Hosts: Kip Altman with Scot Hunter
Guest: Carolyn Fulton, Cemetery Manager, City of Sonoma
We will talk about:
1) your 20+ years in cemetery management- how/why you got into the field,
2) what cemetery management involves,
3) how Sonoma’s cemeteries differ from those in Petaluma,
4) the condition of Sonoma’s cemeteries when you began,
5) reasons why the City of Sonoma was unable to sell the cemeteries,
6) is sale of the cemeteries your ultimate objective,
7) why was a cemetery study required to to establish a dedicated position to oversee Sonoma’s cemeteries,
8) your plans to expand cemetery facilities,
9) objectives of marketing and sales strategies for the cemeteries,
10) current state of maintenance of the cemeteries,
11) planned capital improvements,
12) how demanding are customers (families of deceased),
13) annual operating cost of Sonoma’s cemeteries, how that has changed over time,
14) what constitutes success in your position,
15) interpretation of cultural significance of cemeteries to the City of Sonoma,
16) what outsiders don’t know or understand about cemetery management,
17) other issues
sonomacity.org/departments/cemeteries//
