CEMETERY TRUSTEES
Newton Town Hall
2 Town Hall Road – P.O. Box 378
Newton, NH 03858
Minutes of Trustee’s April 14, 2011 Meeting
Members present: Bill Landry, Ron Saunders, Mike Hughes
Meeting called to order at 4:30 PM. at the Newton Central Fire Station
NEW BUSINESS:
Michael Hughes was elected Chairman 2011. The nomination was made by W. Landry and seconded by R Saunders. Motion unanimously passed.
- ELECTION OF BOOKKEEPER / SECRETARY:
William Landry was elected Bookkeeper and Secretary. Nomination made by Michael
Hughes and seconded by Ronald Saunders. Motion unanimously passed.
- CREATION OF THE POSITION OF WARDEN:
A discussion was held regarding the position of Cemetery Warden whose specific duties would be to “Oversee the condition of the cemetery structures, enclosures, fixtures etc…” These are responsibilities not specifically addressed by the duties of the Chairman or Bookkeeper.
It was decided that the creation of this position was necessary and would greatly strengthen the trustee’s ability to maintain the condition and appearance of the cemeteries.
Ronald Saunders was nominated by Bill Landry for this position and it was seconded by Michael Hughes. Motion passed unanimously.
The department’s year end actual spending indicated a surplus of $ 125.28.
Maintenance of the grounds and monuments consumed 83 % of the yearly budget.
For the first time in 3 years the department is not operating on a default budget. It is estimated that maintenance of the grounds and monuments will consume 84% of the dept. budget.
- POTENTIAL DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR 2011:
It was decided that there was no need for any vendor contracts beyond the current contract for the maintenance of the cemetery grounds. That contract with T & M Properties covers two years so there will be contract activity until 2012.
- CEMETERY RULES AND REGULATIONS:
It was felt that the current rules and regulations were sufficient and covered all concerns.
A discussion was held regarding the possibility of closing the cemeteries to burials in January and February. It was decided that the present regulations give us the latitude to deal with the weather situation on a case by case basis and there was no need to amend the regs.
- 2009 CEMETERY MAINTENANCE
The same procedure used the past few years for scheduling maintenance will be used in ’11. The trustees will monitor the condition of the cemeteries and schedule maintenance accordingly. The intent is to ensure our limited funds last the entire season. We anticipate being able to mow and trim each of the three (3) cemeteries twelve (12) times and clean each cemetery twice; once in the spring and again in the fall. (The optimal number of mowing and trimmings at each cemetery would be 18 – 20)
WILLOW GROVE: A discussion was held regarding the conditions at Willow Grove Cemetery. As we all know, the “grass” at Willow Grove is in terrible condition. There is money available to the trustees from the Cemetery Trust Funds that can only be used for the improvement of the cemetery grounds. The use of these funds would give us an opportunity to improve the appearance of Willow Grove dramatically, at no cost to the taxpayers.
It was decided that the trustees would meet with our landscaper to determine if there was a way to improve the grass at Willow Grove.
This may require a multi-phase, multi-year operation. For example, plant trees to provide shade for the grass as the first phase then loam, till, aerate and top seed as the second phase.
HOYT: The Hoyt family cemetery, which was located last year off Pond Street, will be cleaned this year. Cemetery Warden Ron Saunders will approach Scout Troop 91 for assistance.
There remains one “lost” cemetery; a cemetery deep in the woods on Whittier St. in the Packer Meadows area. The trustees were approached last year by a local resident who claims to know the exact location of this cemetery. This summer the trustees will locate and identify this cemetery.
This will mean that we will have located all eight cemeteries within the Town of Newton. This does not include the Union Cemetery which is privately owned.
It was decided that at this point in time, no further redesign of the back section of Highland is needed.
The maps of Highland and Willow Grove have been professionally updated. A computer generated map of the Town Hall Cemetery was created by the Trustees. The “map drawer” at the town hall contains copies of all old and updated maps.
- Two gross of Veteran grave marker flags and two pole flags have been ordered and received.
- Prior to Memorial Day the Veteran flags will be place at the Highland, Willow Grove, Town Hall and Farmer Cemeteries. The fourth grade class at the Newton Memorial School will place the flags at Willow Grove; the Newton Historical Society will place the flags at the other cemeteries. Flags for the Union Cemetery will be given to a representative of that cemetery for placement.
- Flower displays will be planted at the Willow Grove Cemetery prior to the Memorial Day parade.
- NETWORK COMPUTER DATA BASE:
Over the past four years all facets of the cemetery operations have been computerized.
All records, correspondence, contracts, activities etc… are kept on the department’s lap top computer which is kept by one of the trustees.
With the planned separation of duties among the 3 trustees it became evident that with only one computer in the department, it was necessary to make this data available to all trustees through some type of network.
With a great deal of assistance and direction from the town’s IT consultant, all the cemetery computer folders and files are now located on a network that can be accessed and updated by any of the trustees from practically any location. This is a secure application and only the trustees can access the data.
The cemetery by-laws and general responsibilities were reviewed with no changes made. The Cemetery Trustees Operating Procedures were reviewed with no changes made. The individual Duties of the Trustee positions were reviewed. The duties of the new Warden position were added to the document.
Meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM
To be advised
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