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, February 23, 2017 Call to Order: Interim Vice Chair Judith Perla called the February 23, 2017 meeting to order at 9:00 am Trustee Members Present: Judith Perla, Diane Ouellette, Andrew Hawthorne, David DeMar, Nancy Maynard Trustee Members Absent: None Minutes of the Meeting: A motion made by Andrew Hawthorne, and seconded by Diane Ouellette to accept the minutes from special meeting December 6, 2016. 5 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Oral Requests from Audience: None Judith Perla congratulated and welcomed the new members of the Board of Trustees Election of Trustee Board Officers: The Interim Vice Chair Judith Perla opened the floor for nominations of new chairperson. Diane Ouellette nominated Judith Perla for Chair, Nancy Maynard seconded the nomination. Judith Perla accepted. No other nominations for chair were presented. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. Andrew Hawthorne nominated Diane Ouellette for vice chair, Nancy Maynard seconded the nomination. Diane Ouellette accepted. No other nominations for vice chair were presented. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. Elections closed Cemetery Department Report: Report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill - Cleaned mausoleum - Winterized grass - Cleaned up flowers and decorations on graves - Cleaned office trailer - Helped with cleaning DPW and Water Department - Rubbish removal in cemetery and along bike path - Filled in sunken graves - Finished leaf clean-up for season - Removed flags in Veteran flag holders - Removed brush - Removed and trimmed trees - Snow plowed & shoveled - Equipment maintenance - Winter maintenance with water pipes – made new ones for spring - Replaced heater in garage - Sorted grave numbers on site for new section - (27) Funerals since last meeting Laurel Hill - Checked and picked up trash - Finished leaf clean-up - Locked down for season - Cleaned up down limbs South Street/West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell - Checked and picked up trash - Cleaned up down limbs - Finished leaf clean-up Cemetery Staff - 2 full-time workers - Disabled - 1 LMEO - 1 temporary worker – kept seasonal worker due to disabled LMEO – low funding - 1 Superintendent Administration - Applied for Veterans markers in Washington - Consult with grieving families - Sales - graves, veterans’ foundations, veterans’ flag holder, brick, cremated remains table rental, columbarium - Transfers of lot ownership - End of year employee time sheets – cemetery and parks - Reconciled accounts – cemetery and parks - Genealogical searches - Adopt a Veteran – processing requests - Completed new 90 Day assessment of new employee - Attending DPW managers meetings - Training on Munis from DPW Business Manager – on budget reports - Working on keeping graves in specifications - Met with fence companies for quote on fencing for Forest Hill - Spoke with Monty Tech with regards to the mausoleum restoration – projected time frame 2018 - Coggshall schedule - Coggshall flooring and cleaning needs - Consulted with Recreation Director with regards to Coggshall rules - Met with Stephen Twining – Civil War Veterans - Consulted with Leominster DPW –helped with cemetery logistics - Advised Barre Cemetery – helped with cemetery rules and procedures - Meeting with Gardner Cemetery – helped with columbaria, interment orders, rules, procedures, pre-need sales and prices - Meeting with personnel on winter plan - Meeting with working foreman - Meeting with funeral director on cemetery procedures - Spoke with Recreation Director with regards to seasonal temporary help wages - Reviewing master plan proposals – phase II - Consulted with Auditor on expenditures from perpetual care expendable account - Working with Engineering on expansion section Q - Starting FY18 budget process - Inventory of graves left in section P – 33 graves Old Business: Master Plan – Proposals are in, need to be reviewed by committee Lenny Laakso Commissioner, Nelson Mui Business Manager, Andrew Hawthorne Trustee, Nancy Maynard Trustee, Jaquelyn Poirier Superintendent. Andrew Hawthorne and Nancy Maynard will be in touch with Jaquelyn Poirier with dates to schedule meeting to review proposals. Mausoleum –Paul Lieneck preparing construction document. Richard Demers with Monty Tech is on hold until 2018, due to construction scheduled at Monty Tech for next school year. Section Q Expansion –Gary Withington started grading area, and ran into issues. Lenny Laakso and Jaquelyn Poirier met with Engineering to rework area. Engineering has two plans for Trustee review for the new layout. (Plans available upon request) A drain needs to be installed for water run-off and a fence needs to be installed for safety along Electric Avenue. The Trustees approved the plans with the graves in a straight line (map available upon request) Grave Boards – At the September board meeting the Trustees requested Jaquelyn Poirier to check into other materials besides wood for planking on a grave. There are aluminum planks for graves that can be purchased for around $ 625.00 for a pair. They can hold up to a ½ ton of weight. The trustees would like to purchase of aluminum grave board. A motion was made by Andrew Hawthorne, and seconded by Nancy Maynard to purchase a set of aluminum grave boards. Jaquelyn Poirier will handle ordering and it will be paid for out of cemetery operating budget. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. Fencing – spring installation – approved by City Council – Perpetual Care Expendable Funding Order 286-16 - $ 5985.00 Surfside Fence – 350’ 4’ galvanized fence along Electric Avenue $ 13,950.00 Girouard Fence – 780’ of 4’ black fence along Mt. Elam Road New Business: Laurel Hill – Vandalism – Diane Ouellette reported graffiti on Laurel Street side – top gate. Jaquelyn Poirier will file police report and see if can be removed with the warm weather this week. Cremation Study – Andrew Hawthorne (available upon request) Andrew Hawthorne presented a packet of cremated remains vs. full interments. He would like to re-address the crematory with the new master plan and updated figures. Jaquelyn Poirier presented full interments vs. cremated remains numbers from FY02 to present. (available upon request). Trustees would like to meet with Mayor, Lenny Laakso will meet with Mayor first. A motion was made by Andrew Hawthorne and seconded by Nancy Maynard to meet and discuss possibility of investigating crematory again with the Mayor. 5 in favor, 0 opposed – Motion passed. Five Year Plan – Council President Michael Kushmerek requested that the Trustees have a five to ten year plan on expenditures for the cemetery department. Cemetery Software – The current system being utilized by department is over 30 years old. Records are still being done by hand. New software is needed, and it can be installed in phases. A presentation to look at possibilities with one company will be presented at the next board meeting. (packet available upon request) Diane Ouellette mentioned that our current database is no longer available on line Jaquelyn Poirier will look into this with IT department. One concern that Diane Ouellette has with new software to make sure that all her data for Laurel Hill on DOS is accepted. Greek Church Request – Requesting special section in cemetery. Forest Hill is a non-denominational public cemetery, not sure if we can honor request. Jaquelyn Poirier will check with city solicitor and report back to board. Request for Private Family Mausoleum – Currently our rules do not address private mausoleums. More information is needed. Size allowed, pricing, foundation requirements, area for delivery, wall thickness, roofline, door height at least 6’, rear loading, pricing for perpetual care with additional funding in trust for repairs, rules, location within Forest Hill where they would be allowed. Once all information is gathered this will have to be added to our current rules if Trustees decide to allow. Budget FY18 – Lenny Laakso, Jaquelyn Poirier, Chair Judith Perla, and Vice-Chair Diane Ouellette will meet next Tuesday the 28th @ 9:30 am to review budget. Meeting Schedule 2017: April 20, 2017 May 18, 2017 June 15, 2017 September 21, 2017 November 16, 2017 Events: Next meeting scheduled for Thursday April 20, 2017 at 9:00 am – Cemetery Office A motion made at 10:37 am by Nancy Maynard, 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 Stephen DiNatale A. J. Tourigny City Clerk Ward 1 Councilor Amy Green Lenny Laakso, DPW Gary Withington, DPW Tricia Chabot Peggy Page