DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Delray Beach Saturday says it is now retaining a consultant to review how the city runs its 120-year-old municipal cemetery, part of a broader push to fix operations while honoring the site’s history.
City commissioners discussed the cemetery’s future in August, and the City Manager’s office followed up by selecting Kuehne Cemetery Consulting, a Casselberry firm that specializes in cemetery management, to lead an independent review. The assessment will cover everything from grounds maintenance and staffing to records, fees, and how much burial space the city has left. Kuehne will also compare Delray Beach’s cemetery against other municipal operations and industry standards.
“It is important to steward a place that tells the story of Delray Beach,” City Manager Terrence R. Moore said. “Generations of families are connected to this cemetery, and the people memorialized there are part of the story of how our community was built.” The cemetery traces back to 1902, when five acres were donated for burial grounds, leading to the establishment of Pine Ridge Cemetery the following year. The city has since compiled a historic resource study of the cemetery’s oldest section, pulling from archival records, old newspapers, and oral histories, and built an interactive online map so residents can explore that history themselves.
The operational review is expected to wrap up within about two months, and the city plans to hold a community input meeting so families and other stakeholders can weigh in before Kuehne delivers its final report and a phased list of recommendations. Separately, Delray Beach is building a new mausoleum at the cemetery that will add 880 crypts and 1,272 niches, giving the city more room for above-ground burials and cremation storage as it works out a longer-term plan for the property.
