T-R FILE PHOTO Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown received extensive damage from the Aug. 10 derecho. Due to the amount of damage, it might take years to clean everything and even then — the iconic cemetery may never look the same.

It may take years to clean up damage the derecho caused to Riverside Cemetery.

Even after the cleanup effort, the iconic Marshalltown site will likely never look the same.

The cost of the initial tree removal performed by Top Notch Tree Service directly after the storm totalled about $830,000. The tree removal service located in Marshalltown reduced the bill with a $130,000 donation, but Riverside general manager Dorie Tammen wants the first bill paid before moving forward with more cleanup.

The first crack at cleanup, which focused on removing dangerous debris and clearing the roadways of the almost 100-acre burial ground, was completed in about three weeks. Top Notch worked 13-hour days, seven-days a week to haul debris out of the cemetery.

There are many trees with missing canopies, uprooted trees and stumps still remaining.

“It was like a bomb went off in this place. It was just devastating,” Tammen said. “I feel pretty comfortable saying Riverside was the worst hit spot in town.”

With additional tree removal and monument repairs, Tammen estimates the total cost of damage from the derecho will exceed $1 million.

The cemetery, which was established in the 1800s, is the resting place of some of Marshalltown’s founding fathers, Tammen said. Some monuments are as old as 120 years and are among the more than 400 damaged during the derecho.

Tammen consulted with monument repair specialists who estimate the cost of repairing 439 monuments to be about $65,000. Damaged monuments are not covered by the cemetery’s insurance because they do not belong to the cemetery. However, Tammen said families of some of those with damaged monuments are no longer in Marshalltown.

“We don’t want to leave them like that,” she said. “Some are never going to be repaired into the condition they were in before.”

There is no timetable for when monument repairs will begin. Some tipped over monuments will need to be reset while others will require more extensive repairs.

Donations have trickled in, ranging from $5-5,000, but the frequency of donations slowed down in recent months.

Tammen said they are also applying for grants to help offset the cost of cleanup but may not know until at least January whether those funds will be received. They have not received a response from FEMA about disaster assistance.

Riverside Cemetery is a perpetual care cemetery, meaning it has an established trust fund regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division which can be used to maintain the cemetery after it no longer generates new revenue. The cemetery receives a small portion from the funds interest each year to help with regular operation but it is also allowed to borrow against it with a 0-percent interest loan. The loan must be paid in full in five years. The cemetery borrowed $250,000 to put toward its tree removal bill.

“If you break that down into monthly payments we’re talking over $4,000 per month and we don’t have that. Even though it pays half the tree removal we still have to pay back the trust,” Tammen said. “We just couldn’t’ let Top Notch go unpaid.”

The cemetery is the site of more than 23,400 burials, but it is also a popular spot for tourism and recreation. Tammen said it has been used more frequently for exercise and sightseeing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a pretty iconic location. We get visitors from all over the country,” Tammen said. “We contribute tourism dollars to Marshalltown too.”

DONATIONS

To help with Riverside Cemetery cleanup and repair costs, send donations to 611 N. Center Street.

Contact Joe Fisher at 641-753-6611 or jfisher@timesrepublican.com