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NEWTON CEMETERY TRUSTEES
2 Town Hall Road, Newton, NH 03858
Minutes of Trustee’s July 28, 2016 Meeting
Members present: Mike Hughes, Bill Landry, & Ron Saunders
Meeting called to order at 4:20 PM. Primary School Museum. (Minutes taken by W. Landry)
- Review 2016 Budget & Expenses:
Budget: $13,621.00 Y.T.D. Expenses: $5,651.48
- Review Cemetery Trust Funds:
Total sale of graves revenue thus far in 2016 is $4,000.00. $3,675.00 of that amount was deposited in the new Expendable Trust Fund. The fund has earned a whopping $0.39 cents in interest. Reviewed the information provided by the Trustees of the Trust Funds regarding the Cemetery Common Trust and Holding funds. All appears in order.
- Review of Rules & Regulations:
Recently the Trustees became aware of situation that could put the town in a position of financial liability. A non-lot owner was using a power mower to mow his family’s plots in between scheduled mowing by the landscape company that is contracted to mow the cemeteries every two weeks. The following rule was added to Section F – Care of lots.
Only approved contractors, hired by the Cemetery Trustees, shall be allowed to perform maintenance and landscaping duties of cemetery property. Said contractors will provide proof of minimum General Liability insurance coverage in the amount $1,000,000.00. The Town of Newton will be named as the “Certificate Holder”.
Lot owners are prohibited from the use of “gas powered” equipment to mow or trim grave lots in Newton cemeteries.
The individual will be advised of the rule and told to cease this activity.
- Cemetery Grave Sale Issue:
A former Newton resident purchased a grave at Highland Cemetery just prior to the price increase of cemetery lots on June 1. The payment check has been received but to this date the buyer has failed to select a lot. A Certified letter will be sent to the individual advising him that unless he makes an appointment with the Trustees and selects a grave site before Aug. 31, his money will be returned and any future purchase will be at the new grave cost.
The laptop that was donated to the Cemetery Trustees last year is no longer operable. A motion was made by R. Saunders and seconded by M. Hughes to purchase a new laptop. A laptop is critical to the functioning of the cemetery operations whereas all cemetery activities are kept on the Town of Newton server. The funds will be taken from the new Expendable Trust Fund account so there will be no cost to the tax payers.
Minutes of Trustee’s July 28, 2016 Meeting Minutes (Cont.)
- Installation of Lot Markers at Willow Grove:
51 new 3”aluminum lot markers were purchased for installation at the Willow Grove Cemetery. They will be installed in the next several weeks. This will greatly facilitate the sale of graves as well as burials.
- Grave Site Issues at Highland Cemetery:
It was discovered that a lot in the front, older section, of Highland was improperly marked a number of years ago and created problems with adjoining lots. After much probing of the grave site and investigating, the correct location of the markers have been identified. The markers will be moved to their proper location in the near future.
A discussion was held regarding removal of the Veteran Flags before the winter. Many cemeteries are removing the flags, which are typically put in place prior to Memorial Day, right after Veteran’s Day.
The reasoning is that the flags are damaged or knocked to the ground during the winter months which is disrespectful to the flag and the Veterans. As a side benefit, we may be able to get a couple of years use out of some of the flags.
Actual US flag protocol is that the flags should be removed shortly after Memorial Day. A final decision will be made prior to Veteran’s Day.
- Future Major Cemetery Projects:
With the advent of the new Expendable Trust Fund, a discussion was held regarding any future long range improvements to the cemeteries. As was explained when the Warrant Article was placed on the ballot last March, our intentions were to accumulate monies in this new trust fund to put toward future major projects that we previously had no hope of accomplishing.
The project that seemed the most appealing would be to pave the horseshoe drive at the Willow Grove Cemetery. This fund allows us to accomplish this at no cost to the taxpayers.
The Trustees would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Ron Jackson of the Newton Highway Dept. for his efforts on behalf of the cemeteries. He has done us many favors over the years. Most recently, he straightened a cement fence post at Willow Grove and he cut up and removed a large tree that had fallen over in Willow Grove, before the Trustees even knew the tree had fallen.
Meeting Adjourned at 5:25 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
William G. Landry - Secretary
Newton Cemetery Trustees
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