The cost dying will increase in Bluffton on Feb. 1. Bluffton council voted to increase the cost of preparing graves at Maple Grove Cemetery.

The current cost of $350 to open and close a grave with a casket will move to $450. The current cost of $200 to open a close a cremation burial will move to $250. According to Bernie Ludwig, Maple Grove sexton, the village currently pays more than it charges to open and close graves.

The move to obtain a new set of petitions for the North Dixie Highway annexation to the village is about half way completed according to Fred Rodabaugh, mayor.

Council approved a resolution to apply for a grant through the Recreational Trails Program and the Clean Ohio Trail Fund. If the village grant is approved it would used for the pedestrian and bike pathway project.

Council heard a presentation from Ken Rollins and Mike Taylor who suggested that the village create a disc golf course. The two represent an organization that promotes disc golf recreation and explained that the sport is growing in popularity across the United States. They said that a course could easily and inexpensively be placed, for example, in the Bluffton village park.

Included in the council packet was a 2010 Bluffton Police Activity Report.

Highlights include:
o According to the report calls for service (actual calls responded to by Bluffton police) was 3,588, a 14 percent decrease from 2009.

o Reports generated, as broken down into Part I and Part II by the FBE reporting, showed an overall reduction of 23 percent. Part I (serious crimes) increased by 3 percent (two more reported thefts in 2010 than 2009 accounted for the increase.), and Part II (all others) saw a reduction of 27 percent.

Other highlights:
o Police devoted 345.5 hours in training in topics including crisis intervention, firearms updates, breath testing equipment, first aid, investigations, crash investigations, defensive tactics, criminal procedures and legal updates.
o This year marked the 20th consecutive year of Bluffton officers presenting child safety material to students in the Bluffton schools and Bluffton Community Child Development Center. The program is supported by local businesses. Contributions in 2010 totaled $2,715, and over $40,000 during the past 20 years.
o Officers continued to have a visible presence and touch the lives of young people by providing guest speakers to Bluffton University and assisting the EMS with CPR instruction in the middle and high school.

Budget:
o The department budget did not require any supplemental appropriations in 2010 (nor had it in the past five years). Despite some unexpected expenses in 2010, the police department under-spent its budget by $5,328.
o The department's cruiser road mileage was 81,697, a 2.1 percent increase in miles over 2009.
o Total vehicle maintenance costs were $10,029, a .06 percent increase over 2009.
o Total vehicle fuel costs were $20,000, a 47 percent increase over 2009.

Two appointments
Bill Suter was appointed to the Bluffton Airport Commission and Bob Amstutz was appointed to the Village Records Comission.