The City of Lisbon will be moving forward with a geographical information system contract for the Lisbon cemetery.
The city had budgeted for the program in last budget year, and there will be a $4,500 additional expense to have the pins of graves located with a GPS system.
Lisbon public works director Travis Bagby said that having the cemetery pins designating where graves are at the cemetery would be a huge benefit, as it would save city crews spending a lot of time to locate a particular grave.
“It used to be that once every six months we’d be a little off and have to spend time to find where the pin should be,” Bagby said. “We’re now encountering that issue once a month or even a week. It’s pretty crucial we get GPS to help us, as we have limited space in the cemetery, and making less mistakes will help us utilize the space we need.”
Council member Mike Williams said he could definitely see the tremendous difference that GPS will make.
The city will serve as the manager the St. John catholic church portion of the Lisbon cemetery as well. The church will be responsible for the financial contributions of the project, but having the city be the sole administrator on the plots in the GIS is more beneficial.
“It will also help many members of the public,” said utility billing clerk Marsha Lasack. “There are times that people walk in and are asking about a plot in the cemetery, and it will be for the St. John portion, and I have to send them to the Catholic church. With us maintaining the entire database, when we know where plots are, we can send them to the right location ourselves.”