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City C®uncil ep®rt
City of
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: April 27, 2010
Agenda Item: I F!
To: Mayor and City Council.
From: Lee E. Swain, Director of Public Works
Subject: Cemetery Business Plan Amendment and Branding
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council approve an amendment to the Cemetery
Business Plan and the related Resolution (Attachment A) to:
1) Apply for a mortuary license and offer mortuary services at the Woodlawn
Cemetery;
2) Modify the name of the Woodlawn Cemetery to City of Santa Monica Woodlawn
Cemetery, Mausoleum, and Mortuary; and
3) Approve a new logo for the Cemetery.
Executive Summary
On April 28, 2009, the City Council approved the Cemetery Business Plan designed to
achieve financial sustainability through increased capacity at the Woodlawn Cemetery
(Cemetery) by developing additional interment space (graves, crypts, and cremation
niches) for sale, implementing a marketing plan, and restructuring pricing for services.
In order to implement the Business Plan as approved by Council, staff sought additional
Council approvals on November 10. 2009 to eliminate the residency requirement for the
Cemetery and on December 18. 2009 to vacate excess public right-of-way within the
Cemetery to increase capacity. With these subsequent approvals, staff implemented
the Cemetery Business Plan in January 2010. This amendment and the related
Resolution (Attachment A) help to achieve the objectives set forth in the original Plan
through offering additional services and branding.
Background
As part of the implementation of the Cemetery Business Plan, staff is continually
seeking ways to enhance the level of care provided to the community, to provide
additional services to the public, and to improve the marketability of the Cemetery in an
ongoing effort to achieve financial sustainability.
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The establishment of a mortuary at the Cemetery is requested as means to provide the
community with additional services and to make the Cemetery more competitive with
surrounding cemeteries that already offer mortuary services
The name modification is requested so that the Cemetery can distinguish itself from
other similarly named cemeteries in the area. The proposed name will identify the
Cemetery as a City-owned facility and part of the City's panoply of services offered to
the community.
Discussion
Mortuary Services Program
There are numerous differences between cemetery services and mortuary services.
Cemetery services include the operation of a cemetery. Operation of the facilities
includes maintenance of the grounds, development of interment space and mapping,
and the maintenance of records related to interments. Goods and services offered by a
cemetery include the sale of interment spaces, products (e.g. urns, vaults; and flowers),
and the excavation of graves to accommodate burials.
Mortuary services include the transportation, storage, and care of the deceased
including .embalming, cosmetics, casketing, and cremation. Additionally, planning
funeral ceremonies, filing death certificates, and conferring with the coroner and other
officials are included in mortuary services.
At present, the Cemetery offers only cemetery services to the community. Families the
Cemetery currently serves often request mortuary services. All of the Cemetery's major
competitors (Attachment B) offer mortuary services. This places the Cemetery at a
significant disadvantage in marketing services.
Cemeteries that offer mortuary services have proven to be successful as they afford
clientele the convenience of making all necessary arrangements at one location.
Clients appreciate the ability to work with the same establishment to handle all of their
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needs versus having to deal with different people at various locations during a stressful
and emotional time. The additional revenues generated from providing mortuary
services will assist the Cemetery in achieving financial sustainability.
The recent economic crisis has negatively impacted revenue at the Cemetery,
particularly in the volume of pre-need sales, specifically purchases. of an interment
space before death. Pre-need sales have historically accounted for nearly half of all
sales while at-need sales, a purchase related to a death, were just over half of all sales.
The Cemetery Business Plan is geared towards maintaining a sales split as close to 50
percent as possible to maintain financial sustainability. Currently at-need sales are
approximately 74 percent of total sales, while-pre-need sales have dipped to a low 26
percent of total sales during this fiscal year. The decline of pre-need sales is expected
to continue until the economy improves.
Implementing a Mortuary Services Program at the Cemetery does not require hiring
additional staff. Arrangement of full-range funeral services can be made during one
meeting with families in need. The staff person that currently meets with families to
conduct the cemetery portion of the arrangement and sales appointment would be the
same person who handles mortuary-related issues. Transportation, preparation, and
cremation of the deceased would be provided through service contracts. Installing a
crematory on site and hiring additional staff to operate the crematory and transport and
care for the deceased can be explored in the future. Overall, this Mortuary Services
Program is cost effective while providing simplicity and maximum care to families during
an extremely emotional. time.
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Implementation
The following two service contracts, which staff will obtain through the issuance of a
Request for Proposals, are necessary to implement a Mortuary Services Program at the
Cemetery:
1) Transportation and Crematory Service Contract
This service is for the transportation of the deceased from their place of death to
the mortuary holding facility on site at the Cemetery for either cremation or burial.
It also includes the procurement of the death certificate from the attending
physician or coroner, the transportation of the remains to the crematory, and the
cremation of the remains.
2) Preparation and Care of Deceased Service Contract
This service is for the necessary care and preparation of the deceased including
embalming; dressing, and casketing of the deceased.
The average cost of funeral service is $6,000 in the Los Angeles area. Staff set the
Cemetery prices (Exhibit 1 of Attachment A) based on this area and sought opinion from
the City Attorney's Office oh the appropriateness of the methodology. The City
Attorney's Office agrees that this is one appropriate method of establishing the charge
for funeral services.
Staff projects the program to generate approximately $792,000 during FY2010-11, the
first year of implementation, and increase revenues steadily in subsequent years
(Attachment C). This is based on the number and a survey of at-need families the
Cemetery currently serves each year. The cost to implement a Mortuary Services
Program is approximately $155,779 and consists of the following:
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Description
Modification of the existing maintenance building at the
Cemetery to create a preparation and holding facility
Essential equipment for the care and preparation of the
deceased
State license application fee
Total Cost:
Associated
Cost
$133,196
$22,183
$400
$155,779
The California Department of Consumer Affairs Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (DCA)
licenses all funeral establishments in the State. To implement a Mortuary Services
Program, the Cemetery will have to apply for licensure with DCA as a funeral
establishment and comply with the following requirements:
• Submit application to DCA
The application requires that four senior officers of the City be designated and
listed on the application as follows: City Manager as President, Assistant City
Manager as Vice President, Director of Finance as Treasurer, and City Clerk. as
Secretary. Each of these individuals needs to be Live Scan fingerprinted. In
addition, the City's Cemetery Administrator will be designated on the application
as the Mortuary Manager for which. a licensed funeral director is required.
• Allow DCA to inspect room as suitable for storaoe of human remains
A preparation room needs to be furnished with sanitary flooring, necessary
drainage, and cooling ventilation. It also needs to contain necessary instruments
and supplies for the preparation, sanitation, or embalming of human remains for
burial or transportation. The facility has to pass inspection by DCA prior to
license issuance.
Once the application is received by DCA, it takes approximately 45 days before the
license is issued and mortuary services can be offered.
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Name Modification and Logo
Modifying the name of the Cemetery will help with branding and raising the Cemetery's
profile. Currently the Cemetery is frequently mistaken for another privately-owned
cemetery in the region with the same name. To distinguish the Cemetery and help with
marketing efforts, staff recommends modifying the name to "City of Santa Monica
Woodtawn Cemetery, Mausoleum, and Mortuary." This modification is crucial to the
Cemetery's sales and marketing strategy as it will:
1) Identify the Cemetery as being located in Santa Monica;
2) Convey the Cemetery's association with the City, which is considered to be a
positive factor among potential clients; and
3) Inform consumers that the Cemetery offers mausoleum and mortuary services.
While the City's name is considered to be a positive association, using the City's brightly
colored bay logo to define the Cemetery presents a unique challenge as most visits to
the Cemetery are for a somber occasion. The use of program logos in certain limited
circumstances when special needs require an application that does not conform to the
guidelines on the use of City logo is allowable, per the City's identity guidelines. For
example, certain revenue-generating programs, or programs that are the result of a
partnership between various agencies, have been granted permission to use a special
program logo in connection with the City logo. Given the nature of the Cemetery's core
services and the need to have an identity that complements these services, the
Cemetery began to explore unique logo and branding elements.
In the fall of 2009 staff collaborated with students from the Los Angeles Art Institute to
develop preliminary ideas for a new logo. The graphic design firm Heavenspot was
retained in February 2010 to further develop and refine the student logo. The proposed
logo (Attachment D) for the Cemetery is a depiction of a stained glass magnolia tree set
in an arched window frame. The image of the tree itself represents the lush landscape
of the Cemetery and highlights the majestic magnolia trees that greet the visitors at the
entrance. The stained glass detailing and window frame are reminiscent of the
Mausoleum's magnificent stained glass windows. An element of the City logo is
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incorporated to communicate and reinforce that the Cemetery is part of the City of
Santa Monica's panoply of community services. The proposed logo preserves key
elements of the original student design that make it unique to the City of Santa Monica
and the Cemetery.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
One-time start-up costs of $155,779 to implement the Mortuary Services Program are
available in CIP account 374047.589000. Ongoing operating revenue and expenditure
assumptions will be included in the FY2010-11 budget. Budget authority for subsequent
years will be requested in each annual budget cycle for Council approval.
Prepared by: Virgil County, Cemetery Administrator
Approved:
-~{ L E. ain
Director of Public Works
Forwarded to Council:
-----
Rod Gould
City Manager
Attachments:
A -Resolution
B -Cemetery Competitors
C -Projected Mortuary Revenue
D -Cemetery Logo
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ATTACHMENT B
WOODLAWN CEMETERY COMPETITORS
B- Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary (Westwood)
C- Hillside Memorial Park & Mortuary (Culver City)
D- Holy Cross Cemetery & Mortuary (Culver City)
E- Angelus/Rosedale Cemetery (Los Angeles)
F- Inglewood Park Cemetery & Mortuary (Inglewood)
G- Hollywood Forever Cemetery & Mortuary (Hollywood)
H- Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries (Los Angeles)
ATTACHMENT C
Five-Year Mortuary Services Revenue Projections*
FY2010-11 FY2011-12 FY 2012-13 FY2013-14 FY2014-15
$792,000 $831,600 $873,180 $916,837 $962,680
*5% annual escalator combination of CPI and projected growth through advertising.
ATTACHMENT D
Proposed Cemetery Logo
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Reference Resolution No.
10468 (CCS).