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all state and federal guidelines are met including certified appraisals on the subject properties. The Board, during its July 12, 1988 meeting, authorized staff to obtain certified appraisals for both properties. The total cost of the appraisals were $5,480. On October 18, 1989, County staff sent a completed conversion application to the FDNR for their approval. The FDNR replied on September 13, 1990 indicating that the application has been reviewed and everything was acceptable except for the appraised value figure of the 43+/- acres. The FDNR believed that the appraisal did not adequately reflect the fact that the property has several long-term (20 years) radio tower leases attached to it. Therefore, since the value of both pieces of property were not equal, the conversion application could not go forward. A suggestion was made to decrease the 19+/- acres to 15+/- acres so both subject properties could be of equal value. .The FDNR agreed to that solution and advised the County that the two appraisals would need to be revised to reflect the decrease in acreage in the 19+/- acre tract and the long-term radio tower leases on the 43+/ acre tract. During the October 23, 1990 Board meeting, County staff requested authorization to revise the two appraisals and submit an amended conversion application to the FDNR. The appraisal revisions were estimated to cost a total of $1,000. The Board tabled the item. CURRENT The Winter Beach Cemetery Association has contacted the County requesting the status of this lengthy matter. The cemetery has approximately less than an acre remaining for burials out of its 11.5 total acres or about 270_ plots. At the current rate of about 150 burials a year, this acreage would last about 1.5 years. The . County initiates about four indigent burials a year. The all-inclusive maximum cost of an indigent burial that is paid by the County's Welfare Office to a local funeral home is $900 for an adult, $400 for a child, and $200 for cremation. However, the County's indigent burials are not necessarily done .at . the Winter Beach Cemetery. Some burials are done in Vero Beach, Ft. Pierce or elsewhere, depending on the family's wishes and the funeral home's arrangements with the Winter Beach and other cemeteries. „ In fact, only one burial of a county indigent has occurred in the Winter Beach Cemetery in the previous four years. In essence, two options exist: 1) Update the two appraisals, revise the land survey of the 19 +/- acres to reflect 15+/- acres, prepare an addendum to the original conversion application reflecting the changes, and submit the application to the FDNR. After receiving approvals from the FDNR and the National Park Service, give the 15+/- acres to the Cemetery Association and deed restrict the 43+/- acres at the old landfill site and develop the site into some type of recreational use. The estimated cost of this option is $170,000 which includes $1,000 for appraisal revisions, staff time for revising the land survey and preparing the addendum, the actual cost of the 15+/- acres conservatively estimated to be $150,000, and developing the 43+/- acres into recreational uses. 2) Deny the association's request based upon the infrequent County usage of the Winter Beach Cemetery and inform the local funeral homes, who do business with the County, to seek indigent burial arrangements with that cemetery as well as others in the area or use cremation when applicable. Cremation of identified but unclaimed bodies is legally easier now since HB689 was passed by the legislature during the recently completed legislative session. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the Board approve Option 2. 35 MAY i 4X 1991 �:.