Trustees of Public Burial Grounds

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK Jan 29 2023 7:31 pm City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC BURIAL GROUNDS 115 Mt. Elam Road Fitchburg, MA 01420 Office: 978-345-9578 FAX: 978-345-9686 www.fitchburgma.gov CEMETERY TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Thursday, November 17, 2022 The Cemetery Trustee Board meeting was held in the West Meeting Room, 1st Floor at City Hall, 718 Main St. An online link and phone number were provided for those who wished to participate remotely. Call to Order: Chair Judith A. Perla called the meeting to order at 9:10 A.M. Trustee Members Present: Judith A. Perla, Andrew J. Hawthorne, Michelle Sciabarrasi Others Present: Nick Erickson, Commissioner of Public Works Present Remotely: Trustee Diane R. Ouellette, Jaquelyn R. Poirier – Cemetery Superintendent Public Forum: No one was present, either in person or remotely, wishing to speak. Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by Andrew Hawthorne and seconded by Diane Ouellette to approve the minutes from the board meeting held on October 20, 2022. Vote was 3 in favor, with one abstention (Michelle Sciabarrasi). The motion passed, and the minutes were approved. Cemetery Department Report 11/17/2022- Progress report given by Jaquelyn Poirier Forest Hill Routine maintenance of grounds - Cleaned graves to comply with specifications - Pick up down limbs from all cemeteries - Maintenance – lawn mowers, equipment, backhoe and trucks - Clean trash from bike path and Forest Hill - Installed leaf box – started leaf clean-up - Shut water off for season - Assisted DPW with spreading the loam in new section - Installed Veteran markers - Removed fall flowers for the season  INTERMENTS 4 INURNMENTS 3 UP RIGHTED MONUMENTS UNCOVERED FLAT MONUMENTS MONUMENT FOUNDATION 7 MARKING/PHOTOS CATCH BASIN REPAIR/CLEAN FILLED SINK HOLES TRIMMED TREES TRIMMED SHRUBS PHONE/OUTSIDE MEETINGS WITH 36 FAMILIES PAYMENTS - INVOICED/PROCESSED 36 FAMILY GENEALOGY 13 Laurel Hill, South Street, West Street & Dean Hill & Hartwell Leaf clean-up Installed new signs Laurel Hill – “Closed to Vehicular Traffic” Cemetery Staff - 4 Full-Time Workers - 1 Superintendent Administration Routine administration tasks - Cemetery Software – meetings with CompuTemps – data base upgrade - Meeting with engineering expansion project – Mt. Elam side - 134 graves left for sale in Forest Hill - Meeting with Monument Company – bench repairs - Started working on Daffodil mile program - Compiling data on C-19 revenue/graves sold Page 2 of 5 Expansion 10.25.2022 – loam in place 11.9.2022 – Hydroseeded Trustees asked questions about the new Memorial Gardens section at Forest Hill during the Superintendent’s report. A motion was made by Diane Ouellette to accept the report and seconded by Andrew Hawthorne. Vote was 3 in favor, with 1 abstention (Michelle Sciabarrasi). The Superintendent’s report was accepted. Daffodil Project: Superintendent Poirier has begun preliminary planning for the Daffodil Mile Project and is looking at pricing of daffodil bulbs from several different vendors. Chair Perla will provide her with contact information for a member of the Laurelwood Garden to check on vendors that they use for their bulbs. Laurel Hill Fencing Funding: The Finance Committee approved Order 261-22 (see below) on November 9, 2022 and the City Council adopted the order on November 15, 2022. “261-22. ORDER THAT: the City of Fitchburg hereby approves the expenditure of funds from the Cemetery Perpetual Care Expendable Trust Fund not to exceed the amount of $32,000.00 (THIRTY-TWO THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS) for the replacement of fencing at Laurel Hill Cemetery”. Update on ARPA Funding discussion with Mayor: DPW Commissioner Erickson will contact the Mayor to discuss ARPA funding for cemetery purposes. Update on RFQ Letter for Mausoleum Funding: Commissioner Erickson submitted a request to the Mayor that also included a letter from the Cemetery Trustees asking for $100,000.00 to proceed to the first step (RFQ) toward Mausoleum repairs. This was sent on to the City Council on November 15, 2022 (see below): Page 3 of 5 “270-22. ORDER THAT: there be and hereby is transferred from within the sum of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($100,000.00) same to be transferred from RESERVE FOR OTHER MUNICIPAL PURPOSES, CAPITAL EXPENSES and credited to CEMETERY CAPITAL EXPENSES, MAUSOLEUM REPAIRS for the purpose of hiring a qualified practitioner to provide plans, specifications, cost estimates, renderings, and other items necessary for the restoration and refurbishment of the Mausoleum at Forest Hill Cemetery”. This order was referred to the Finance Committee and they will take this up on November 30, 2022. At that meeting, Commissioner Erickson plans to use the video presentation that Trustee Michelle Sciabarrasi prepared to demonstrate the need for the mausoleum repairs and restoration. Update of Funding from Representative Kushmerek: DPW Commissioner Erickson will contact Representative Kushmerek regarding any available funding from the state for cemetery expansion. Review of Rules & Regulations (last revised 10/25/2018): Superintendent Poirier would like to make changes to the Cemetery Rules & Regulations that would include adding “License of Burial” to the Definitions section and deleting Section 6A. Notification of Sign and Fee. This will be taken up at a future board meeting. Review & Revisit Price List: The current price list was enacted on March 1, 2022 and will be reviewed on an annual basis. Superintendent Poirier excused herself from the meeting at 9:48 A.M. Update on IT Department RFQ Money in Department: The $25,000 that was encumbered several years ago is still in the IT budget and could be used when the search for cemetery software is revisited. Sale of Lots – Payment Schedule & timeframe: This was not discussed, as Superintendent Poirier had already left the meeting. It will be brought up at a future meeting. Other Business: Trustees held a general discussion on ARPA funding and other grant funding. On behalf of the board, Chair Perla thanked outgoing Trustee Ouellette for her hard work and service as a Cemetery Trustee. Events: The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 9 A.M. in the West Meeting Room at City Hall, 718 Main St. Adjournment: There being no further business, Diane Ouellette made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Andrew Hawthorne seconded the motion. Vote was unanimous and Chair Judith Perla adjourned the meeting at 10:26 A.M. Meeting Schedule 2022: NO MEETING in December Page 4 of 5 Meeting Schedule 2023: January 19th February 16th March 16th April 20th May 18th June 15th July NO MEETING Aug NO MEETING September 27th October 19th November 16th December NO MEETING Respectfully submitted, Diane R. Ouellette Clerk, Trustees of Public Burial Grounds Distribution: Cemetery Trustees Jaquelyn R. Poirier, Cemetery Superintendent Nicholas J. Erickson, P.E., Commissioner of Public Works & City Engineer Gary Withington, Superintendent of Streets Honorable Mayor Stephen L. DiNatale Natalia Oliver, Mayor’s Chief of Staff Joan David, Administrative Aide to the Mayor Joanna Bilotta-Simeone, City Clerk Bernard J. Schultz, Ward 1 Councilor Amy L. Green, Councilor-At-Large Tricia Chabot Page 5 of 5