Maintenance and Capital Projects in the Cemeteries
In addition to general maintenance work, JCGC has several projects underway at the cemeteries. A full update on these projects will be posted to the website in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the most noticeable work is occurring in the Montgomery/Ivy Gate Cemetery, where there is extensive excavating and grading being done to resolve some drainage and erosion issues. This work will be followed by landscaping, in addition to regular tree maintenance that is ongoing throughout the cemetery.
Work will also begin soon at the Kneseth Israel Cemetery in Covedale. You may recall that we had to remove the chapel building there. We have been developing plans to rehabilitate the area where the chapel stood and commemorate the Vigransky Family Chapel, while also performing other work in the cemetery to restore the iron fence, repave the drive, and otherwise beautify the cemetery.
The one other location I’ll mention at this time is the Schachnus/Beth Tefyla Cemetery in Price Hill, where we are repairing failing foundations under many monuments throughout the cemetery. This work will continue for approximately the next year in Schachnus, while we develop a comprehensive plan to address this issue and other monument repair issues in all of our 25 cemeteries. The task is truly “monumental…”
We have hired an HUC-JIR rabbinic student, Jason Cook, to create an inventory of all monuments and markers in need of repair. This will allow us to begin to reach out to families, who are technically responsible for monuments and markers, to enlist their help in covering costs of repair work. And the inventory will allow us to plan for doing repair work that JCGC staff can perform, hiring specialist where needed, and allow us to apply for grants to help defray these costs otherwise, we hope.
A more detailed and comprehensive review of all projects will be published to the website in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office.