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, October 15, 2020 The Cemetery Trustee Board meeting was held in the O’Neil Hall at the Fitchburg Senior Center, 14 Wallace Avenue, Fitchburg. An internet link and phone number were also provided for those who wished to participate remotely via the GoToMeeting platform. Call to Order: Chair Judith A. Perla called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Trustee Members Present: Judith A. Perla, Diane R. Ouellette, Andrew Hawthorne and Andrienne G. Clark Others Present: Nicolas H. Bosonetto - DPW Commissioner and Patricia Chabot – Laurel Hill Inventory Committee Remote Participants: Jaquelyn R. Poirier – Cemetery Superintendent, Trevor Bonilla – IT Manager, and Samantha Squailia – Fitchburg City Councilor-At-Large Public Forum: No one wished to speak, either in person or remotely. Approval of Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Andrew Hawthorne and seconded by Andrienne Clark to approve the minutes from the board meeting held on September 17, 2020. 4 in favor, 0 opposed - Motion passed. Minutes approved. Staff Reports: Cemetery Department Report 10/15/2020- Progress report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill Routine maintenance of grounds, grass cutting, trimming, trash, watering, keeping graves to specifications - Equipment maintenance - Loam and seeded graves - Continuing to clean and disinfect vehicles and facilities - Installed Veteran markers with foundations - Repaired catch basin - Aerated Forest Hill - Removed and installed new curbing in section O - Painted water spigots - Sprayed weeds - Cleaned out old plastic decorations in the garage  - Fixed hole in the stairs at mausoleum - Removed silt fence from columbaria area per Engineering INTERMENTS 4 INURNMENTS 9 UP RIGHTED MONUMENTS UNCOVERED FLAT MONUMENTS 2 MONUMENT FOUNDATION 5 MARKING/PHOTOS CATCH BASIN REPAIR/CLEAN 1 FILLED SINK HOLES 3 TRIMMED TREES 10 TRIMMED SHRUBS PHONE/OUTSIDE MEETINGS WITH FAMILIES 25 PAYMENTS - INVOICED/PROCESSED 29 FAMILY GENEALOGY 30 Laurel Hill Routine maintenance Replaced Trespassing sign Storm cleanup of branches South Street/West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell Routine maintenance Storm cleanup of branches Cemetery Staff - 4 full-time workers – (1 Light Duty) - 1 Superintendent Administration Routine administration tasks - Lot transfer issues - Cemetery Software – meetings with CompuTemps –working on cleaning the data for migration - Columbaria area –Engineering will continue to monitor wells - estimated 800 minimum graves. Engineering will work on design over the winter. $ 175,000 funded for project for roads, retaining wall, landscaping, water and fencing - Working on payment arrangements with families due to COVID 19 - Coordinated with local funeral providers with COVID 19 new policies - adhering to State guidelines - Coordinated with National Archives to mark Veteran grave - Working with Eagle Scout – sign project Forest Hill - Coggshall schedule - Working on replacing sleeves for lot pages - Working on tree management - Monument issues - Updated cemetery inventory Page 2 of 5 Mausoleum stairs before Mausoleum stairs after Catch basin Repair At the conclusion of the Superintendent’s report Trustees asked questions on various issues. Andrienne Clark asked Superintendent Poirier about the grief counseling aspect of her job. A discussion followed regarding the difficulties social distancing has presented for both the Superintendent and the families she serves, as she is currently dealing with the families outside in their cars. Andrew Hawthorne suggested that she contact the Board of Health to work on ways to help with social distancing inside the cemetery office trailer, (plexiglass barriers, etc.) in anticipation of city offices being allowed to reopen. Page 3 of 5 Old Business: IT Manager Trevor Bonilla – Laurel Hill Inventory Project – Discussion: Trustees had questions on the IT Department’s use of the funds originally encumbered for a planned purchase of cemetery records management software. One company bid on this project, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic budget cuts and the bid coming in higher than expected, the contract was not awarded. IT Manager Trevor Bonilla and DPW Commissioner Bosonetto explained their alternative plan to migrate cemetery data into a geodatabase they are developing that would incorporate the cemetery burial record data into the DPW Asset Management software. It was not made clear whether there will be a future opportunity to purchase the standalone cemetery records management software that the Trustees previously approved. Trustee Diane Ouellette, also a member of the Laurel Hill Inventory Committee, asked questions specific to both the handling of the Laurel Hill Inventory data and the file types and platform to be used. Patricia Chabot, founder of the project, explained the steps of the inventory process, starting with the actual physical inventory at the cemetery, then moving on to genealogical research and data entry. This volunteer project has been ongoing for 14 years. Members of the inventory committee are concerned about protecting these inventory files against data loss. Security for Laurel Hill Cemetery – Discussion: Superintendent Poirier contacted Comcast about the possibility of installing WiFi within Laurel Hill to enable the use of wireless security cameras. There is currently no electricity within Laurel Hill. Various options to extend electrical service into the cemetery were discussed. Cemeteries on State and National Register of Historical Places - Discussion: Chair Judith Perla asked if the Trustees should restart the process to have our cemeteries placed on both the State and National Registries of Historic Places. Funds for this purpose have been cut from the budget. Trustees would like to move forward on this process. Andrienne Clark shared information from an article in the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise about gravestone restorations that were recently undertaken in a historic cemetery in Shirley. This was done with volunteer help under the direction of Mr. Michael Passmore, President of the New England Historic Cemetery Restoration Project. She will try to contact him on behalf of the Trustees. New Business: Invitation to City Councilors - Discussion: Trustees would like to invite someone from the City Council to attend a meeting to better understand the issues the board is facing, particularly cemetery expansion. At issue is whether to invite the full City Council, or just one or two Councilors. Diane Ouellette stated that the Ward 1 Councilor has traditionally been a liaison between the two bodies. Andrew Hawthorne made a motion to invite the full City Council. There was no second to this motion. Events: The next regular meeting will be held on November 19, 2020 Page 4 of 5 Adjournment: A motion was made by Diane Ouellette and seconded by Andrienne Clark to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed, 4 in favor, 0 opposed and the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m. Meeting Schedule 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 Joan David, Administrative Aide to the Mayor Peggy Page Page 5 of 5