A proposal by Jardine Funeral Home to add a crematory to its Pearl Road business may face more opposition when it comes up for a vote at a Planning Commission meeting this Thursday.
Over the weekend, resident Calogero DiRienzo sent an email to a number of Strongsville residents, urging them to call Mayor Tom Perciak's office to object to the idea.
"There are numerous health concerns that outweigh any possible
benefit for allowing this crematorium to be constructed," DiRienzo wrote in the email.
The message has led to an email debate among residents.
George Grozan, a Hunting Meadows resident and a member of the school district's Facilities Task Force, responded by saying he intends to speak against the idea at the Planning Commission meeting this Thursday.
Grozan said he researched the equipment the funeral home plans to buy and found that the company offers a filtration system -- but Jardine's isn't purchasing it.
"They (the manufacturer) already know that this system allows mercury and other heavy metals to escape via the flue gas. That is why they offer a filtration device to remove it," Grozan wrote.
"All that we ask is that it be built in a industrial park setting or install the scrubbers to ensure that there are not ANY chances of contamination to the children and residents of Strongsville," agreed resident David Pate.
Tina Marietta argued the other side.
"Don't you think that since the Jardine family lives, not only in this city but in the neighborhood, they would want to make sure everything is safe?" she wrote. "Do you think the Jardine family is so money hungry they would risk the health and safety of their friends and neighbors as well as their OWN children?"
Ward 4 Councilman Scott Maloney said the city's Building and Engineering departments are researching the issue and will have a report Thursday night.
"The city would not pursue a project that would put residents in harm's way," Maloney wrote in an email.
Earlier this month, the Planning Commission tabled requests for a conditional use permit and site plan approval for the property at 15822 Pearl Rd. so the members could do more research on the potential effects of a crematory on the environment.
Some residents have raised concerns about crematories emiting hazardous amounts of mercury into the air.
The mercury comes from fillings in people's teeth, and it's not a new issue -- funeral homes across the country have faced fights to build crematories in recent years.
No residents spoke against the project at the July 12 meeting, while eight people spoke in favor.
Jason Jardine said the equipment he is buying is a state-of-the-art machine that is designed to run in neighborhoods and emit no smoke or smell. Nearby Wendy's and Burger King produce more emissions into the air, he said.
The equipment would be used only for Jardine clients and could not be rented by other funeral homes.
Jardine said having on-site cremation equipment would ease worries of many distraught families who would now be able to keep their loved ones close to home.
He also said cremation is becoming a more common choice, with about 40 percent of people opting for it.
The Planning Commission meeting starts at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 26 in City Council Chambers.
In This article
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Jardine Funeral Home
15822 Pearl Rd, Strongsville, OH -
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Mike Kalinich, Sr. City Council Chambers
18688 Royalton Rd, Strongsville, OH
Beverly
4:45 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
To answer Tina's questions-yes,& yes-just ask some of the people commenting about their business ethics on the All Strongsville High School Memorial Page. It appears the younger generation has a hunger for $ that exceeds peoples wants, needs or compassion during a horrendous time in their lives.What I've read there has convinced me even moreso not to trust them.
sarah smith
5:44 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Sounds like Beverly & Debbie Moore Clark are the same person???
Sounds like this is a personal issue that you have?!
I'm sure that this is or Facebook is not the most mature way to handle your issue
Beverly
7:09 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Nope-but I have had contact with her sharing my experience. "Sarah"if you are such a good friend you might do well to tell your friends to make nice with all the people they appear to have hurt financially & emotionally,as evidenced by their remarks on the memorial board.You know what they say: if you tell a friend about a good experience they might tell 1 or 2,but share a bad experience & they tell the world.It appears that's what's happening here.
Tom Brennan
5:46 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
I knew Millar Jardine, who founded the funeral home, as well as his son George to both be good men who were interested in the best interest of the city and local families. Can't say the same about young gun Jason, seems he's more interested in "development" at any cost.
George Grozan
7:14 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
Our intention was never to attack the owners of the funeral home. Our motives are based on research that shows a potential health / developmental risk for children, the reduction of property values and the possible elimination of the high school site for the new middle school. We want the community to be aware. As a member of the Facilities Taskforce this issue did not come to light until a few weeks ago. I felt obligated to research the situation further. The following websites provide some of the research:
http://citizens.betterspringhill.org/
www.ejent.org/crematoria
www.no2crematory.wordpress.com
http://realneo.us/content/possible-crematory-ohio-city
http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=10003824
https://sites.google.com/site/grinnellcremationresearch/
http://no2crematory.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/letter_from_congress-kucinich_to_epa-jackson.pdf
Beverly
10:01 pm on Monday, July 23, 2012
This is in no way an attack. No different than what you are doing,citizens need to be informed who they are working with and may or may not trust. Your research supports my opinion from the beginning,which is that this is not a safe place to build/house such a facility. Simply relying solely on the information provided by the business who would benefit would be foolhardy. I am just speaking to trusworthyness.Did this business provide council from the start with the information that they could purchase the machine to make the release of mercury & other toxins reduced?Did they make them aware such a machine was available to make the process safer? It doesn't sound like it from the articles I've seen. I think people need to be informed of the whole picture . To not provide information about ability to reduce risks to the public simply because it increases cost to the business doesn't sit well with me.Public safety should be first & foremost. Another commentator, of a previous article on this subject, stated building in such an area goes against the national trend of keeping such facilities in a more industrialized area - because of these very concerns. I like to be well informed-there is enough junk in our air & soil making us sick & we owe it to ourselves to prevent adding things we know are a health risk.
cassandra
7:35 am on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Oh come on! The city is going to start fracking, but a creamatory is a huge deal?! Gimmie a break!!!
Chris
9:27 am on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
No one is mentioning the other issue of having a crematory right on Pearl road - next to the post office and a stone's throw away from the high school and football field. This is a crematory - the function of this building is not something that should be highlighted on Strongsville's main road and this type of procedure need not be done right next to the football field and school. Though this procedure may be an acceptable part of life for some it's none-the-less a disturbing procedure that shouldn't be conducted right in the center of Strongsville's commercial and residential area. I hear Mr. Jardine quoted as saying 'he wants to give his customers and Strongsville residents comfort in knowing their loved ones are nearby' I just had to go through this with my mother and knowing this was occurring down the street from my home would bring me no additional comfort. I oppose the crematory and agree the industrial park would be a much more acceptable location.
lyn
4:07 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
I agree. It seems like it would be a rather unpleasant reminder to drive by this place knowing that a loved ones body was burned there. Can you imagine, everyday, twice a day, having to drive past Jardine's and being reminded of the most unhappy memory of someone? It would be best to put that body burner in Foltz Industrial area.
If you really give it some thought, why would you want to use a funeral home at all for any services that you have to drive by all the time? It's a constant reminder of that awful day. I'd rather use a funeral home I don't have to drive by all the time. I would prefer to associate my loved one with happy memories.
This discussion just made up my mind that I will use another funeral home that I won't drive by all the time.
FAB
1:53 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012
My mother-in-law's services were handled by Jardine, and we live in Hunting Meadows. At the time, we used them precisely because they were close and we didn't want to have to drive any further than we had to, given our emotional state. We drive past there every day and I cannot say that I have any emotions at all attached with the funeral home. It doesnt make me sad to see it, and I've probably been to a dozen funeral and memorial services there. It's just a place where sad business has to occur.
Anyway, why hasn't anyone raised the issue of removing fillings before the cremation process? I've been reading about the environmental impact of the funeral process (burying vs cremation, types of caskets, etc.) and one of the biggest ways to make cremation more "green" is to have dental fillings removed before the body is incinerated. Could they not just make that SOP for all cremations at their facility? Just a thought.
Tom Brennan
9:55 am on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Cassandra, as I understand it, local jurisdictions have no say in whether fracking operations are allowed or not. Property owners make that decision in agreement with the drilling companies.
Mel
10:01 am on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Here is one to picture in your head! You are sitting at at game at the High School could be football, baseball, soccer, maybe you are on your way out of a basketball game and you see smoke rising from Jardines!!! Well you know what is going on!!! Just sayin I'm not crazy about having that by the High School and possibly the new Middle School.
K
3:39 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
What guarantee do we have that this facility, if permitted on Pearl, would remain for "Jardine customers only"? The average cremations per year are estimated at 500. But what guarantee do we have that those numbers will remain at 500 and not climb into the thousands? Which of course would cause emission levels to rise. The answer is that there is NO guarantee. Once we permit this, it is a done deal. The EPA does not regulate crematoriums. And no one else does either. Once approved and built, the business owners will be able to choose how many, when, etc. and we have no say in how much business they conduct at that point. So if we plan on using the property behind it to build our new middle school, then we had better make sure our children are safe; and that the property will still be viable once the crematorium opens. Wouldn't that be a shame if the school system had to go back to the drawing board AGAIN (Not to mention the waste of precious dollars our school system cannot afford to spend).
lyn
3:59 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Yes. What would keep Jardine's from providing these services to other funeral homes who do not have their own body burner on site? Especially those funeral homes which were not permitted to have one in their own cities.
lyn
4:19 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
How can you compare smoke and smell from fast food establishments to a place burning bodies that contain mercury? BIG difference!
lyn
4:21 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
But remember. The mayor says safety is his #1 priority. So, if that is true, this body burner will never happen. Why even take the slightest risk?
Tom Smith
7:34 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
There are a lot of unknowns regarding this whole situation. This is not the time to sit back and hope for the best. If you have questions or concerns, show up and listen tomorrow night (7/26/12). The city will be reviewing the crematorium subject in Council chamber at 8pm. In sounds like our children are going to have to live with this decision for the next 50 years.
Beverly
9:30 am on Saturday, July 28, 2012
Didn't matter that we showed up Tom-we weren't allowed to speak or present evidence.This was decided a long time ago by those w/an "in" in city politics.Favoritism abounds. I hope Mayor Perciak will reconsider & privately convince Jardine's to move to a more appropriate location-but I doubt that will happen,as this is all about the almighty buck for Jardines-or they would have offered to purchase the scrubber to remove dangerous elements from the process. I am amazed at how incensed everyone I speak with is about this-it is certainly affecting who they choose to do business with & who they will vote for in the next election. Some have even talked of picketing Jardines & exposing other unsavory business practices they've allegedly been involved with. This is a true case of "don't bite the hand that feeds you" & they've angered & disgusted a great deal of people.They are quite the talk of the senior center,where,I have to laugh,they left a bunch of their "business" cards in recent months. I found it insulting.They disappeared quickly from the table & I don't think it was because people were anxious to have one.
lyn
10:15 am on Saturday, July 28, 2012
Beverly-
They were also talking about this at the grocery store yesterday, and not in a good way for Jardine's. The consensus was, from what I overheard, exactly what has been said on here - they will use any other funeral home BUT Jardine's.
Beverly
1:41 pm on Saturday, July 28, 2012
Lyn,
Heinens & other groceries will benefit from this because no one will want to shop at this Giant Eagle or eat at their restaurant across from a body incinerator blasting away.Turns my stomach thinking about it. Yes,death is a fact of life,but there is place for everything & it's quite disgusting to think of those 2 businesses being across from one another.