City issues citations for construction of crematory

WORLAND — The City of Worland is issuing seven citations to Clayton Draggoo, owner of Veile Mortuary this week after it was discovered he was installing a crematory at the mortuary location on Eighth Street without valid permits or zoning.

Building Official Randy Adams reported to the Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission that Draggoo had declined to attend Monday’s meeting after a written request by Mayor Jim Gill.

Draggoo initially approached the city council on Feb. 5 about his proposal for a crematory and was referred to Adams and the BAPC. In a letter to Adams, Draggoo said he had two possible locations for a crematory, one where the mortuary is currently located at 301 South Eighth and one a building at 114 Grace near the city shop, that he had made an offer on, but later opted not to purchase.

Adams told the BAPC at a meeting Feb. 8 that the mortuary is in a residential zone, which would require a variance or special exemption for the crematory. The other location is in an industrial zone and since the city already has a crematory in an industrial zone, albeit a pet crematory for New Hope Humane Society, a special exemption would not be required.

At a public meeting on March 23, the board heard from two couples who live near the mortuary, one who opposed the crematory due to emissions including mercury.

Draggoo later sought the exemption for the Eighth Street property and the board eventually denied the special exemption.

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Adams told the board Monday that he spoke to an official with the Board of Funeral Service

Practitioners who stated that Draggoo did not have a license to operate a crematory in Worland.

According to the list of active licenses, Draggoo has one permit for a crematory facility that was issued in 2017 (he owns one in Greybull), three permits for funeral establishments and a license as a funeral service practitioner. All licenses and permits are good through Feb. 1, 2022.

Draggoo is also the owner of Atwood Family Funeral Directors with locations in Basin and Greybull and the Antelope Butte Crematory in Greybull.

An application for an air quality permit with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is being processed for the Worland crematory.

Adams said one of the citations is for a zoning violation since the BAPC voted in April to not allow a special exemption allowing a crematory at 301 South Eighth.

Board member Landis Benson asked if there was anything in city code specifically allowing or prohibiting a crematory, to which Adams replied, “No.”

Benson said, “So his (Draggoo) answer to us is ‘I didn’t need one (variance).’”

Dan Frederick asked exactly how far the city can go beyond the citations, wondering if the business would be forced to shut down. Adams said he did not want it go that far.

Adams noted that no certified electrical, plumbing work can be done without a building permit and natural gas cannot be connected to the crematory without a building permit.

The board wondered if the variance granted in June to extend the garage could be revoked and asked Adams to seek the advice of City Attorney Kent Richins.

Adams noted that Draggoo had the ability to appeal the Board’s decision on the crematory variance and chose not to appeal.

Mike Dykman noted that Draggoo never attended a BAPC meeting while they debated the variance to allow the crematory and never provided specifications of the crematory as requested.

Michael Sanchez said, “I’m extremely disappointed in the lack of respect for the process. I’m 23 years old and I get that you are going to have to go through certain processes to do certain things.”

The board noted that in regard to the crematory there was nothing the board could take action on but Adams said the board needed to begin working on an ordinance for the city council on where a crematory should and should not be allowed.

Benson said he would like solid data on emissions from crematories before going forward.