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NEWTON CEMETERY TRUSTEES
2 Town Hall Road
Newton, NH 03858
Minutes of Trustee’s March 16, 2016 Meeting
Members present: Mike Hughes, Bill Landry, & Ron Saunders
Meeting called to order at 4:13 PM. Newton Fire Station. Minutes were taken by William Landry.
Mike Hughes was elected Chairman, Bill Landry was elected Bookkeeper and Secretary, and Ron Saunders elected Warden.
Budget surplus at the end of 2015 was $ 99.34. (Budget was $13,825.00)
- Review of the 2016 Budget:
Whereas the 2016 Town Proposed Budget was voted down at the March election, the B.O.S. dictated that all depts. submit a revised budget 3% lower than the original proposed budget.
We reduced our budget of $14,046. 00 down to $13.621. A reduction of $425.00 or 3.03%
- Review of Trustee Duties:
- The only change made was to name the Bookkeeper as the main contact for the B.O.S. This was due to the fact that 95% of the issues relate to the budget and grounds keeping contract, which fall under the responsibility of the Bookkeeper.
- Trust Fund Trustees Joe Simone and Lynne Camp attended the meeting. The Cemetery Trustee’s Warrant Article on the March ballot to create an “Expendable Trust Fund” for the purpose of accumulating monies from the sale of graves in the town cemeteries was passed by the voters. The Trust Fund Trustees will create this new account subsequent to the first grave sale in 2016. (Per SB 219 passed in 2014)
- The Trust Fund Trustees provided a status of the Cemetery Holding Fund and Common Trust Fund. This included a review of the interest monies available to the Cemetery Trustees for care of the cemeteries.
- The Cemetery Trustees will submit a formal request to the Trust Fund Trustees to transfer those fund to the Cemetery Holding Account when they are available in Nov.
- The addition last year of a protected Mylar sheet with the names of all Newton Veterans to the back of the Memorial did not stand up to the elements and will be removed. It will be replaced with a more substantive material. Hopefully, prior to Memorial Day.
- Preparations for Memorial Day:
- Veteran flags and pole flags will be replaced. As usual, the 4th grade class at Memorial School will place the flags at Willow Grove. The Trustees & Historical Society members will place the remaining flags at Highland, Town Hall & Currier/Farmer.
- Potted red, white, & blue plants will be placed at the WW II Memorial & new mulch added around the plants and Willow Grove sign.
- The purchase of a metal detector was approved. The metal grave markers in Highland Cemetery sink into the ground and are very difficult to locate for accurate burials. This is particularly true in the winter months when the ground is frozen and you must shovel snow to try to locate them. Motion was made by W. Landry, seconded by R. Saunders. Vote was unanimous for this purchase.
- The purchase of metal grave markers for specified rows of graves in Willow Grove were discussed. Currently there are no markers anywhere in Willow. There are many sold but unoccupied graves. When a burial takes place, much measuring is required and it is very difficult to ensure that the placement is correct. The placement of the markers will be done by the Trustees in an effort to reduce costs. Motion to purchase markers by R. Saunders, seconded by M. Hughes. Vote was unanimous.
- A discussion was held regarding the possibility of putting solar powered lights on the flag poles at Highland and Willow Grove. It was decided to do more research on the viability of this project.
- Increase to Cost of Graves:
A discussion was held regarding an increase to the cost of graves. It was decided to conduct a survey to determine where we stood relevant to surrounding towns before making a decision.
Meeting Adjourned at 5:45 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
William G. Landry - Secretary
Newton Cemetery Trustees
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