Malinoski and Danyluik Funeral Home. (Facebook/Mike Yager)

By Aaron Schulze

The Crematorium Conundrum

Humboldt council postpones crematorium decision, will host public forum

Aug 28, 2019 | 3:39 PM

Humboldt city council’s decision regarding a crematorium within city limits was to not make a decision.

Council elected to postpone its decision to approve or deny a discretionary use application from Malinoski and Danyluik Funeral Home in Humboldt to install and operate a crematorium at their property, due to concerns expressed from residents.

Mayor Rob Muench said even council members had concerns before talking with Gloria Malinoski and Connie Danyluik – co-owners of the funeral home – during the Aug. 26 meeting.

“It’s never a good idea to delay a business from what they’re trying to do,” Muench said. “Some of the councillors mentioned that municipal governments are here to support business in the community. But on the other hand, we’re here to represent not only the businesses, but the residents in our community. It’s important that we go through those procedures to make sure we’re fair to everybody.”

Muench said the city wants to hold a public forum along with Malinoski and Danyluik Funeral home to inform the public on the crematoriums.

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Danyluik told northeastNOW she and Malinoski would have liked to get the approval, as they sent their applications in June 2019, but they respect council’s decision to hold a public forum.

“We’re looking forward to having a chance to be part of this public forum; it’s a chance for us and maybe some other experts in the field to be able to educate the public on the fact that crematoriums are safe,” Danyluik said. “I think the biggest reason the residents are concerned about is they’re just not aware of the safety issues, and fear makes people uneasy. If we can make them feel more comfortable with understanding what the entire process is, then I think that it will be easier to move forward.”

Danyluik said she and Malinoski haven’t received any opinions from businesses and homes near the funeral home, but they’ve received positive feedback from Humboldt residents as the city doesn’t have a crematorium. She hopes the discretionary use will be approved as it’s more feasible for her and Malinoski to add the crematorium to the funeral home rather than purchasing another property.

Muench said the concerns he and other councillors have heard are mostly around any safety issues with crematoriums, although he noted that city staff’s report showed other communities near Humboldt have crematoriums in residential areas.

Both the City of Humboldt and Malinoski and Danyluik Funeral Home hope to hold the public forum well in advance of the next council meeting in late September.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow