T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY - Rural Marshall County resident Patrick Lynott addresses the Board of Supervisors regarding his green burial request on Dec. 18. No action was taken, but the supervisors expect to return with a formal policy on the practice sometime in the near future.

After he had previously broached the topic with the Board of Supervisors a few months back, longtime Marshall County resident Patrick Lynott returned to discuss his request for a green burial on his property south of Green Mountain during the Dec. 18 meeting.

The process is described as “an environmentally friendly method of burying a deceased person that avoids the use of chemicals, concrete vaults, and other non-biodegradable materials. The goal of a green burial is to allow the body to decompose naturally and return to the soil.” Based on the previous discussion, Lynott and the board agreed to come back with recommendations, some of which include having a funeral director conduct the burial and planting a marker above his body.

“I don’t plan on doing any type of marker or any fence. I just want to be placed there because I’ve spent a lot of time in this location,” he said.

Lynott felt the spot he had chosen was an “ideal” location because to the west, Alliant Energy has a landfill for fly ash, and none of his neighbors raised any concerns when he approached them about it. He said he has spoken to his attorney and a surveyor to ensure that the location is recorded in an abstract of the property.

To his knowledge, Story County has allowed a few green burials, and Lynott hoped that his request would be in keeping with Iowa Code and the wishes of Marshall County officials. He added that both of his daughters support his request, and he will still have a marker in Cedar Rapids at a family burial site.

Board Chairman Jarret Heil asked if an easement had been established, and County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson said the supervisors would have to approve Lynott’s request first before such an agreement could be reached. Heil, who noted that Planning and Zoning Director/Sanitarian/Weed Commissioner Tyler Kelley had also been involved in the research, felt the board was generally on the same page about granting its permission, and fellow Supervisor Steve Salasek wondered about whether individual requests would have to come to the board in the future or if a blanket policy could be adopted.

Benson said a formal resolution would essentially allow green burials going forward and suggested “doing a little more research” before taking such a step.

“I didn’t realize that Tyler was doing any research. He didn’t come and talk to us at all,” she said. “We’d already spent a lot of hours talking to a lot of people about the topic.”

If a policy was established, those who wished to be buried in such a manner going forward would simply have to update their abstracts accordingly. Lynott also noted that the area would be required to be outside of a floodplain. County Assessor Blaze Wurr said most cemeteries are considered exempt, so he would have to look into a partial exemption on the property unless it is surveyed out — and he planned to contact the Story County assessor for more information.

As Supervisor Carol Hibbs shared her opinion that the board was in a position to make a decision, Benson pushed back and continued to advocate for taking more time on the matter.

“From the information we had gathered, once this resolution is created, they’d never need to come to us again, to the supervisors. The resolution would be there, and then as long as the criteria are met, they can go ahead,” she said.

“Is that a bad thing?” Hibbs responded.

“Do you want to buy that property?” Benson asked.

“It’s not my decision on who’s purchasing property,” Hibbs said.

In his conversation with neighboring landowners, Lynott got the impression that they weren’t worried about it negatively affecting the value as the burial space would be situated on the southwest corner of the property. Heil pointed out that there was no formal resolution currently in front of the board, and Hibbs expressed a preference for setting up criteria and being able to move forward on a case by case basis.

The board ultimately took no action, but Hibbs commented that they were making progress toward establishing the ground rules.

“As long as I have a long life,” Lynott said.

Hibbs said the board would work toward bringing back a formal resolution with the aforementioned language and a case by case framework for acceptance of requests. Public commenter Harold Lanning, who lives in the vicinity of Lynott, also shared his support for the request.

“He’s visited with me. He’s visited with other neighbors. I’ve visited with other neighbors. There’s absolutely no objection to it whatsoever,” Lanning said. “He loves it out there. He camps out there during the summer. It’s a very peaceful place. I can’t think of a better place I’d want to be buried.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.