GREEN RIVER — The Green River City Council unanimously approved an agreement to develop the Riverview Cemetery Master Plan in the amount of $25,000 during the Tuesday night Council meeting.

Steiner Thuesen PLLC, based in Montana, will work with the city on developing the master plan, which Parks and Recreation Director Katie Duncombe said is very much needed.

Currently, the cemetery has 41 columbarium spots available for sale, 226 flat headstone spaces, and 63 upright spaces. Additionally, the cemetery has an average of 49 inurnments a year, and sells around 30 spots a year. With limited space at the cemetery, expansion and and enhancement is required, she said.

“The implementation of the master plan is definitely needed, and we’re looking at the east side of the cemetery where the expansion would take place, and there’s about six to eight acres over there,” Duncombe said.

While the city owns around 150 acres of land at the cemetery, not all of it is able to be developed because a lot of the acreage goes up the mountain.

Prior to developing the master plan, Steiner Thuesen will complete the mapping of the area and will conduct a project kick-off meeting where they will visit the site. While visiting, they will document existing land conditions and collect soil and water samples, as well as dig up to 10 test holes to document the top soil conditions. All of these conditions will be assessed to create a program to follow for the development and expansion of the cemetery.

Next will be developing the concept for the cemetery, where they will plan out the landscaping, land use, and new facilities and features within the cemetery. They will also create plans for roadways and access points, grave lots, walkways, fencing and more. Then the master plan will be developed, and then the planning and zoning department review the master plan prior to approval.

Meeting documents state that the $25,000 being approved to initiate the development of the comprehensive master plan have already been budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

Steiner Thuesen said in correspondence with Duncombe that their office has been involved in cemetery planning and design for 39 years. For this master plan, they are associating with Jorgensen, a civil engineering firm with offices in Jackson Hole, Pinedale, and Kemmerer. Additionally, they said they are currently working with Jorgensen on Kemmerer’s Cemetery Expansion Master Plan.