Planning board approves crematory
Columbia Mortuary is seeking a conditional use permit to build a crematory on the south end of the building. The corner of Honey Bear Preschool can be seen in the background.
In a 4-2 vote Tuesday night, the Columbia Falls planning board approved a conditional use permit for an 800-plus square foot addition and crematory at Columbia Mortuary on Fourth Avenue West, much to the chagrin of neighbors who oppose it.
The mortuary has plans to move its retort furnace, which incinerates dead bodies, from the Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish to the Columbia Falls location. Columbia Mortuary has been in Columbia Falls since 1966, but does not have a crematory, noted general manager Troy Knutson.
Columbia, Austin and Johnson-Gloshat Funeral Homes in Kalispell are all part of the same company. Austin lost its lease to its building in Whitefish near Don K Chevrolet and has moved into a different location in that city.
It wants to move its retort to Columbia Falls, Knutson said.
But several neighbors spoke out against the move, noting the retort would vent out in a residential neighborhood and to nearby businesses. There’s a preschool right next door, the city pool is across the street and the Nite Owl/Back Room Restaurant is nearby as well.
Crystal Hutchisson owns Honey Bear Preschool immediately adjacent to the funeral home.
She said she was opposed to the emissions from the crematory and noted it was bad for her business.
Jana Price of the Back/Room Nite Owl concurred, noting it could hurt property values in the area.
“Who wants to bring their child to a preschool with a crematory next door?” Hutchisson asked the board.
Parents who bring their children to the preschool also opposed. Rebecca Powell has a child who attends the preschool. She said she didn’t oppose cremation, she just thought it was in a bad location.
The main concern from the emissions is mercury that generally comes from people’s teeth fillings. About two pounds of mercury are emitted into the air for every 100 bodies. The funeral home estimates it would cremate about 115 bodies annually.
By contrast, however, a coal burning power plant emits about 48 tons of mercury annually, noted city planner Eric Mulcahy.
Mulcahy, as part of his research on the application, noted that Johnson and Buffalo Hill funeral homes in Kalispell both had crematories and both were near schools and residential areas.
The industry is heavily regulated by the state, he noted.
Knutson noted that the furnace is super efficient and burns the emissions a total of three times. The end result is there is no odor — just heated air from the stack.
Those emissions are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the operation overall is regulated and inspected by the state of Montana. The city doesn’t have its own regulations for funeral homes.
After some debate, the board approved the application, 4-2, with chairman Russ Vukonich and Steve Hughes voting against it, while Steve Duffy, Lew Bonitz, Mike Shepard and Sue Haverfield voted for it.
The application now goes before the Columbia Falls City Council on Monday night, with a public hearing at 7 p.m. Council has final say in the matter.