Trustees of Public Burial Grounds

City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts 115 Mt. Elam Road Fitchburg, MA 01420 Office: 978-345-9578 FAX: 978-345-9686 www.fitchburgma.gov CEMETERY TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Thursday, September 17, 2015 Call to Order: Chairman Philip Jordan called the September 17, 2015 meeting to order at 9:09 am Trustee Members Present: Philip Jordan, Donna Coco, Joe Coco, Diane Ouellette and Donald Lassila Trustee Members Absent: None Minutes of the Meeting: A motion made by Donald Lassila, and seconded by Donna Coco to accept the minutes from special meeting on August 13, 2015. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. A motion made by Joe Coco, and seconded by Donna Coco to accept the minutes from June 18, 2015. 5 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Oral Requests from Audience: None Cemetery Department Report: Report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill - Cleaned mausoleum - Replaced wheel on lift for mausoleum - Cleaned garage and tomb - Cleaned frog pond - Cut and trimmed grass - Cleaned up trash in cemetery and along bike path - Filled sunken graves - Equipment maintenance - Continued spraying weeds - Installed Veteran flag holders - Installed Veteran markers with foundations - New mulch bed in front of office trailer - Shrub removal and seeded graves - Replaced American flags for the season - Watering – new graves & flowers in planters - Started spraying weeds - Sprayed for ants in columbaria area - Fertilized and applied Grub X on Sections O, M, N, D, baby, family and cremains - (26) Funerals since last meeting Laurel Hill - Checked and picked up trash - Cut & trimmed grass - Reset 15 stones - Continued spraying weeds - Sprayed bees in ground - Filled in sunken graves - Cut tree South Street/West Street & Dean Hill - Checked and picked up trash - Cut & trimmed grass Cemetery Staff - 1 full-time workers - Disabled list 1 SMEO and 1 LMEO - 1 Temporary Summer Help - 1 Superintendent - Prisoners and Community Service when available Administration - Revolving Account (last report on 4.16.2015 balance $ 63,675.06) - Applied for Veterans markers in Washington - Consult with grieving families - Arranged for military honors - Worked with family on Swede lot graves - Worked FY16 budget - Attended International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association University - Completed 5-year Capital Improvement Plan - Working on database corrections and updating - IT has replaced computer, installed new net gear box change settings on connections to city server and set up lap top - Access programmer worked to make database compatible with new operating system - Processing flower box with water program requests - Sales - graves, veterans’ foundations, veterans’ flag holder, brick, cremated remains table rental, columbarium - Genealogical searches - Columbarium Expansion- units installed and are selling - Modified frost remover – DPW welded extensions on edges - Held training for new columbaria units - Attending DPW managers meeting - Expansion section D – order more markers - Assisting Leominster Cemetery Department - Contractor re-roofed mausoleum – Met with architect on project - Waste-water used camera to check drains in mausoleum - Looking into trench boxes for safety when digging graves – confined space entry - Working on keeping graves in specifications - Contacted Michael Donnelly about chasing geese away - Met and help Eagle Scout with his project, which is now complete – ordered more flag holders Trustee Feedback Laurel Hill Trustees requested that Gary Withington place a barrier on Central Avenue to block traffic, North Avenue is unpassable for vehicles. Gary Withington will look into. Laurel Hill – stones are shifting and being moved – Trustees will have an on-site meeting Forest Hill Trustee requested that old truck in frog pond be put on scrap list – Lenny Laakso will work on the process to junk truck. Trustees requested that Willow tree by frog pond be trimmed, Philip Jordan volunteered to trim tree Old Business: Mausoleum Roof Update –Roof drains leaking – Lenny Laakso and Jaquelyn Poirier had on site meeting with Steve Svolis – Roofing contractor not paid and will check into why roof is leaking. Sewer crew put camera in drain, just need to check video to what is going on. The roof itself is not leaking. Adopt -A-Veteran – Eagle Scout Program – Donna Coco will come into office to help process paperwork and with database updates Section D Expansion – More clearing needs to happen to get the proper grade of slope for the graves – Engineering has map for Gary Withington to follow –staying within the 100 ft of the wetlands restriction – Gary Withington will schedule when time allows. New Business: Veterans Day – Trustee would like to advertise Adopt a Veteran Program again. Looking for page three in the paper. A motion was made by Donna Coco and seconded by Don Lassila to put an advertisement into the Sentinel & Enterprise not to exceed $ 200.00. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. Mausoleum Interior Restoration – Trustee would like professional suggestions of interior work to be completed inside mausoleum. Lenny Laakso will check with Paul Lieneck for suggestions to proceed. Trustees would also like stairs on the exterior to be fixed. Website – The City of Fitchburg hired a consultant to have uniform content, transfer content to new web page – training end of October the website is projected to go live on November 30th Trustees agreed to let the City of Fitchburg do what it wanted with website, they will reassess once it goes live Events: Next meeting scheduled for November 19, 2015 at 9:00 am – at Cemetery Office A motion made at 10:06 pm by Don Lassila, and seconded by Diane Ouellette to adjourn the meeting. 5 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Jaquelyn R. Poirier Distribution: Cemetery Trustees Honorable Mayor Lisa A. Wong Nate LaRose City Clerk Ward 1 Councilor Amy Green Lenny Laakso, DPW Gary Withington, DPW Tricia Chabot Diane & Leo Ouellette Peggy Page Joy Contois