A Perryville business seeking a special-use permit from the city to add a crematory facility on its property has drawn several complaints from residents who live near the proposed site, but state officials and other crematory operators say there should be no cause for concern.
“It’s mostly a public perception thing,” said Don Otto, executive director and general counsel of the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association. “There’s no safety concern. There’s not an odor concern. There’s not a dangerous chemical concern. It just boils down to people just don’t like the idea of it.”
The City of Perryville’s Planning & Zoning Commission decided against issuing a permit to Brewer Monument after hearing from more than a dozen residents at a meeting held late last month, citing a lack of knowledge about the safety concerns brought up by the public.
Tim and Angie Brewer, owners of Brewer Monument, located at 111 S. West St. in Perryville — across the street from Ford & Young Funeral Home, the only funeral home in Perry County — attended the meeting armed with safety reports and a letter from the manufacturer of the unit they wish to install in an unused building on their property, but it wasn’t enough to sway the commission.
“We can’t approve something if we don’t know if it’s safe,” said commission chairman Ron Courtois after the meeting. “The fact that there could be exhaust issues or malfunctions that could affect the citizens in general is what affected our decision. If there’s any issue, as far as health concerns, we don’t know what those are. We’re not trained in those types of situations. Until you know what it is, you can’t say yes.”
Tim Brewer said that safety shouldn’t be a concern.
“I wouldn’t be putting it here if I didn’t think it was completely safe,” Brewer said, pointing out that it would be his family and employees who would be in closest proximity. “I mean, because this unit is state-of-the-art. It is completely self-contained. Nothing goes into the ground. The only emission port is the one designed at the top through the roof specific to that device, and anything that goes up the flue is going through the filters and it has an afterburner, so it holds it for another second or two longer and burns it again before it even goes out. There’s nothing hardly that goes ever out.”
The city’s Board of Aldermen will be able to hear firsthand from the Brewers and any concerned citizens during a public meeting to be held during the board’s meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Perryville City Hall.
Jan. 30, 2020:
|
For some, the discussion has already started.
In response to an article detailing the commission’s decision published in the Jan. 30, 2020, edition of the Republic-Monitor, local residents responded on the newspaper’s Facebook page, showing support and opposition for the Brewers’ plan.
“There are lots of land available out of town,” wrote Judith Hopfer of Perryville. “Let’s keep in mind how very close our Lutheran school is to your property, daycare within 2 blocks. I think it would be bad for everyone living close to this operation. If needed you can send to Jackson.”
Alissa McGraw, meanwhile, called it “a great idea.”
“It is not going to do anything to harm the Lutheran school nor the daycare close to it,” McGraw wrote. “The operators will know what they are doing and stand by the guidelines that are needed to run such business. This will help the ones who are unable to pay for full funeral costs by making it a cheaper alternative and a way to still say goodbye to deceased loved ones.”
Otto backed Brewer’s statement on safety, telling the Republic-Monitor on Monday that crematories are heavily regulated by the state and the Environmental Protection Agency has conducted several studies regarding emissions from cremation facilities, finding nothing harmful.