The Batavia Township Board of Trustees shared the stage in a joint meeting Tuesday night with the Village of Batavia in a joint gathering, which in part was held to discuss the jointly-operated Batavia Union Cemetery. Honored during the meeting were former cemetery workers Butch and Charlene Castle, as well as cartographer Bud Lung.
“After 12 and a half years of service, our sexton and clerk treasurer have retired,” said John Waite, cemetery board member. “They’ve given many years of service and we’d like to express our gratitude for that. We’ve hired a new sexton and we’ve hired another clerk treasurer, so the good service should continue. We’re changing the procedure some, in we’re making it more professional. We want people to actually come to the village office to contact people. We’re discouraging any calls late at night to any of our employees. Use the village number for the point of contact.”
According to a report from the village, the cemetery last year cost over $70,000 to operate, but brought in over $69,000 in revenue. The shortfall was in part due to a paving project, which cost $14,000, as well as from regular expenditures which included $12,000 for 14 mowings.