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 20, 2020 Call to Order: Chair Judith A. Perla called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. Trustee Members Present: Judith A. Perla, Diane R. Ouellette, Andrienne G. Clark Trustee Members Absent: Andrew Hawthorne Others Present: Jaquelyn R. Poirier – Cemetery Superintendent, Nicolas H. Bosonetto - DPW Commissioner Public Forum: No one was present wishing to speak. Approval of Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Andrienne Clark, and seconded by Diane Ouellette, to approve the minutes from the board meeting held on January 16, 2020. 3 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Minutes approved. Staff Reports: Cemetery Department Report 2/20/2020- Progress report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill Routine maintenance of grounds, snow removal, trash, keeping graves to specifications - Opened catch basins for drainage - Equipment maintenance - Picked up downed limbs - Organized garage - Repaired hoses on water spigots  INTERMENTS 4 INURNMENTS 2 UP RIGHTED MONUMENTS 2 UNCOVERED FLAT MONUMENTS 0 MONUMENT FOUNDATION MARKING 0 CATCH BASIN REPAIR 0 FILLED SINK HOLES 0 TRIMMED TREES 0 TRIMMED SHRUBS 0 MEETINGS WITH FAMILIES 17 PAYMENTS - INVOICED/PROCESSED 21 FAMILY GENEALOGY 9 Laurel Hill Routine maintenance South Street/West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell Routine maintenance Cemetery Staff - 3 full-time workers - Light Duty - 1 LMEO – 1 1/2 days a week - 1 Superintendent Administration Routine administration tasks - Software meeting with IT, Commissioner and Trustee sub-committee - Software meeting with CompuTemps –working on cleaning the data for migration - Columbaria area –Engineering will continue to monitor wells and will have a clear picture in the spring of exactly how many graves area will support. Currently estimated 800 minimum graves. - Mausoleum –Found that exterior limestone block wall needs repointing – water is getting through gaps in mortar. Need to add to capital improvement plan for funding - Communication with Ray Dunetz, Master Plan – Phase II - Working on tree removal – in order of safety - Meeting with Trustee budget committee, DPW Commissioner and Business Manager - FY21 Budget / Capital list – Meeting with Mayor - Meeting with personnel – winter projects to complete - Ordered new grave boards, tent, t-shirts for summer help - Meeting with Funeral provider – protocol for security requested at grave - Attended meeting with Community Development and Trustee sub-committee, working on getting Laurel Hill, Dean Hill, West Street, South Street and Hartwell cemeteries on the State and National register of Historical places – this will enable funding resources for restoration Old Business: Update: FY21 Budget Trustees reviewed the preliminary FY21 budget with Commissioner Bosonetto. Page 2 of 4 Update: Bid for Software Company At a meeting held on February 11th, the software subcommittee reviewed the software bid with Commissioner Bosonetto, Superintendent Poirier, and IT Director Trevor Bonilla. Superintendent Poirier will contact the software company to set up a date for a demo of the software. Update: Meeting with Community Development Executive Director Judith Perla reported on the sub-committee meeting with Tom Skwierawski of the Community Development office. Tom provided a number of suggestions about seeking historic status for our cemeteries. Trustees then discussed first steps being taken to restart the process of pursuing historic status. An email has been sent to the company that did the initial work for the city as part of the Comprehensive Communitywide Survey undertaken in 2000, asking if they have further information on the Form E Inventory sheets for our cemeteries and if they can help in any way, or point us in the direction of another cemetery preservation architect. Invitation to Historical Commission and Historical Society Director Invitations will be sent to Mrs. Ellen DiGeronimo, member of the Fitchburg Historical Commission, and Ms. Susan Navarre, Executive Director of the Fitchburg Historical Society inviting them to the next meeting to continue discussions on pursuing historic status for our cemeteries. Trustees also discussed ways to raise public awareness of the historic nature of our cemeteries and the need for preservation. Update: Forest Hill Master Plan B-Phase 2 Engineering is continuing to monitor wells in the area behind the Columbarium and will have a clearer picture in the spring of exactly how many graves this area will support. It is currently estimated that there will be a minimum of 800 graves. This will help to extend the useful life of Forest Hill before expansion is needed. Superintendent Poirier is keeping Ray Dunetz apprised of the Cemetery Department’s plans. Update: Meeting with Comcast for Laurel Hill Cemetery Superintendent Poirier met with a representative from Comcast to discuss the possibility of installing WiFi for video surveillance at Laurel Hill. There is no electricity within Laurel Hill, making this option cost prohibitive. New Business: Memorial Day Planning Veteran Flag placement in our cemeteries will be held on Thursday, May 25 th this year. This has required the rescheduling of the May board meeting, which will be held earlier, on May 14, 2020, at 1:00 P.M. Superintendent Poirier will be contacting the various groups that help us out each year. Planning will continue at next month’s meeting. Events: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. at the Cemetery office. Page 3 of 4 Adjournment: A motion was made by Diane Ouellette and seconded by Andrienne Clark to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed, 3 in favor, 0 opposed and the meeting was adjourned at 10:08 a.m. Meeting Schedule 2020: March 19, 2020 April 16, 2020 May 14. 2020 at 1 p.m. June 18, 2020 September 17, 2020 October 15, 2020 November 19, 2020 Respectfully submitted, Diane R. Ouellette Clerk, Trustees of Public Burial Grounds Distribution: Cemetery Trustees Mary de Alderete, City Clerk Jaquelyn R. Poirier, Cemetery Superintendent Susan A. Davis, Director of Human Resources Nicolas H. Bosonetto, Commissioner of Public Works Bernard J. Schultz, Ward 1 Councilor Gary Withington, Superintendent of Streets Amy L. Green, Councilor-At-Large Honorable Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale Tricia Chabot A.J. Tourigny, Mayor’s Chief of Staff Peggy Page Page 4 of 4