Public hearing draws dozens

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It was standing room only during Tuesday’s Perryville Board of Aldermen meeting as more than 50 area residents gathered for a public meeting at City Hall. The board scheduled the meeting to give residents the chance to speak their piece regarding a request from Tim and Angie Brewer, owners of Brewer Monument Co., for a special-use permit to install a crematory retort on their property located at 111 S. West St. “This is the most people I’ve ever seen at a meeting,” said Perryville Police Chief Direk Hunt, who assigned extra officers to provide security for the crowd, which filled the seats and even wrapped partially around the wall behind the board members. The meeting was scheduled in the wake of a January decision by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission to deny the Brewers’ request, passing the final decision on to the board. More than a dozen people attended the P&Z meeting in January, with many sharing their concerns about possible contaminants and their effect on the environment and public health, along with such an establishments effects on property values. The area where Brewer Monument is located is zoned C-2, or “General Commercial,” and is bracketed by areas zoned R-5, or “General Residential,” and is two blocks from the downtown square. After weeks of discussion on the matter — much of it online — Tuesday’s meeting brought few surprises. The majority of those in attendance were advocating against allowing the establishment of a crematorium, and most of them echoed a similar refrain — “We’re not against crematories. We just don’t want one there.” “Put it somewhere else.” “Not in my backyard.” “You can tell me whatever you want, but we don’t want it here.” The group advocating for allowing the permit, while smaller, was just as vocal, sharing their own scientific information and anecdotal testimony of living near active crematories. After hearing from both sides, the board is expected to vote on the request during its next meeting scheduled for March 2. The Brewers, who were first up to the podium Tuesday, restated their request and explained their reasoning in the form of a letter directed to the board. “As you all you know, Brewer Monument has been part of Perryville’s history, economy and culture for 125 years,” read Angie Brewer. “Tim is very proud to be a fifth-generation owner of this business, especially during a time on our society when businesses of this length of time are almost extinct. A business does not get to be 125 years old without having demonstrated the ability to provide great customer service at a great value. The business also has to have valued employees and continue to listen to customers’ needs and update their business model to meet those needs. Our proposal is a direct result of customer requests and trends in the industry that we work in.” The closest cremation facilities to Perry County include McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson, Cape Wilbert Vault in Jackson, Crain Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger County Crematory in Marble Hill, the Patriot Corporation in Park Hills, Hillview Memorial Crematory in Farmington and Jefferson County Cremation Services in Pevely. It was standing room only during Tuesday’s Perryville Board of Aldermen meeting as more than 50 area residents gathered for a public meeting at City Hall. The board scheduled the meeting to give residents the chance to speak their piece regarding a request from Tim and Angie Brewer, owners of Brewer Monument Co., for a special-use permit to install a crematory retort on their property located at 111 S. West St. “This is the most people I’ve ever seen at a meeting,” said Perryville Police Chief Direk Hunt, who assigned extra officers to provide security for the crowd, which filled the seats and even wrapped partially around the wall behind the board members. The meeting was scheduled in the wake of a January decision by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission The cost of cremation can range anywhere from $1,000 to more than $3,000, depending on transportation costs, outsourcing or any of a number of other factors. The Brewers maintain that having a facility in Perryville would reduce costs for local families who choose cremation and keep that money in the county. “The trend is clear and growing and expected to continue,” Brewer read. “Right now, all that business is being sent out of town. When business is sent out of town, no one in Perryville wins.” While the majority of those opposed to allowing the permit simply stated they did not approve of the proposed location, some presented more scientific arguments, citing various articles and statistics regarding mercury and dioxins — which proponents decried as outdated, even calling them “scare tactics” — and claimed that crematories were not regulated by any government agency. According to data provided by the Missouri Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors — the state regulatory board which licenses and oversees funeral homes, mortuaries and crematories — there are nearly 100 cremation facilities active in Missouri. All are heavily regulated by the state board in addition to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and, under state law, must be inspected every two years. In an interview earlier this month, Don Otto, executive director and general counsel of the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association, told the Republic-Monitor that crematories were no cause for concern for nearby residents. “There’s no safety concern,” Otto said. “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.” Otto also pointed to several studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others regarding emissions from cremation facilities. “The EPA has done tests on a number of occasions to see if there’s any contamination in the air surrounding a crematory,” Otto said earlier this month, “and one called the Minnesota study — they were testing for things like mercury and other chemicals that might be released — showed that the air quality right next to the crematorium was better than the ambient sample that they used for comparison.” Many of the opponents to the Brewers’ proposal — those who did not limit their reasoning to a simple objection to location — cited concerns over mercury vapor, which might be released by cremation. The EPA does not regulate emissions from crematories, and estimates that approximately 600 pounds of mercury — less than 1 percent of all mercury emissions — come from crematories in the U.S. every year. At the heart of this concern are silver amalgam dental fillings, which contain mercury and were the industry standard for many years. Dentists have largely stopped using such fillings. Dr. Joe Hutchison, an outspoken opponent of the Brewers’ request ever since it was brought before the Planning & Zoning Commission, has operated his dental practice across the street from Brewer Monument for more than 40 years. “I feel the need to speak for all those who are not here,” Hutchison said Tuesday. “All the children, all those who can’t speak. We all know the town, we know the map of the area, and we know that this is very close to one of the most trafficked areas in town. We have children that go by there every day, joggers that go by there gasping for air. We have daycares where children play in the dirt. We have seven or eight doctor’s offices and each should feel free to think, ‘I’m okay. It’s safe.’” I feel that as a dentist, I should provide a safe environment, a sterile environment. “I don’t think there should be any dust, pollutants or anything coming into the windows or doors where I’m operating, trying to be a sterile environment.” Hutchison also asked the board to deny the Brewers’ request so people could stop arguing about it. “It’s very divisive,” Hutchison said. “All this would go away if you said no.”