With four north Davis County cities lacking cemeteries, where do these more than 65,000 residents go to find burial lots?
Layton city, representing 50,000 Davis County residents, has never had its own cemetery.City recorder Steve Ashby said when he first came to work in Layton years ago, the city received many inquiries about its lack of a cemetery. "I don't think we get many inquiries now," Ashby said.
The City Council has not had a serious discussion in recent years about opening a cemetery, but the Layton Lindquist Mortuary has been operating a private alternative with its Memorial Park at 1074 N. Fairfield Road for the past eight years.
The cost of a lot at the Lindquist Memorial Park is $505. Interment is $350. and the equivalent of a city's perpetual care fee is $60, bringing the total cost to $915. There's no price difference between residents and nonresidents, making Lindquist less expensive than the nonresident costs in Clearfield, Kaysville and Clinton.
Robert Lindquist, general manager of the Lindquist Mortuary, said he isn't selling a lot more lots despite the fact that four cities in north Davis County lack cemeteries.
"I'm sure business will increase," Lindquist predicted. "Some city cemeteries are too expensive for nonresidents."
He believes many Layton old-timers purchased lots in Kaysville many years ago before big price increases.
The Lindquist Memorial Park in Layton offers burials for residents from all over the area. Upright monuments are not permitted, though, which can be a drawback for some customers.
Some years ago, Fruit Heights examined the possibility of having a city cemetery, but the idea was not cost-efficient for such a small city, said City Manager Richard Marchant.
"There has been some discussion," Marchant said. "But it's not on the front burner right now."
He thinks the issue will come up again. In the meantime, many residents still go to the Kaysville cemetery - despite the high nonresident costs. Others may go back to whatever city they have roots in.