Eagle Mountain and Genola are making efforts to establish cemeteries in their cities. Genola is bonding for $1,150,000 for 10 acres of property for a cemetery and city property. Eagle Mountain is establishing a cemetery board.

In Genola, the population in 2005 was just under 1,200, but the town has a lot of open land that may mean subdivisions as farmers decide to sell. Subdivisions mean a sudden boost to the population, and eventually, requests for cemetery space.

The town wants to be prepared, and have a plan for the infrastructure in their city to prepare for growth as well.

In the north, American Fork just traded for more land to expand its cemetery.

"It buys us a couple of years," Councilman Shirl LeBaron said.

The City Council voted this month to vacate a portion of the planned 740 North, north of the cemetery, to allow the development of the Deveraux Flats subdivision. In exchange, the city is receiving other land for the road.

That will allow the city to build a storage building for the cemetery and add additional gravesites on the north side of 700 North.

The land for the American Fork expansion and Genola cemetery came from family land swaps. American Fork swapped with the Deveraux family; Genola did it with the Milner family, in hopes of paying off the bond sooner.

"As a result of the land swap, the town will generate over 50 percent of the loan," Genola mayor Eric Hazelet said. "We think that we'll be able to pay this off, hopefully in five years. We realistically think we can do that."

Genola residents are thrilled to have a place for final departure.

"We are excited, we were really hoping the city would get one. We were kind of holding off on buying anything," resident Gaylene Throckmorton said, referring to a burial plot.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D5.