Helping to pave the way: Board of Trustees working to continue road paving project at Mt. Olivet Cemetery northwest of Waukon
Working to continue concrete paving project at Mt. Olivet Cemetery ... The Mt. Olivet Cemetery Board of Trustees is continuing its efforts to fund a concrete paving project for the roadways through Mt. Olivet Cemetery located northwest of Waukon. As indicated by the fund raising “thermometer” pictured at left in the photo above, the project has a fund raising goal of $270,000 and fund raising efforts thus far have raised approximately $60,000, some of which has been used to pave the cemetery’s main entrance roadway that travels through the cemetery (as pictured above). The two photos below also accompanying this article show the current condition of some of the remaining blacktop roadways that traverse the outside edges of the cemetery, in addition to an east-west roadway that intersects the main center road. Pre-addressed contribution envelopes that can be mailed or dropped off at St. Patrick Church or the parish rectory are available in the white box pictured in the lower right-hand corner of the fund raising “thermometer” sign above. Additional information about the project or any contributions to the project can also be directed to St. Patrick Parish Pastoral Associate for Operations Mike Erickson at 563-568-3671 or vie email at m.erickson@dbqarch.org.
Efforts to fund the concrete paving of the roadways in Mt. Olivet Cemetery northwest of Waukon continue to be pursued by the cemetery’s board of trustees. The board is seeking to further the fund raising efforts in place that have so far allowed for the cemetery’s main entrance and center roadway to be paved in concrete, with intentions to further pave the roadways that traverse the cemetery’s outer edges, as well as the east-west stretch that intersects the main center road.
The paving project started in recent years as a means to improve upon the blacktop roads that have been in place for years at the cemetery and are in need of upgrading due to cracks, bumps and other wear and tear from over the years. “We feel that the paving would not need the continuing upkeep like the blacktop,” the cemetery’s board of trustees shared. “We would pave a single road as the money is available and as weather permits, much like we did with the main road through the center of the cemetery.”
The original cost estimate for the entire project came in at $240,000, with the board setting an overall fundraising goal to help cover additional or increased expenses for the project at $270,000, as indicated on the fundraising “thermometer” signs that hang at both the main entrance to the cemetery and on the fence that surrounds the grassy playground area of the upper building of St. Patrick School, just across the street from the main entrance to St. Patrick Church. That thermometer is currently filled in at just over the $60,000 level for funds that have already been raised, with some of those existing funds already being used to pay for the paving of the cemetery’s entrance and main center road.
Attached to the “thermometer” signage at the entrance of the cemetery is a box holding pre-addressed envelopes that anyone can pick up and use to mail donations to the project or drop off at St. Patrick Church or the parish rectory in Waukon. The board felt the envelope offering provided an opportunity for anyone visiting the cemetery - family, friends, loved ones or other visitors - to make a contribution to the road paving project, perhaps in memory and honor of a loved one interred there or in their year-end giving for income tax purposes. As noted on the box holding the envelopes, contributions should not be left in the box or anywhere else within the cemetery grounds.
The board of trustees has also been pursuing other forms of funding to help complete the project. Grant applications have been submitted and are awaiting approval, but the board notes that those grant amounts, if awarded, will still leave a considerable gap that will require other funding measures to help bring the project to completion.
Contributions to the project can also be made by contacting St. Patrick Parish Pastoral Associate for Operations Mike Erickson via telephone at 563-568-3671 or via email at m.erickson@dbqarch.org. Any further questions about the paving project or its fund raising efforts can also be directed to Erickson through the above contact information.
