I am writing this letter in support of the mill-levy increase being requested by the Pine River Cemetery District on the November ballot. The cemetery board has done an outstanding job of maintaining and improving the beautiful Bayfield Cemetery for years on a very modest budget of only $35,000 to $40,000 per year. Because of the recession beginning five years ago, and the decreases in gas production causing a property value reduction of approximately 50 percent, funding for cemetery maintenance and operation is now less than $20,000 per year. This has forced cutbacks and has made equipment replacement nearly impossible.
Current mill levy is .075, and the request is to double it .15 of 1 mill. Currently, the average property owner is paying the cost of a cup of coffee! In order to restore the funding to the $35,000 to $40,000 level for maintenance and operation, the cemetery district is simply asking you for a second cup of coffee.
We, the Pine River Heritage Society and museum, have as our mission, to collect, preserve, protect and interpret the history and heritage of the Pine River Valley.
The Bayfield Cemetery dates back to its formation in 1883 – 15 years before there was a Bayfield! A pioneer father in 1882 lost his teenage daughter and buried her on a hill overlooking the Pine River. To preserve her final resting place, he donated that piece of land to become a cemetery. Her grave is still located in a corner of what is now the Bayfield Cemetery. A fascinating history of the Bayfield Cemetery and those pioneers buried there has been put together by the cemetery board and is available on request.
I strongly urge you to vote “yes” on this mill-levy request. We all love this valley and call it home, and we feel a responsibility to protect and preserve its history and heritage. One of the ways we can do that is to continue to proudly honor and maintain the final resting place of those who came before us.
Dennis Hillyer, president, Pine River Valley Heritage Society
Bayfield
