Highland Cemetery to begin expansion in April

Next month, the Highland Cemetery will start the process of expanding to allow for more than 9,000 new graves, an expansion that will be primarily funded through a 15 percent rise in cemetery fees at the end of June of this year.

Hill County Cemetery District Assistant Manager Perry Atchison said they are set to run out of room soon, with fewer than 1,000 graves sites still open, so they need to make more space.

Atchison said the district already owns land west of the current cemetery and they will be able to use that to build new blocks, one at a time, as needed, in that area, along with a new shop to help control their water system.

He said the expansion will be completed in three parts over the course of three years.

"It should look really nice," he said.

A press release about the expansion says the project will start in spring with grading and road surfacing, followed by drainage, water and sewer system extensions.

It says landscaping for the new blocks will be completed in two additional phases over the two following years with completion expected in 2026.

"The Hill County Public Cemetery District looks forward to adding over nine thousand additional grave spaces that will serve the community for the foreseeable future," the release says.

Atchison said part of the reason they need to raise their fees is inflation, as the initial estimate for the majority of the project in 2022 came in $145,000, but ballooned to more than $200,000 just to finish the first phase due to rising costs.

The release says this will be the first raise in cemetery fees since 2013.

The next meeting of the cemetery's board will be March 29 at 9:30 a.m. at their office and the release encouraged those with questions to attend or call the cemetery at 406-265-9311 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.