NEWTON CEMETERY TRUSTEES
Newton Town Hall
2 Town Hall Road
Newton, NH 03858
Minutes of March 26, 2008 Meeting
Members present: Bill Landry, Ron Saunders
Meeting called to order at 7:10 PM. at the Newton Town Hall.
NOTE: Nancy Wrigley, Newton Town Administrator, attended the meeting and sat on the dais with trustee members. Her attendance and participation were very helpful and greatly appreciated. Her vast knowledge of town procedures and state protocols gave the trustees instant feedback on the many questions we had which allowed the trustees to move forward and make decisions on several items.
Ms. Wrigley volunteered to attend our meetings and act as a town government liaison and information resource whenever possible. Again, this will be very helpful and is greatly appreciated.
New Business:
] ADMINISTRATION:
o Ronald Saunders was welcomed as Newton’s newest Cemetery Trustee.
o William Landry was selected to be Chairman and Secretary for the year 2008.
] BY-LAWS:
The trustees formulated, reviewed and approved trustee By-Laws and General Responsibilities. These will be posted on the trustee web page on the town web site.
] MISSION STATEMENT:
o The trustees formulated, reviewed and approved a revised mission statement, which will be posted on the
trustee web page.
] RIGHT TO BURY FORM:
o The current “Right to Bury” form, which is given to lot purchasers, was reviewed. Whereas the only discrepancy on the form is the incorrect price of lots, plus the fact that we have a large supply of the two page forms, it was decided that for the sake of financial frugality we would affix stickers to both pages that display the new prices.
Whereas this form serves as the purchaser’s “lot deed”, Ms Wrigley asked if we were registering these deeds with the state; if in fact we need to do that. No one knew the answer to that question so Trustee Landry will follow up with the state to determine if we need to register these deeds and if so, what is the procedure.
Minutes of March 26, 2008 Meeting (Cont.)
] CEMETERY REGULATIONS:
o Because there are currently no published rules or regulations for the operation of the Newton Town Cemeteries, the trustees formulated, reviewed and approved a document entitled “Information and Regulations for Newton, NH Cemeteries”. This six (6) page document includes the following topics:
· Purpose and Intent
· Cemetery Information
· Purchase Fees and Lot Size Information
· Interment Responsibilities
· Duties of Employees
· Visitor Comportment
· Care of Lots
· Monuments and other Structures
· Enforcement of Regulations
A copy of this document will be given to each person who purchases a cemetery lot in Newton and copy will be mailed to local funeral homes and companies performing work at the cemeteries. The information included in the document will also be posted on the Cemetery Trustee web site.
] CEMETERY SIGNS:
o A discussion was held regarding the placement of name signs at the town cemeteries. Due to budget constraints, it was decided to focus on only the Highland and Willow Grove sites at this time. Worst case would be to erect a sign at only Willow Grove and to do it before Memorial Day.
Preliminary explorations have surfaced estimates for two different types of signs. A 10” X 20” cast bronze plaque, which would be affixed to the larges boulders in the front of the cemeteries would cost approx. $ 750. A wood sign similar in looks and size to the ones located at the Primary School, Marshall House and Town Hall would be in the area of $ 450. The bronze sign would last forever whereas the wood type would need continual repair.
Trustee Saunders, who has some experience in this area, will pursue additional options to see if we can obtain a sign that will withstand the elements at hopefully a better price.
] FLAGS:
o The flags at the cemeteries will be assessed for condition and size. Apparently someone complained about the size of the flag at Willow Grove after last years Memorial Day parade. If the size is determined to be incorrect, a more suitable sized flag will be put in place before Memorial Day.
] MEMORIAL DAY:
o Regarding Veteran flags; Nancy Wrigley will provide the trustees with the number of small gravesite flags that need to be purchased for Memorial Day. The flags will be distributed to the Memorial School for placement at the Willow Grove cemetery and to the Board of Selectmen for placement at the Highland and Town Hall cemeteries. This is consistent with past practices.
o Special effort will be made to ensure Willow Grove is presentable for the Memorial Day parade.
Minutes of March 26, 2008 Meeting (Cont.)
] BUDGET:
o A discussion and review was done regarding the 2008 proposed budget and the default budget of
$ 9,100, which becomes the “official” 2008 budget, as a result of the town budget being voted down on Election Day by the residents of Newton.
The proposed 2008 budget for the cemeteries was $ 2,750. This amount was basically to cover the administrative costs expected to be incurred by the trustees. The care and maintenance of the cemeteries, as well as the required funds of $ 22,000, had been transferred to the Road Agents budget.
The rejection of the proposed town budget leaves the trustees with a budget of $ 9,100 for all administrative and maintenance costs. Simply stated, these funds are inadequate to achieve our goals relevant to the level of care intended for the cemeteries.
] CEMETERY MAINTENANCE:
o As previously stated, the original plan was to have the town road crew do the maintenance with the $22,000 in the Road Agents budget. Maintenance included mowing each of the four cemeteries thirteen times, trimming as needed, spring and fall cleanups and fertilization and weed control applications. Rejection of the budget voided this plan.
A decision was made to adjust the requirements and the timing of the maintenance and explore other options. The maintenance would involve only the Highland, Willow Grove and Town Hall cemeteries. Other arrangements will be made for Farmer Cemetery. Mowing and trimming would be on an as needed basis, the clean up would still be spring and fall and the fertilization / weed control would be eliminated. (With respect to the term “as needed basis” our intention is that the trustees would contact the vendor for each mowing and/or trimming)
Options explored and discussed were:
· The trustees continue to do the maintenance? The trustees have neither the time, equipment, nor inclination to handle the maintenance. OPTION REJECTED
· The Road Agent was approached about having the road crew do the revised work with the new budget constraints. He determined the crew did not have the time and there was not enough money to perform the duties. OPTION REJECTED
· Hire local persons to do the maintenance. With input from Ms. Wrigley it was determined that issues of insurance and liability were a problem. Coupled with the fact that the cemetery dept. does not have the proper equipment or the funds with which to purchase it, this was also considered not to be a viable option. OPTION REJECTED
· It was decided that the trustees would approach the businesses that had previously bid on the maintenance work, as well as possibly additional businesses, to see if they were interested in the new approach and requirements.
The plan is to send a letter to the businesses explaining our situation and our revised objectives identified above. We would then get together with those businesses interested in participating and explain in more detail what we need.
This is a very serious situation.
Minutes of March 26, 2008 Meeting (Cont.)
] WILLOW GROVE WATER PUMP:
The trustees were made aware that the pump at Willow Grove was no longer operable. The trustees will investigate to determine if the pump can be repaired or needs to be replaced.
] CEMETERY TRUST FUND:
In anticipation of the shortfall of funds for the maintenance of the cemeteries, Trustee Landry previously contacted a representative of the Trustees of the Trust Fund. The intent was to inquire about any possible available monies in the fund that could be used toward the care of the cemeteries as stipulated in RSA 35:15.
Landry was informed that there were no funds available as each year for the past several years the Selectmen’s office has requested the available funds to use to offset the budget.
Town Administrator Nancy Wrigley provided the following explanation of how this process has worked:
“Before the end of each year the Selectmen’s Office would request from the
Trustees of the Trust Funds the interest earned on the Cemetery Common
Trust to be used as an offset to the Cemetery Budget.~ This offset was used
to~reduce the amount of taxes~to be raised for the perpetual care of the
cemeteries (salaries) since that money was already collected with the sale
of the lot and held by the Trustees of~Trust Funds.~ This interest would be
shown as a revenue on the Department of Revenue's MS-4 revenue sheet,
and shown as a credit~toward the salary line for the perpetual care of the
cemeteries".~
Not knowing exactly how the trust words and what our options are, the cemetery trustees will make an effort to become more familiar with the laws regarding the trust funds, both the principal and interest monies, and at some point request a meeting with the Trustees of the Trust Fund to determine what we can do and how to do it.
It would seem that these funds, if left to accumulate,~would be a logical and ideal source of funds for large or long-term cemetery projects. IE: Paving of the “U” shaped roads at Highland and Willow Grove. The trustees will work with the Board of Selectmen on this issue.
Respectfully submitted,
William G. Landry
William G. Landry
Secretary
Newton Cemetery Trustees
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