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, June 21, 2018 Call to Order: Chair Judith Perla called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Trustee Members Present: Judith A. Perla, Diane R. Ouellette, Andrew J. Hawthorne, Andrienne G. Clark, Nancy Maynard Others Present: Jaquelyn R. Poirier – Cemetery Superintendent, Gary Withington – Superintendent of Streets Approval of Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Nancy Maynard, and seconded by Andrew Hawthorne, to accept the minutes from the board meeting on May 17, 2018. 5 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Public Forum: There was no one present wishing to speak. General Discussion of Cemeteries: Trustees discussed the rental cost for the office trailer, vs purchase of a new trailer. Rental cost has increased, and the company is unwilling to negotiate a depreciated cost for purchase of the current trailer. Superintendent Poirier is exploring other options. Cemetery Department Report 6/21/2018- Progress report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill - Cleaned mausoleum - Cleaned office trailer - Helped with cleaning DPW, and water department - Rubbish removal in cemetery and along bike path - Watering grave & flowers - Cut/trim grass - Weeded flower beds - Cleaned graves to keep in specification - Equipment and vehicle maintenance - Working on water installation – phase IV - Uncovered buried Veteran markers - Training new employees - Sprayed weeds - Fixed water leak - Up righted (17) stones - (14) Funerals since last meeting Laurel Hill - Sprayed weeds - Cleaned up downed limbs - Cut/trim grass - Repaired wall - Up righted (3) stones - Fixed (3) path signs - Fixed flag pole with help from DPW South Street/West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell - Cleaned up downed limbs - Cut/trim grass Cemetery Staff - 3 full-time worker - Light Duty - 1 LMEO – 2 days a week - 5 Temporary Summer Help – 4 on grounds, 1 in office - 1 Superintendent Administration - Applied for Veterans markers in Washington - Met with families at need and pre-need for burials; consult with grieving families - Sales - graves, veterans’ foundations, veterans’ flag holder, brick, cremated remains table rental, columbarium - Genealogical searches - Attended DPW managers meetings - Coggshall schedule - Met with IT and DPW Commissioner - Software - Meeting with procurement officer – Software funding - Attended finance meeting – price increases - Meeting with CemSites on new software - Planned phase IV water system - Meeting with Flagg Tree – tree removal - Received, registered new/old car from police – 2005 – Transferred car with MIIA - Met with stone merchant on new bench installation - Training new employees on mausoleum entombment - Met with solar company – installation of new light pole for Forest Hill - Sent thank you notes to all who helped place flags at Laurel Hill and Forest Hill - Working on end of year budgets for cemetery/parks - Set up meeting with new Eagle Scout –Informational sign Laurel Hill - Meeting with family – Inurnment right issues with family lot - Meeting with families transferring lot ownership Page 2 of 4 - Master Plan phone meeting with Ray Dunetz - Processed summer help for parks and cemeteries - Working with Engineering – GIS data for graves - Engineering working on columbaria area drainage, DPW to install pipe to help with water issue – scheduled for late July/August Old Business: Forest Hill Master Plan B Phase 2 Update The test pit results have been forwarded to Ray Dunetz. Engineering will be forwarding the Board of Health soil test results to him. Fencing fasteners Superintendent Poirier contacted Girouard Fence regarding the loose and broken fencing ties on the black chain link fence installed along the Mt. Elam Rd. side of Forest Hill. Alternative types of ties were discussed. They will be getting back to her with pricing. Memorial Day Recap The Trustees were pleased with the successful response to both the Facebook and Fitchburg Sentinel requests for volunteers to place Veterans’ flags in our cemeteries this year. Participants included Boy Scout Troop # 41 and Boy Scout Pack # 41, Monty Tech JROTC, Fitchburg High School ROTC, Memorial Middle School Girls on the Run Club, Amvets, Veterans, Mayor DiNatale, cemetery personnel, cemetery trustees, and more than 50 individual citizens of Fitchburg. A sign in book was placed at the Refreshment tent, and all groups and persons who signed in were sent a thank-you letter from Superintend Poirier on behalf of the City of Fitchburg, and Cemetery Trustees. Over 2500 flags were placed in Fitchburg’s cemeteries this year. Trustee Andrew Hawthorne commended Dan Roy, the cemetery grounds crew, and Superintendent Jaquelyn Poirier for their outstanding work, noting that their pride in their work really shows. Chair Judith Perla thanked Diane & Leo Ouellette and Tricia Chabot for their work placing flags at Laurel Hill Cemetery with Monty Tech’s JROTC. Software Meeting Update Superintendent Jaquelyn Poirier and DPW Commissioner Lenny Laakso met with Trevor Bonilla, IT Department, to work out details for the purchase of the new cemetery software from CemSites. They will be setting up a phone conference to have more of IT’s questions answered. CemSites will hold pricing from the original quote and is currently seeking placement on the state vendor list. The Superintendent will meet with City Auditor Calvin Brooks to discuss funding. The Trustees would like to move this process forward as quickly as possible. Cemetery Price Increase Update The new cemetery price list was approved by the Finance Committee on June 12, 2018 and received final approval by the City Council on June 19, 2018. This will take effect on July 1, 2018. Page 3 of 4 New Business: Cemetery Rules & Regulations update Trustees are working on updating the rules. They discussed the problems with highly decorative solar lights, and the possibility of limiting these lights to a simple, standard light. Problems with gravesites that do not meet the rule specifications for decorations and other items were also discussed. Superintendent Poirier has suggested a trial of a small notification sign placed at the gravesite, when items are removed by the staff, directing the family to contact the office. Work on updating the Cemetery Rules and Regulations will continue at the next meeting. Historical Tours Andrew Hawthorne stated that George Mirijanian would be interested in helping with any future historical tours. Trustees will start preliminary planning for future tours at the next meeting. Remarks and Comments from Trustees: Chair Judith Perla stated that since this is the last meeting before the summer break, if issues with the new software purchase are resolved before September, a Special meeting could be held. Events: The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, September 20, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. at the Cemetery Office. Meeting Schedule 2018: October 18, 2018 November 15, 2018 Adjournment: A motion was made at by Andrienne Clark, and seconded by Andrew Hawthorne, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed, 5 in favor, 0 opposed. The meeting was adjourned at 11:19 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Diane R. Ouellette Clerk, Trustees of Public Burial Grounds Distribution: Cemetery Trustees A.J. Tourigny, Mayor’s Chief of Staff Jaquelyn R. Poirier, Cemetery Superintendent Anna M. Farrell, City Clerk Lenny Laakso, Commissioner of Public Works Amy Green, Ward 1 Councilor Gary Withington, Superintendent of Streets Tricia Chabot Honorable Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale Peggy Page Page 4 of 4