The Medford Township proposed purchase of the Park View Cemetery is nearing a final decision.
Two final meetings were held over the past week to present all the information to the public and to get their reactions on the matter. After concluding the meetings, the Medford Township Council is now in the process of sorting through the residents’ feedback.
“We (the council) think we’ve shown over the years that we listen to what the residents say, but ultimately this is our decision,” Deputy Mayor Jeff Beenstock said.
Beenstock and Mayor Chuck Watson have taken the lead on this project and felt they were doing the public a justice by putting together this presentation and fielding public comments.
The town is looking to generate a new, annual source of revenue.
“Each year, the township must supplement the funds raised by taxes with other sources of revenue to balance the budget,” Beenstock said.
The total projected revenue in 2015 is $20.16 million. The projected amount to be raised by taxes is $12.22 million, leaving a difference of $7.94 million. There are virtually no guaranteed sources of annual revenue, according to Beenstock, so the goal of the cemetery purchase is to reduce dependence on one-time revenues.
Beenstock said the Medford Cemetery Association approached the township about purchasing the cemetery more than a year ago. The association is a non-profit organization formed in 2008 to manage the old OddFellows Cemetery in Medford Village. The organization opened the Park View Cemetery at Kirby’s Mill in 2013.
“When I first looked into this, I thought this would never happen, but the more I looked into it, the stronger I felt,” Beenstock said.
The Park View Cemetery consists of two locations, one in historic Medford Village and the other in the Kirby’s Mill location. The original purchase price will be $10.88 million and the targeted closing date to purchase the cemetery is Dec. 30.
The approximate breakdown of the purchase price is as follows: $5 million to pay holders of certificates of indebtedness, $160,000 for accrued interest to certificate holders, $1.55 million to repay unsecured notes to the current owner Earl Stahl, $1.02 million to repay unsecured notes to other certificate holders, $370,830 to repay secured note, and $2.78 million to partially reimburse construction costs.
The cemetery is expected to be operated by a cemetery management company and is also expected to be completely self-sufficient.
The anticipated revenue stream is more than $80 million over 50 years, after payment of all expenses, maintenance, debt service and trust fund contributions. The projections were based on actual revenue reported by other New Jersey cemeteries on their tax returns that were approved by the State Cemetery Board in March 2010.
Beenstock referred to this as a unique investment opportunity several times throughout his presentation. One reason he quoted is cemeteries are tax-exempt.
Another reason being is the actual income of the cemetery exceeded the projected income by 50 percent in 2014. It also has increased 80 percent thus far in 2015 through February.
A common concern of many residents is why the current owner would be trying to sell if this was such a great source of revenue. Stahl, the current owner of the Park View Cemetery, said he wants to sell because he has a substantial amount of debt. This would give him the opportunity to make a return on his investment, and he is content with the offer after working his tail off his whole life.
“The cemetery provides more potential for a town to own because it will deliver revenue over a long-term period, whereas Earl would be about 80 years old before he started to reap the benefits of his hard work,” Beenstock said.
A number of residents also wanted to know the religious affiliation of the cemetery. Council assured them that it was non denominational.
A closing suggestion proposed by some residents that has already been recommended by Stahl is the idea of a veteran’s cemetery.
After Saturday’s final meeting with the public, the council now looks on to tie up loose ends and make a final decision to meet the targeted closing date of Dec. 30 if approved.
