Amendment to cemetery bylaw, grant funding for a newly formed society at recent Council meeting

The Town of Whitecourt’s cemetery bylaw saw a recent change. At the February 21 Policies and Priorities meeting, the committee (comprised of council members) reviewed the proposed amendment to Clause 7.5 of Cemetery Bylaw 1563. Chief Administrative Officer Peter Smyl explained that Administration occasionally receives requests to do something outside of what is set out in the bylaw.

One recent request concerned the number of remains allowed within a columbarium niche. “Administration was approached by the general public in regard to a request to allow three remains in a single columbarium niche,” explained Smyl. He said that the current practice was that any request that fell outside of the bylaw had to go through the Cemetery Superintendent, which is Smyl. “I would rather have some structure as to what’s allowed and what’s not allowed,” he said.

The previous bylaw allowed for a maximum of two urns per niche. Before bringing the proposed change to the Policies and Priorities meeting, Administration confirmed that the space within the niche would allow the three cremains to fit together and that the inscription on the front of the niche, with all three names together, would conform to the Town’s standard for the columbarium. 

“What administration is proposing to Council is that if we get a request that comes in, and the niche physically allows it in size, and the inscription meets the policy, that we will allow that request,” said Smyl. He explained that the change is about working with residents. “There are some unique situations that do arise that we would like to have some direction for. We wanted to make it known for people out there that if they had a situation where they saw a benefit of having three (urns), that we would allow them to do that.”

To be approved to have more than two urns in one niche, three requirements must be met; a written request, confirmation that the urns will fit within the niche space, and that the inscription on the front conforms to the bylaw’s requirements. As per the Town of Whitecourt website, the inscribed plate must be in a Modified Roman font and contain surname, given name(s), year of birth and year of death. Each niche and plate are uniform in size.

When asked if it would be possible for more than three to be requested, Smyl said three was already stretching it. “In a single columbarium niche, three would be the max for sure, even just for the size of the nameplate on the outside. If you can fit three, then why not give the opportunity to allow it? It would just be an extra service,” he added.

The Policies and Priorities Committee (P&P) unanimously voted to send the recommended changes to the next Council meeting for implementation. On February 27, Council’s last regular meeting of the month, Administration brought forward the recommendation from P&P. Council passed all three readings unanimously, officially updating the Cemetery Bylaw (1563), giving residents flexibility should they need it.

There are currently two columbaria at the Whitecourt Cemetery. Each side holds 30 niches. One columbarium is completely filled, and the second has just over a dozen spots left. It was mentioned in the meeting that a third columbarium has been ordered and is expected to arrive this summer.

Also, during the February 27 Council meeting, Stepping Stones–Early Learning Society received grant funding through the Town of Whitecourt’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS). Community organizations planning to provide preventively-aimed social programs can apply for funding each year. The Town of Whitecourt sets aside $50,000 in the operating budget to fund the grant program, giving lots of room for organizations to apply. The funding can support things like rent, utilities, and equipment, as well as supporting volunteer training and supervision.

FCSS mandates must be met to qualify for funding, including helping people become self-reliant, building resiliency, and promoting/helping people develop positive social relationships. Organizations must also support people to remain active participants in the community, empower them to address social issues and influence change, and be preventive.

Stepping Stones–Early Learning Society applied for $3,028 to establish a targeted parent support program. The program aims to offer targeted workshops on topics like autism, speech and language development, anxiety, literacy foundations, and single fatherhood. Funds acquired through the FCSS funding will go towards providing take-home resources for parents, coordination of the program, and autism facilitation.

Whitecourt Town Council voted unanimously to award Stepping Stones-Early Learning Society with the full grant allotment they applied for. Those interested in learning more about the FCSS grant funding opportunity are encouraged to visit www.whitecourt.ca and type FCSS into the search bar. Resources that will pop up include the eight-page fillable application form that details what is and isn’t allowed, letting organizations know if they qualify.