New life at cemetery

 

Oak Hill Cemetery in Ballard is a classic — a cemetery where one can stroll in shade under its stately old-growth trees, in a setting quiet enough to hear yourself think.

The cemetery’s new manager, David Jakkola, brings with him 12 years of nursery and management experience, and is genuinely tickled about the improvements and community pride.

 “The people are wonderful! Every day, I get to meet so many wonderful people here,” beamed Jakkola.

Jakkola, was the operations manager for wholesale nursery in Santa Barbara overseeing approximately 400 employees. He came on board in February, and has already accomplished volumes.

 

 “I live in Los Olivos and was tired of commuting.

“I responded to the ad in the paper,” said Jakkola, explaining how he came to work at the cemetery.

One of Jakkola’s first goals was to transfer the hand-written records to a dependable data base.

Cemetery records and plot maps were converted to a program created for cemeteries called Cem-Safe, much easier and accurate than the past filing cabinet system of using index cards.

“We are catching Oak Hill up with the times” said Jakkola, referring to converting the old filing system to a computer database.

Improvements to the grounds are noticeable from the road, and include a maintenance program that had not been in place before, fertilizing in the spring and fall. The cemetery also has a new capstone in river rock on the flagpole, new caution and safety signs have been erected, and all the trees have been pruned for safety. The cemetery is the home to more than 25 old-growth oak trees and several 100-foot-high redwoods.

 

Under the new management, 460 new plots. The past manager did not remap the lots as they became available when trees died or fell, said Jakkola.

“The maintenance crew told me that one year, 20 trees blew over during a bad storm, but the past manager did not create any new lots where the trees used to be,” said Jakkola.

Assisting Jakkola with the new maintenance program and plot configuring are brothers “Nacho” Ignacio Gonzalez and “Raffa” Raphael Gonzalez.

Nacho has been tending the cemetery for over 27 years. Nacho’s brother Raffa has been working there 11 years.

Oak Hill Cemetery board members are Santa Ynez residents Judy Adams, president; Lee Bettencourt, whose grandfather and father were also board members, and Art Knight, a retired sheriff’s deputy. Adams lives at a nearby farm, and her great-grandparents, parents, uncle and husband all are buried at the cemetery.

 

“It’s a good place to volunteer; it’s a nice place to give and be involved,” she said.

Adams said, “We’ve gone to a lot of effort, and with our new manager, and working with the county, and we are proud to say that we have got all the records in order and are well in the black now.”

Adams is referring to mismanagement of funds uncovered in 2006 while James Michael Poggione was manager of the Oak Hill Cemetery. A county audit brought the cemetery management under investigation by the district attorney’s office.

Poggione was manager for 11 years until the district board fired him in October, 2007. He was charged with three felony counts of embezzlement and pleaded Jan. 2. He reportedly pleaded no contest to one count, the other two were dismissed and he was ordered to pay vestitution. Adams is thankful for the time she spent with the late D.A. investigator Laura Cleaves, who was assigned to the case. Cleaves, who was killed by a suspected drunk driver in May, is buried at Ballard.

Long-term planning has been also been reorganized, as before it was not known exactly how many plots were left. Now, they can verify accurately that 1,000 lots are available. They sell 91 a year on average.

 

“In only four months, we are setting records for sales,” added Jakkola.

An issue that needs to be addressed is future planning, said Adams.

It is anticipated that Oak Hill can accommodate burials with the current amount of plots for approximately 10 years. It is hoped that it will be possible to purchase an adjoining parcel to allow for more plots at the same location.

 “After all these lots are all sold, we may have to go to a private cemetery system,” unless more land is added to the Oak Hill site.

Plots at Oak Hill currently cost $1,500 for the newer section (flat headstone) and $3,000 in the older section for those residing in the cemetery district, which has the same boundaries as the school district, covering Santa Ynez to Buellton. There’s an additional fee added to sales of plots for residents outside of the boundary. 

An endowment fee of $250 on each burial is held in trust by the county to pay for maintenance of the cemetery. A parcel assessment charged to residents of the cemetery district also goes towards the salaries of the employees, said Jakkola.

 

The next closest public cemeteries are in Lompoc and Santa Maria.

There is also a small cemetery in Los Alamos, and a private cemetery in Solvang.

The costs for a plot in 1922 were $60, and now, private cemetery costs are as high as $10,000 to $12,000 a lot in Santa Barbara.

The Oak Hill Cemetery dates to 1883. In 1886, it was formally declared as a cemetery district and a managing board formed.

Visitors are welcome day and night to enjoy the breath-taking serenity, lovely old-growth trees and rich history of this pastoral cemetery setting, a cornerstone of the valley’s past.

Even though the gate is not locked at night, the cemetery has not experienced vandalism, said Davis.

It is hoped that it will never have to be locked so that people can visit whenever they like.

For plot information, phone David Jakkola at (805) 688-4035.

The cemetery is located at 2560 Baseline Avenue in Ballard.