Minutes

CITY OF BERLIN OAKWOOD CEMETERY BOARD MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY JUNE 17, 2026 6:00 P.M. CITY CONFERENCE ROOM 1.) Call to Order: Nancy Gimenez called the May Oakwood Cemetery Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Roll Call: Board members present were Beyer, Gimenez, LaBuda, Lichtfuss and Seaman. Staff in attendance were Brittani Majeskie, Deputy Clerk-Treasurer; Joe Drover, Cemetery Sexton; and Jamie Cauley, liaison board member. Absent were Blazel and Erdmann. There was a quorum. 2.) General Public Comments: Meeting was open to the public. There were no public comments. 3.) Minutes from May 20, 2026 meeting: The minutes from May 20, 2026 were reviewed. A motion by Seaman to accept the minutes, second by Beyer. The motion carried by voice vote. 4.) Financial Report: A. Review CD Rates: Majeskie presented information on the renewal of the 3 CD’s that are coming due in the next couple weeks (6/22, 6/25, & 6/28). Discussion followed and Seaman made a motion to have Majeskie check with Farmers and Merchants Bank to see if they could match the going CD rate of 4.09% for 23 months offered at Fortifi Bank for CD #1748 for $352,698.52, with Plan B being if they don’t match the 4.09% rate to then move the money and open a new CD account at Fortifi Bank. Second by Beyer. The motion was carried by a voice vote. Seaman made a second motion to keep the other two smaller CD’s ($58,000.00 & $15,000.00) at Farmers and Merchants Bank at the current rate of 3.75% for 8 months. Second by Beyer. The motion was carried by a voice vote. B. Memorial Day Donation: Gimenez noted they received a total of $54.00 from the Memorial Day presentation. 5.) Old Business: A. Lighting Project Update: Gimenez reported that Lighting Squad said they will be able to start work mid-July and should have work done by the end of summer. Majeskie said the Common Council approved the new project and the deposit check to Lighting Squad was mailed out. Gimenez said the electrical work needs to be completed before Lighting Squad can start so Drover will make sure that Zabel contacts Jon Lundt to get work started as soon as possible. Gimenez said there was a question on the monthly cost of lighting. She found out that the LED lights total cost are about $5.00/month. Drover noted that anytime the power goes out, the light timer has to be reset or the lights won’t go back on as scheduled. Gimenez asked board members to let them know if anyone notices lights not lit. B. DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Historic Preservation Grant Follow Up Seaman contacted the American Legion and spoke with Barb Resop who did research and felt they needed to match the grant. Lichtfuss checked with Cindy Wallace (HCE) and Debi Dowen (ABC). Both had questions about who would be writing the grant and how the transfer of funds would take place. Gimenez will check with the grant person to get more specific details and will postpone this for future discussion. C. Arboretum Update Gimenez noted that she spoke with Sue who recommended having a map of the trees included with the Arboretum application. Once the application is submitted it only takes 1-2 weeks for approval. 1. Tree Update: Gimenez asked if a tulip tree was missing from section 10 or 11. Drover said yes, section 11. The tulip tree that was purchased from Bloch’s had no buds this spring and didn’t survive the winter. The fencing worked to protect it from deer. Gimenez reported that she contacted Lynette at Marty’s Blue Sky about purchasing 6 new trees. Drover offered that they could plant earlier in the season if that would help. 2. Watering of Newer Trees: Gimenez asked about the schedule of watering. Drover stated Oakwood Cemetery owns a water tank used for watering the perpetual plants and trees. They do so at the beginning and end of the week during the dry season. 3. Mapping Trees: Gimenez noted that for the Arboretum and Walking Tour purposes a map of the trees is needed. The map can be simple, maybe even a QR code that people could access on their phones. Gimenez noted that Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee is a great resource for ideas. She will work with Majeskie on developing a map. D. Memorial Day Event Report: Gimenez and Seaman felt the event was well attended. People saw the signage out on the sidewalk, and they were very interested in the chapel and the history. There were 31 attendees, with a lot being families with children. E. Priority Areas for Oakwood Cemetery Survey: Gimenez asked everyone to complete the survey and note their top 3 choices. During discussion it was noted that there is a public bathroom in the shed, which was something the board thought would be good to have signage for. F. CIMS Follow Up - Brittani: Majeskie contacted CIMS regarding ground penetrating radar and they had additional questions such as age of burials, soil composition, topography, and width of graves. Discussion followed with LaBuda noting that Potters Field has been filled over with 3-4 feet of dirt/fill to level the ground over the years. LaBuda explained the cemetery already reclaimed 70% of the area that the area where the tornado went through and the cost to proceed with any ground penetration wouldn’t be worth it in the long run. He noted that there’s also 15 acres of undeveloped land and plenty of plots still available at this time. Oakwood Board agreed this was no longer a needed discussion. Majeskie presented an example of how CIMS can be used to locate a person at the cemetery. She noted that the Burial Search link she emailed everyone allows for finding people, but not trees. 6.) New Business A). Review of Memorial and Bequest Form: Gimenez noted that there is a difference in the definitions of Memorial and Bequest. After discussion, the Board agreed it would be best to condense the form and have it be less specific to what area the money would go to. Some questions came up: Are donations tax deductible? Can the information and a link to donations be put on the website? Seaman offered to work on the form and bring it to a future meeting for approval. B). Review Contact Information for the City Directory: Completed prior to meeting. C). Review Space Repurchase Language in Fee Schedule: Majeskie stated there has been some confusion between the wording of E. Transfer of Title to Graves #3. Regarding repurchase of easements, and Space Repurchase Prices under the Oakwood Cemetery Fee Schedule. After discussion, Lichtfuss made a motion to eliminate the words “at a cost” from the sentence in #3 Repurchase of easements by City of Berlin shall be in accordance with the Fee Schedule, second by Seaman. The motion was carried by a voice vote. Majeskie will check with others who were confused to make sure they agree this solves the issue. 7.) Sexton Report: Sexton Drover said the mower is in at Modern Rental but they are waiting for the bagger. Once it’s in they’ll pick it up. 9.) Adjourn: Beyer made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Gimenez provided the second. The motion was carried by voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 P.M. This report is respectfully submitted by Gloria Lichtfuss, Oakwood Cemetery Board Member of Berlin Oakwood Cemetery Board.