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 20, 2019 Call to Order: Chair Judith A. Perla called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Trustee Members Present: Judith A. Perla, Diane R. Ouellette, Andrienne G. Clark, Nancy Maynard Trustee Members Absent: Andrew J. Hawthorne Others Present: Jaquelyn R. Poirier – Cemetery Superintendent, Gary Withington – Superintendent of Streets, DPW, Nicolas Bosonetto, Incoming DPW Commissioner Approval of Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Nancy Maynard and seconded by Andrienne Clark to approve the minutes from the board meeting held on May 16, 2019. 4 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Minutes approved. Public Forum: No one was present wishing to speak. Staff Reports: The Trustees welcomed incoming DPW Commissioner Nicolas Bosonetto and apprised him of some of the current issues within our cemeteries. Cemetery Department Report 6/20/2019- Progress report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill - Cleaned mausoleum - Cleaned office trailer - Helped with cleaning DPW, Wastewater and Water department - Rubbish removal in cemetery, along bike path, and across the street on Electric Avenue - Planted spring flowers for the season - Watering and weeding flower beds - Fertilized grass at Forest Hill - Cutting and trimming grass - Picked up downed limbs - Cleaned graves to keep in specification - Installed Veteran markers - Marked graves for monument installation - Equipment and vehicle maintenance - Up righted stones (10) - (13) Funerals since last meeting (1) Dis-inurnment Laurel Hill - Cutting and trimming grass - Picked up downed branches and glass from Laurel Hill South Street/West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell - Cleaned up downed limbs and debris - Cutting and trimming grass Cemetery Staff - 3 full-time workers - Light Duty - 1 LMEO – 1 1/2 days a week - (5) Temporary Summer Help - 1 Superintendent Administration - Applied for Veterans markers in Washington - Met with families at need and pre-need for burials; consult with grieving families, ownership rights of lots, transfer of graves - Arranged for Military honors for family services at Forest Hill - Sales - graves, veterans’ foundations, veterans’ flag holder, brick, cremated remains table rental, columbarium - Genealogical searches - Coggshall schedule – including scheduling and schedule changes with recreation department - Worked with working foreman of Parks Division – City park list for mowing/trash maintenance schedule - Working with Superintendent of Streets – scheduling prisoners for Laurel Hill stone and wall damage repairs - Ordered supplies for Coggshall - Finished with interviews and onboarding seasonal help - Working with Engineering in columbaria area – high water table –monitoring wells – with help from the DPW installed a drainage pipe into culvert to divert water – need to install another drain pipe in the summer the water table not low enough to support graves - Working with Purchasing on trailer lease – final stages – waiting for contract from trailer company - Working on building leaks at Mausoleum –Found that exterior limestone block wall needs repointing – water is getting through gaps in mortar – DPW will help in spring repointing repairs. Contacted two masonry contractors waiting for estimates - DPW Commissioner and Engineering working on GIS map of potential cemetery sites. Identifying 10 + acre lots – in process - working on criteria – access to lots, any wetland issues, grades of land - Meeting with CompuTemps – working to have access database converted to Excel for GIS mapping - Working with Engineering and IT to start GIS mapping this summer at Forest Hill Page 2 of 5 - Worked with Engineering – updated section Q map with blocked off graves due to culvert (currently 268 graves left in section Q - Updated Veteran location maps for flag placement - Working on end of fiscal year budget and paperwork - Meeting with funeral providers– dis-interment, public assistance issues, burial permits - Sent out Thank you notes to all volunteers who helped with Memorial Day flag placement - Attended City Council meeting on FY20 proposed cut to gasoline budget; cut was withdrawn - On boarded new LMEO – started training on rules, and procedures - Working on RFP for cemetery software - Memorial Guard is holding up to the lawn mower and trimming - Contacted Councilor Kaddy to schedule stone repair training at Laurel Hill Memorial Day 2019 –Flag placement – FHS ROTC, Monty Tech ROTC, AMVETS, Veterans, Longsjo Middle School, Councilors, Boy Scouts, and local volunteers. Many Thanks! Old Business: Memorial Day Observance Chair Judith Perla commended everyone for all of their hard work to make the Memorial Day flag placement a success. Thank you notes to all participants have been sent. Feedback from volunteers included names of additional Veterans found in Forest Hill, and maps have been updated. Page 3 of 5 Software Migration Update The draft of the RFP for the software is being reviewed by IT and the DPW Commissioner. Superintendent Poirier is waiting for their feedback, then the formal request will go to purchasing. Forest Hill Master Plan B – Phase 2 Update DPW Commissioner and Engineers are still working on GIS map of potential cemetery sites. Damage to Laurel Hill Superintendent Poirier is working with Gary Withington to arrange prisoner crews from MCI Shirley to help with repairs to the walls in Laurel Hill. New Business: Veterans Markers – Laurel Hill The Veterans flag holders placed in Laurel Hill made it much easier for volunteers to find the grave sites of our Veterans. The holders have also been placed in South St., West St., Dean Hill, and Hartwell Cemeteries. Trustees discussed the possibility of purchasing flag holders for the oldest sections of Forest Hill Cemetery, where identifying Veteran grave sites is difficult for volunteers. Grants for Cemeteries Chair Judith Perla presented information received from Andrew Hawthorne regarding grants that may be available for preservation and restoration of historic cemeteries. Andrienne Clark made a motion that the Trustees investigate the processes of having a cemetery declared historic and applying for grants to help preserve them. Nancy Maynard seconded the motion. 4 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Events: The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at the Cemetery Office. Adjournment: A motion was made by Judith Perla and seconded by Andrienne Clark to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed, 4 in favor, 0 opposed and the meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m. Meeting Schedule 2019: September 19, 2019 October 17, 2019 November 21, 2019 Respectfully submitted, Diane R. Ouellette Clerk, Trustees of Public Burial Grounds Page 4 of 5 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 Susan A. Davis, Director of Human Resources Nicolas Bosonetto, Incoming DPW Commissioner Amy Green, Ward 1 Councilor Gary Withington, Superintendent of Streets Tricia Chabot Honorable Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale Peggy Page Page 5 of 5