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Marana officials are in talks to build the town's first cemetery, giving residents a much closer place to bury and visit their loved ones.

"There is not another cemetery within 17 miles" of downtown Marana, said Jon Aries of Swan Management LLC, a partner in the development of the proposed Marana Mortuary and Cemetery. "The town had been wanting this as part of their community resources for some time. We're part of a solution."

Slated for a 23-acre parcel about a mile west of the Marana Municipal Complex along the north side of West Barnett Road, the complex would include a full-service mortuary, a crematorium and possibly a mausoleum.

Plans call for the cemetery to be up and running as soon as mid-2009.

"It's an amenity for families in our community," said Marana Mayor Ed Honea. "We have families, like mine, that have been here for five generations."

The nearest cemeteries to Marana are near North Oracle Road and West Miracle Mile.

One of Aries' partners in the project is Chuck Merrick, who Aries says has more than 50 years of experience as a funeral director. Merrick would oversee hiring and training personnel.

Aries said only a few acres of turf will be installed at first, since cemeteries take time to fill up.

What will be fully operational when the complex opens is the crematorium, something Aries said is a necessary piece of the project.

"We all need them now," Aries said. "Well over half of us will choose to be cremated."

A crematorium that opened last year in Oro Valley was met with protests by neighbors, some of whom cited concern over whether emissions from the facility would be harmful.

Aries said it was unfortunate what developers of the Vistoso Memorial Chapel had to go through, and to prevent a similar reaction in Marana he said his group is making sure to meet with area residents far in advance.

"We have met with our immediate neighbors, some of them, and we'll do a larger discussion with the other people around," Aries said. "We hope that everyone will take a look at us. This is not your everyday land use."

The Marana cemetery would lie along the west side of the future extension of Tangerine Farms Road, which currently stops at Barnett but is planned to extend to Marana Road.

Aries said part of the agreement with the town would involve dedicating the easternmost third of the property as right of way for the road, along with almost $367,000 to help pay for the design and construction of the roadway.