, when the fence is removed
[43:09] , do they usually
[43:10] stay? Apparently that's the
[43:14] plan, because we
[43:15] still plan to
[43:16] put the swans in
[43:17] our shelter for the winter.
[43:19] So the plan is,
[43:20] probably a couple of
[43:21] weeks before we
[43:22] have to
[43:23] take them in, we'll take down the
[43:24] fence, just to
[43:25] see if
[43:26] they try to
[43:27] get lost. Because if
[43:29] they try,
[43:30] maybe we'll just
[43:31] install it
[43:32] again in the spring for
[43:33] a while until they get
[43:34] used to it.
[43:36] It's clear that we didn't
[43:37] put up a fence
[43:38] to prohibit
[43:39] public access
[43:41] or anything like that.
[43:42] Obviously we don't
[43:43] encourage people to
[43:44] feed them, but that's not the
[43:46] purpose of the fence, but it's been
[43:47] really nice the
[43:48] last month or
[43:49] couple of weeks that they've
[43:50] been with us, having that
[43:51] fence just gave
[43:53] me peace of mind not having to
[43:54] worry about them
[43:55] at night.
[43:57] They are new to the
[43:58] area. They need to
[43:59] acclimatize to
[44:00] the area so they
[44:01] know their
[44:02] terrain and don't
[44:02] fight each other.
[44:06] Maybe, besides that,
[44:07] we can remove the
[44:08] fence when we're
[44:09] sure they're not
[44:10] just going for a walk.
[44:12] Yes. I mean, is it
[44:13] in their nature,
[44:15] their animal
[44:16] nature, to stay? I
[44:17] ... It
[44:18] 's hard to say.
[44:19] The last group
[44:20] we had, um, I think
[44:22] the first year I was
[44:23] here, they
[44:24] got lost on the highway.
[44:25] Roxanne had to
[44:26] go out there and
[44:27] chase them away. But,
[44:28] well, that was the
[44:30] fence line. I walked
[44:31] them all the way to
[44:32] the end, and I just…
[44:33] of course, I didn't hit
[44:34] them, but, I mean
[44:36] , I walked them, and
[44:37] then I actually
[44:38] turned around and
[44:39] led them back with the broom
[44:40] , hoping
[44:41] they would turn around.
[44:42] Wow. But I think
[44:44] a lot of it had to do
[44:45] with the fact that,
[44:46] according to the
[44:47] autopsy, they
[44:48] were both females. But
[44:49] they were still
[44:50] trying to find a
[44:52] nesting site during
[44:53] nesting season. So
[44:54] hopefully
[44:55] we won't
[44:56] do that with two males.
[45:01] Unless they go
[45:02] looking for a mate.
[45:03] Right.
[45:04] Yes. Is there, I
[45:06] mean, is there a
[45:06] possibility that we
[45:07] could have a permanent
[45:09] fence that would be
[45:10] something attractive?
[45:12] Well, again, I would
[45:13] consider
[45:14] getting a quote
[45:15] this year to
[45:16] see what
[45:17] comes of it.
[45:17] Especially if it
[45:18] will save you worries
[45:20] on the weekend.
[45:25] Perfectly. Something else?
[45:30] Comment from Mr.
[45:31] Mellon.
[45:32] Yes, there are actually a bunch of
[45:33] things. Hmm, Ms. Kavna is
[45:35] certainly an interesting and
[45:37] experienced woman.
[45:38] Hmm.
[45:39] But we all love
[45:41] our
[45:42] pets, but domestic
[45:43] cats, uh, kill
[45:45] an estimated 2.24
[45:46] billion birds a
[45:47] year in America. They are
[45:49] one of the
[45:49] most dangerous
[45:50] creatures affecting
[45:52] our
[45:53] bird population. So, even
[45:54] if you love cats,
[45:55] they shouldn't be
[45:56] outside. Nevertheless
[45:58] , thanks to Jeff and the
[46:02] team for
[46:03] fixing this
[46:04] water issue. This is a
[46:06] really good thing. It's
[46:09] disappointing to hear that another
[46:10] group has not fulfilled
[46:11] its responsibilities. Um,
[46:15] regarding this, uh, those of
[46:17] you who don't understand
[46:18] memorandums of
[46:19] understanding, the
[46:20] memorandum of
[46:21] understanding, it's
[46:22] technically a legally
[46:23] binding
[46:24] document, but it's
[46:25] just us, this one
[46:26] essentially says that the
[46:27] council and the mosque will
[46:29] collaborate on the
[46:30] skull. They have no
[46:33] obligations to
[46:34] anyone other than to
[46:35] work together and
[46:36] effectively. So, I
[46:39] know that, and I thank you. I
[46:41] ...I...I've
[46:41] talked to Jeff twice
[46:43] about this. I am very grateful to the council
[46:44] for being
[46:45] so open to the
[46:46] Islamic garden. It
[46:47] was very
[46:47] encouraging for
[46:48] this member of
[46:49] the public to hear
[46:50] another member of
[46:50] the public
[46:51] speak with understanding
[46:52] about Islam. Um, boy,
[46:57] I should have taken
[46:58] notes because there was a
[46:59] ton of stuff in there. Oh yeah, I
[47:00] was going to start from the
[47:01] beginning. I
[47:02] was born on a hot
[47:04] summer day, July
[47:06] 1965, in Chicago. My
[47:08] grandfather...sorry, I'm
[47:12] trying to think of
[47:13] what I...There were a lot of
[47:14] things I wanted to bring up
[47:16] . Oh,
[47:16] the most important thing is that
[47:18] you have a resolution. I didn't
[47:19] notice that you
[47:20] discussed
[47:21] an ordinance or that
[47:22] you have an ordinance
[47:23] proposed to
[47:24] expand
[47:26] your potential council members beyond the
[47:27] city limits of Mission City. I am
[47:29] ready to serve in
[47:30] this district.
[47:31] School district. I
[47:33] have some interest in
[47:34] ...I think I have things
[47:35] I could
[47:36] offer this
[47:37] council, but given
[47:39] my religion, our
[47:40] religion, you
[47:41] don't usually buy your seat
[47:42] in advance. When your
[47:44] time runs out, you are
[47:45] buried. So, we do
[47:47] n't actually have
[47:48] pre-purchased
[47:49] places in Islamic
[47:50] gardens. Um, I'm working,
[47:54] so they don't...they
[47:55] don't generally
[47:56] assign seats
[47:57] in advance. There are
[48:01] some internal things going on there now,
[48:02] but according to Islam, it
[48:03] works best
[48:04] overall. So I would like
[48:08] you to either
[48:09] consider
[48:09] wording that would
[48:10] extend this to
[48:11] men, that
[48:13] somehow someone has to be
[48:14] buried here, but
[48:15] because it's like it's
[48:16] forbidden to buy a
[48:17] place. If there was
[48:20] some other way
[48:21] to meet these
[48:22] criteria, or if there was a
[48:24] valid exception to
[48:25] this condition, because
[48:26] simply religion
[48:27] excludes what is
[48:28] required to
[48:29] join your
[48:30] council. And I think
[48:32] considering a few
[48:33] things here, helping
[48:36] someone...I think I would be
[48:37] very helpful in
[48:39] helping in two
[48:40] ways.
[48:41] Helping
[48:41] to advance this
[48:42] master
[48:43] planning. I am very
[48:44] inclined towards
[48:45] construction or
[48:46] real estate. I
[48:47] also have, to be honest
[48:48] , extremely
[48:50] high financial
[48:51] acumen.
[48:52] Hmm.
[48:54] I just...And it
[48:55] hurts me to hear your
[48:56] financial statements.
[48:59] It hurts. I understand that
[49:02] the cemetery has different
[49:03] needs than the general
[49:04] public. Um, in
[49:10] our
[49:11] conservative
[49:12] retirement account that
[49:13] I've been managing since the
[49:14] beginning of the year, we've
[49:15] grown a little less
[49:17] than 13% year-to-date
[49:18] in a
[49:18] conservative
[49:19] long-term
[49:20] retirement account,
[49:22] which, by the way, throws out
[49:23] over 5% dividend
[49:24] yield. So, it
[49:26] throws away a lot of
[49:27] money, and it
[49:28] grows. So I
[49:30] think given
[49:32] the terms that
[49:33] cemeteries have, which
[49:34] are effectively perpetual,
[49:35] if your law, if
[49:36] the law requires you to
[49:38] have very
[49:39] conservative
[49:40] investments, of course, but if
[49:41] you're forced to be
[49:42] completely in
[49:43] bonds, you're almost
[49:44] forced to lose
[49:46] money over time. If you
[49:48] don't get a lot of
[49:49] winnings... Whereas
[49:51] if you had the
[49:51] right portion of
[49:52] the right things, you would
[49:54] get a much
[49:55] better return. One
[49:57] idea I have is to
[49:58] buy a
[50:00] dividend-paying growth stock fund
[50:01] for this purpose in our
[50:02] lives. Well, over time,
[50:03] interest, your
[50:04] dividends not only
[50:05] buy more shares,
[50:06] so you get
[50:07] more dividends, you
[50:09] know, you're probably all
[50:10] familiar with this. But with
[50:11] rising
[50:12] dividends, the
[50:13] yield increases over
[50:14] time depending on
[50:15] your initial
[50:16] purchase. The idea is
[50:17] that if you had
[50:18] bought this position 20
[50:19] years ago, you would
[50:20] probably be losing
[50:21] over $10,000 in
[50:22] cash per month and
[50:24] you have the initial
[50:25] investment
[50:25] multipliers. So
[50:27] I don't know how
[50:28] flexible your
[50:29] financial rules are,
[50:30] but I think with the
[50:31] right help
[50:32] you could achieve
[50:33] much better
[50:34] results, because
[50:35] money is always an
[50:36] issue in all
[50:37] municipal
[50:38] affairs. Um, I was
[50:41] disappointed with that.
[50:43] It was painful to hear his
[50:44] reports that you had
[50:45] grown by 2/10 percent
[50:47] , you know, by 0.02, 2/100
[50:48] percent. And to hear that
[50:50] you've declined since
[50:50] the beginning of the year, while
[50:52] the market has grown significantly over the past
[50:53] few years
[50:54] . So, we
[50:55] need growth
[50:56] to finance our
[50:57] activities, to
[50:58] invest capital,
[50:59] to build new gardens,
[51:00] to build roads,
[51:01] to lay drainage. It would be
[51:02] very helpful
[51:03] if we could be
[51:04] a little more
[51:04] aggressive on this
[51:05] issue. It takes time for
[51:06] it to matter
[51:07] . But I think in
[51:08] that regard, if I
[51:09] could join
[51:10] this board, I could
[51:10] help Marshall with the
[51:11] master
[51:12] planning. I think I
[51:13] have a good voice
[51:14] there, and I think I could
[51:15] offer
[51:16] some help in making sure
[51:17] we invest a little better
[51:18] to
[51:19] increase the
[51:20] money pile for the cemetery.
[51:22] Um, but if you
[51:23] can think of a
[51:24] way that a member of the
[51:25] Islamic Center
[51:26] could join the
[51:28] board, that would open up
[51:29] that opportunity for me. And
[51:30] since you have a
[51:31] resolution that
[51:32] you're working on, maybe
[51:33] some wording
[51:34] there could
[51:35] work.
[51:36] Um, can I
[51:37] answer you?
[51:38] Of course.
[51:39] Um, we are governed by
[51:40] state law
[51:41] .
[51:42] Of course.
[51:45] Indiana law
[51:46] states that you
[51:47] must own the
[51:50] cemetery plot and also
[51:51] reside in the county
[51:52] where the cemetery is located
[51:53] . So, we are
[51:57] obligated to do this. So,
[51:59] if you don't have a
[52:00] document in your
[52:02] name, this won't work.
[52:04] So sad.
[52:05] Enjoy
[52:06] your 100% profits.
[52:07] Yes. I know, but
[52:09] thank you, Caroline.
[52:10] Yes, sorry.
[52:11] Well, I mean,
[52:12] if
[52:13] I could change it.
[52:14] I could maybe
[52:15] discuss this with the
[52:16] city attorney
[52:18] to find out...I know
[52:19] what the
[52:20] residency requirements are that are
[52:21] set by
[52:22] state law
[52:24] , but, uh, I don't think it's a
[52:25] state law
[52:26] that, uh, requires that a
[52:28] member be appointed by
[52:29] the mayor. Uh, I don't think it
[52:30] says that. It's
[52:32] our city
[52:32] ordinance that
[52:33] says the mayor
[52:34] appoints all
[52:35] members. So maybe
[52:36] there's some way we
[52:38] could appoint
[52:39] one position on the board
[52:40] that would perhaps be
[52:41] appointed on the
[52:42] recommendation of,
[52:43] for example, the
[52:44] Islamic Center,
[52:45] because I think the
[52:46] Islamic section is
[52:48] really the only section
[52:49] here that is their own
[52:50] true
[52:51] section. Yes, we have a
[52:52] Jewish section.
[52:54] They own their
[52:55] property, but we do
[52:56] n't really have any
[52:57] other sections that
[52:58] really have
[52:59] religious restrictions,
[53:00] because that's the only
[53:01] place you can
[53:02] bury in that section
[53:03] . So that's exactly what I
[53:05] can discuss with you
[53:06] . Yeah, I
[53:07] mean, this is something
[53:08] we've never
[53:10] encountered before.
[53:12] And the thing is, it's a
[53:13] religious barrier
[53:14] that adds to the real
[53:16] danger...
[53:18] Mmm...
[53:19] But you know, I
[53:20] understand the laws, but I
[53:21] didn't know if you were governed
[53:23] by local, you know,
[53:24] your rules.
[53:26] We...Yes, or our decree
[53:28] says that you should be
[53:29] allocated a place in the
[53:30] cemetery.
[53:31] And that's what I
[53:32] mean, if you're
[53:32] working on a new
[53:33] expansion, who's
[53:34] eligible, maybe something
[53:35] will be done. I
[53:36] think Jeff said that's a
[53:37] really good thing, because
[53:38] let's... I appreciate
[53:39] everyone's openness,
[53:40] you know, Islam is
[53:41] one of the three major
[53:43] monotheistic
[53:43] religions of the world. Islam,
[53:44] Judaism, and Catholicism
[53:46] are what I wanted to
[53:47] add there earlier.
[53:48] Christianity, you
[53:49] mean?
[53:50] What did I say?
[53:51] Catholicism.
[53:52] Sorry. My mistake.
[53:55] I don't really like
[53:56] religion. But I'm saying it's the
[53:58] same set of
[53:59] characters. Islam and
[54:01] Christianity. My
[54:04] brother-in-law's name is Abraham.
[54:07] Mhm.
[54:08] Uh, Yahya—this is uh, John.
[54:10] OK. in
[54:11] Arabic. Um, it's the
[54:12] same set of
[54:13] characters. They
[54:14] believe that Islam
[54:15] believes in Jesus as a
[54:16] prophet. Their religion
[54:17] says that
[54:18] another came after him, and that
[54:19] was Muhammad. Um, but
[54:20] they don't rule out what
[54:21] came before it
[54:22] . Believe me. If that's
[54:23] worth anything. So it's
[54:24] one of those, it's
[54:25] one of the three great
[54:26] monotheistic
[54:27] religions. God is God. The
[54:28] Arabic word for
[54:29] God is, er,
[54:30] Allah. The same God.
[54:31] is God. So it's not
[54:33] different. This is not another
[54:35] deity. These are
[54:37] not even different prophets.
[54:38] My wife's last name is
[54:38] Mussa, which
[54:39] means Moses, and
[54:40] they are from Nazareth, which
[54:41] I thought was
[54:42] really biblical in
[54:43] that regard. So
[54:45] I thought that was
[54:45] pretty interesting. But this is
[54:47] not some fringe
[54:48] religion or something that
[54:48] we should
[54:49] make exceptions for. It is
[54:50] one of the three
[54:51] largest world
[54:52] religions, and by some
[54:53] arguments, it is the
[54:54] number one most
[54:55] populous religion in the world. It's
[54:56] one or two. Hmm, so it's
[54:58] one of the
[54:58] world's largest religions,
[54:59] perhaps despite
[55:00] current claims in the
[55:01] press. Hmm, but
[55:05] certainly in this
[55:06] region it is very
[55:06] moderate, and nothing
[55:07] worldly. So I'm
[55:11] thinking about being a
[55:12] liaison...
[55:13] Yeah. or council.
[55:15] If possible, the mayor
[55:16] can appoint you
[55:17] there. Do you understand? Because that
[55:21] would...
[55:21] As I said, I have a
[55:22] lot of opportunities.
[55:23] Some of you know...
[55:25] Yes,
[55:25] you know me.
[55:26] Yes.
[55:27] I have a decent
[55:28] level of trust as a
[55:29] fairly serious and
[55:30] solid person.
[55:32] Right.
[55:32] Hmm, and I think
[55:33] you guys aren't that much of a
[55:35] people person...
[55:35] Hmm...you mean?
[55:37] Yes.
[55:38] You could do
[55:39] a lot worse than I did.
[55:40] Well, it's not that
[55:41] we don't want you,
[55:42] it's that we
[55:43] have to make it
[55:44] work.
[55:45] I understand.
[55:46] Yes.
[55:46] But this is what I...So
[55:47] if there's a way I'd
[55:48] like to
[55:49] help you, I think it would be
[55:50] mutually beneficial.
[55:51] You know,
[55:52] and I just want to
[55:52] add, this is not a
[55:53] marginal religion,
[55:54] so are we going to have to
[55:55] make exceptions for
[55:56] this group, that
[55:56] group, and this group?
[55:57] That won't happen, I don't
[55:59] think. By the way, if I
[56:00] didn't know,
[56:01] cremation is forbidden by
[56:02] Islam, so we
[56:03] can't have
[56:04] small spaces here.
[56:05] These should be
[56:06] full-size
[56:07] human burials.
[56:08] Yes. This is Islam.
[56:09] Good.
[56:10] Thank you.
[56:11] for sharing.
[56:17] Okay, is there any
[56:18] unfinished business?
[56:24] Last point.
[56:25] I propose to close the
[56:26] meeting. I propose to
[56:27] close the meeting. I
[56:30] support
[56:31] this.
[56:31] All in favor?
[56:33] Yes.
[56:34] Perfectly. Of course, but
[56:35] we don't even
[56:36] need to vote
[56:37] because you all said "
[56:38] yes."