RICHMOND
After answering many questions from the public over the course of several months, the crematorium project proposed by Charles Kincer drew no comment during a public hearing Tuesday night and a speedy vote of unanimous approval from the Planning Board.
The project calls for a 36- foot-by-36-foot building in the back section of Cotton Cemetery, located about 500 feet from Route 197. The project, initially, will have one chamber, called a retort, in which cremation occurs.
Initially, two people will operate the crematorium. Hours of operation would be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays if needed.
Richmond’s codes enforcement officer James Valley said earlier this month that crematorium operations are highly regulated. No smoke will be visible from the crematorium, but there maybe a shimmer in the air caused by the heat. Valley said the project will be environmentally safe.
Kincer, the director of Kincer Funeral Home in Richmond, said during a June Planning Board meeting that the crematorium is a non-profit organization that will benefit the Cotton Cemetery Association and himself, because he has one of the larger cremation services in the state. The crematorium will lower costs for him and consumers, and provide the cemetery association some sustainability.
Kincer obtained the necessary license through the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The board approved the crematorium project within the first two minutes of its meeting with a 4-0 vote.
Other business
The planning board also voted to find two applications complete with some exceptions, one for a mobile home park expansion and the other for a proposed physical therapy office and sports facility which are both scheduled for public hearings on Aug. 11.
The Meadow Lane expansion in Meadowbrook Trailer Park, now under new ownership, involves a proposed 10- space expansion and new trailer pads, which would bring the 39-trailer capacity to 49.
The developer has also agreed to put in a new sewer line and the Richmond Utilities District has agreed to pay for up to $20,000 in materials. The 6-inch gravity line in Hatch Street was found to be in poor condition and will involve an approximately 900- foot line replacement. The expansion project will be up for a public hearing before the planning board Aug. 11.
Also Gary Nash was before the board proposing a physical therapy and sports facility at the corner of Route 197 and Homestead Way. The structure will be about 12,000 square feet with an 800-square-foot entry way. The project will be back before the board Aug. 11 for a public hearing.
The board Tuesday also approved the demolition of a historic building at 76 Main St., owned by Ellen Kroot.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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