DATE: September 24, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Nathan Magsig, Supervisor, District 5
Administrative Office
SUBJECT: Discuss Dunlap Cemetery District
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Discuss and provide direction regarding the Dunlap Cemetery District
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow for discussion and direction from your Board regarding County of Fresno’s response and actions to the current situation at the Dunlap Cemetery District (District). This item pertains to a location within District 5.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose not to provide direction to staff for the County of Fresno’s response and actions to the situation at the District. However, providing no direction would mean that staff would not have a clear path forward in addressing the issues being faced by the Dunlap Cemetery District.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase to Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions.
DISCUSSION:
The District is an independent district governed by a Board of Trustees (District Board) that are appointed by the Fresno County Board Supervisor representing District 5. The District Board for has a total of three (3) trustee seats appointed to four-year terms. The District is located in the eastern portion of the County of Fresno. The infrastructure of the District consists of one three-acre cemetery facility that contains one low-maintenance building. The District’s boundaries are rather complex and encompass the Dunlap area, within the upper portion of the Sierra Nevada foothills. According to the last Municipal Service Review (MSR) done by the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) in 2017, the District service area consists of an estimated 1,654 population.
The District has operated as a public cemetery since 1941. Prior to 1941, the Dunlap Cemetery operated as a private cemetery since its creation in the late 1800s. In the aforementioned MSR, a financial deficit is highlighted which was identified by the Auditor’s Office. According to the MSR the District was collecting insufficient annual revenues to cover annual operational expenses. The District had no paid staff and worked only with volunteers, which mostly consisted of the three District Board trustees. During the time that the MSR was drafted the District Board consisted of three (3) board trustees.
In October of 2023, the three (3) board trustees resigned leaving the District with no active District Board. Since that time, District 5 has actively sought volunteers for the District Board. There was one application for the District Board submitted to the Clerk to the Board in late August, however, the applicant did not meet qualifications.
Since the resignation of all Board Trustees, the County has received invoices for services to the District. Until there is an active District Board, under current conditions, the invoices cannot be paid. In July 2024, the County had to locate a cemetery district who would service a family to bury a deceased family member who had already prepaid for a cemetery plot.
The recommended action is that your Board discuss the situation at the District and provide direction to staff for next steps up to and including dissolution of the District.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
LAFCo - Municipal Service Review for Dunlap Cemetery District
CAO ANALYST:
Amina Flores-Becker