[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen
of the Town of Middleton 3-19-1991. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The adoption and enforcement of the following rules
and regulations are necessary to maintain good order within the Cemetery,
to protect the interests of proprietors and to preserve the beauty
of the grounds. All persons are urgently requested to report immediately
any act of discourtesy or other breach of propriety.
B.
The Cemetery Commission reserves the right to temporarily
suspend or modify a regulation, but such act shall not be constructed
as affecting the general application or enforcement of such rule.
C.
The rules and regulations and schedule of prices as
established by the Cemetery Commission are subject to change without
notice.
D.
All provisions of MGL c. 114 shall be adhered to,
including penalties for infringement of the law.
E.
The Superintendent of Public Works is in full charge
of the Cemetery and is responsible for the enforcement of the rules
and regulations and for maintaining the Cemetery in conformance with
the principals to which it was dedicated.
A.
The gates of the Cemetery will be open daily from
8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., except from November 1 to March 1, when they
will close at 4:30 p.m.
B.
Any unauthorized person found within the Cemetery
outside the prescribed opening hours will be deemed a trespasser and
as such will be liable to prosecution.
C.
The term "gate" as used herein shall mean any or all
the established entrances to the Cemetery, whether or not equipped
with moveable barriers.
All business related to the Oakdale Cemetery
may be done through the Superintendent of Burials whose office is
located at the Department of Public Works office, 195 North Main Street,
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. The office will be closed on all legal holidays and weekends.
Sale of lots at Oakdale Cemetery shall be restricted
to residents or former residents of the Town of Middleton, with the
following restrictions to former residency purchases:
A.
Any former resident of the Town of Middleton must
show proof of former residency before said sale of lot and be restricted
to the sale of no more than a two-grave lot.
B.
Former residency purchases shall be subject to the
fee structure established by the Board of Selectmen/Cemetery Commissioners
which may be adjusted from time to time. All graves are sold with
perpetual care.
C.
Lots are sold for cash only and payment is to be made
to the Town of Middleton. The deed of a lot shall not be delivered,
no stone or marker may be erected, and no work will be done on the
lot until the purchase price is fully paid.
D.
A maximum of four graves may be purchased by any one household. Any
requests for more than four graves must be first approved by the Board
of Selectmen after a recommendation received in writing by the Superintendent
of Public Works.
[Added 3-15-2016; amended 3-29-2016]
E.
No lot or grave at the Oakdale Cemetery shall be sold to anyone who
is not a resident of the Town of Middleton at the time of such sale.
Nonresidents may be interred if they are the owner of the lot or are
related by blood or marriage to the owner of such lot or a member
of the immediate family (parent, spouse, grandparent, sibling, daughter,
son, grandchildren, son-in-law or daughter-in-law) of such owner.
There is an additional charge for the interment of a nonresident.
[Added 3-15-2016; amended 3-29-2016]
A.
Cemetery lots shall not be used for any other purpose
than as a place of burial for the human dead, and all burials therein
shall be under the personal charge of the Superintendent of Burials,
to whom shall be paid such fees for opening a grave as shall be established
by the Cemetery Commissioners.
B.
All lots will be defined by a suitable corner marker
and numbered by the Department of Public Works, hereinafter referred
to as the "Department," and it is unlawful for any person to remove
or tamper with said marker.
C.
No lot will be deeded to more than one owner, nor
will a lot be divided. No objections exist to an agreement between
or among families as to the parts of the lots to be used by each,
but the Department will not undertake to record or enforce such agreements.
D.
In case of the decease of a proprietor, it shall be
the duty of the heirs or devisee to file with the Department satisfactory
proof of ownership (MGL c. 114, § 29).
E.
If any monument or effigy or any structure whatsoever
or any inscription is placed in or upon any lot which shall be determined
by the Cemetery Commissioners to be improper or offensive, they shall
have the right and it shall be their duty to instruct the Superintendent
of Public Works to enter upon said lot and remove such improper or
offensive objects.
F.
No fence, curbing, railing, wall, hedge, embankment,
ditch or other lot enclosure shall, at any time, be erected or placed
in or around any lot, and the establishment of the grade of any lot
shall be subject to the approval of the Superintendent of Public Works,
and the work of grading shall be done by employees of the Department.
G.
Residents purchasing new graves or lots must make
said purchase in the section open for sale at that time, e.g., if
purchase is for a two-grave lot, it must be made in the section and
row being sold at that particular time. No exceptions will be made.
H.
No proprietor shall suffer the remains of any person
to be interred within his lot for hire.
I.
All interments or other work shall be under the personal
charge of the Superintendent or his assistants.
J.
No sale, transfer or assignment of any lot shall be
valid without the approval of the Cemetery Commission.
K.
Proprietors may erect a memorial structure on their lot subject to the regulations set forth under § 378-11, Memorial structures.
L.
Proprietors may cultivate plants on their lots subject
to the approval of the Department, but if such planting becomes neglected
or is deemed objectionable or detrimental, the Superintendent reserves
the right to remove such planting. If done on lots under perpetual
care, the owner must bear the expense of putting the ground in proper
condition again.
M.
On lots or graves where no monument has been erected
the sod under no condition shall be allowed to be broken.
N.
The Superintendent shall remove from lots and graves
flowers or emblems whenever, in his opinion, the same have become
so withered or decayed as to render their removal desirable. Floral
emblems so removed will be put in a common dump and employees shall
refuse to attempt to find them after they have been disposed of.
O.
The Cemetery Commission reserves the right to alter
the plot of walks, avenues and unsold areas.
P.
No lights of any kind shall be allowed in the Cemetery.
Q.
Lot owners making improvements on lots that are under
perpetual care will be charged with any necessary expense of putting
lots in order, after such improvements are made.
A.
If any trees or shrubs on any lot shall by means of
their roots or branches, or otherwise, become detrimental to the adjacent
lots, avenues or paths, or dangerous or inconvenient to passengers,
it shall be the duty of the Department, for the time being, and it
shall have the right to enter into said lot and remove said trees
and shrubs or such part thereof as are thus detrimental, dangerous
or inconvenient.
B.
No person shall trim or remove any tree or shrub,
whether or not it is on his own lot. The Department will on request
perform all such work at no cost.
C.
The Department will use constant care in examining
trees, removing such parts thereof as appear to be dangerous or detrimental,
but expressly disclaims responsibility for damage to either persons
or property resulting from falling trees or parts thereof.
D.
No person shall plant a tree or shrub without approval
of the Superintendent of Public Works, and all such work will be done
by the Department. A tree or shrub may in a few years, because of
its roots or branches, become a nuisance or render the ground unfit
for burial purposes and no such planting will be allowed if in the
opinion of the Superintendent it would be undesirable.
A.
Operators of vehicles within the Cemetery must drive
with care and at a low rate of speed because of poor visibility and
sharp turns.
B.
On Memorial Day no vehicle except those accompanying
and a part of a memorial procession will be allowed in the Cemetery
before 12:00 noon.
C.
Motorcycles, bicycles, go-carts, three- or four-wheel
all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles are excluded from the Cemetery
at all times.
D.
All persons are forbidden to injure or molest any
bird or wild animal, or to molest its nest or other habitation.
E.
The taking of firearms into the Cemetery is forbidden
except by authorized persons on military occasions.
F.
No tree or shrub shall be removed, except by the Department,
and all persons are forbidden to gather flowers, either wild or cultivated,
or to break or injure any tree, shrub or plant.
G.
No employee of the Department will be allowed to receive
any fee or other compensation whatsoever for service rendered to any
person.
H.
Persons within the Cemetery conducting themselves
improperly will be requested to leave and upon refusal will be compelled
to do so.
I.
Dogs and horses are not allowed in the Cemetery at
any time.
J.
All work done within the Cemetery shall be performed
by employees of the Department or by permission of and under the supervision
of the Superintendent.
K.
No hunting is allowed within the Cemetery property
and no vehicles are to be left unattended within Cemetery property
for the purpose of hunting on adjacent properties. Vehicles found
violating this regulation will be towed at the owner's expense.
L.
No private vehicles will be allowed to plow out the
Cemetery roads at any time. Any damage done to stones and/or the grounds,
roads, trees, shrubs, etc., will be at the expense of the violator
of this subsection.
M.
The Department reserves the right to open the Cemetery
at a reasonable time after any winter storm.
N.
All water faucets located in the Cemetery are to be
used for the sole purpose of filling buckets/jugs with water for the
caring of flowers and shrubs on one's lot. In no instance is a hose
or sprinkler to be hooked up to these faucets. Care in making sure
water faucets are completely shut down after use is requested. Any
misuse or damage to these faucets should be reported immediately to
the Department of Public Works office.
All funerals must enter the Cemetery through
the main gate and upon entering shall be under the charge of the Superintendent
or his assistants.
A.
Undertakers are required to have all interment orders
signed by the proprietor or representative of a lot, or grave, and
presented at the Department of Public Works office at least eight
working hours before the time set for the interment.
B.
All interments must be made in permanent containers.
C.
The Department will receive telephone orders for opening
a grave but disclaims liability of error in such cases. In no case
will a grave which contains a body be opened until a properly signed
order has been received and verified.
D.
No interment will be made without a regular order
and burial permit.
E.
As the liability of error in names and dates is so
great, undertakers must have all orders plainly and correctly written
in ink. It is important that the proprietor should personally designate
the grave to be opened in a multigrave site.
F.
No interment will be made until all fees charged for
the same have been paid.
G.
Not more than one interment will be permitted in any one grave site other than what is provided for under § 378-14, Cremation, of these rules and regulations.
H.
Interments will not be made on Sundays or legal holidays.
Interments on Saturday will be charged extra.
I.
In case of emergency arising from extreme weather
conditions or other cause beyond human control, or because of any
other extenuating circumstances, the Superintendent may at his discretion
postpone making a scheduled interment and shall deposit the body in
the receiving tomb without charge until conditions permit interment.
A.
Bodies may be place in the receiving tomb at any time,
but the Superintendent reserves the right to remove and inter the
body whenever it may be deemed necessary to do so.
B.
While bodies are deposited in the receiving tomb,
the Superintendent is forbidden to allow any casket to be opened,
except on written request from the immediate family of the deceased
and in the presence of an undertaker. In no case will a casket be
opened when in the opinion of the Superintendent the condition of
the body is such as to render it improper.
A.
Proprietors should consult with the Superintendent
before placing orders for stonework, due to the fact that there are
restrictions in various sections of the ground.
B.
All stonework must rest on a foundation of cement
masonry which will be built by the Department. In no case will a foundation
be built either in whole or in part over the remains of a previous
interment.
C.
Applications for this work must be filed with the
Department and shall give full particulars, including size.
D.
In single-grave sections, single stones shall not
exceed two feet, six inches by one foot, zero inches at the base and
two feet, six inches in height; the base shall not be higher than
eight inches. Double stones shall not exceed three feet, zero inches
by one foot, zero inches at the base and two feet, six inches in height;
base stones shall not be higher than eight inches. On four-grave lots
the stone shall not exceed three feet, seven inches by one foot, one
inch at the base and two feet, six inches in height; base stones shall
not exceed eight inches in height. All other monuments other than
headstones or headstones greater than the dimensions stated must first
receive approval of the Cemetery Commission.
E.
No foundations will be constructed and no stonework
will be set between May 25 and June 1 or between November 15 and April
1, or when the ground is not in the proper condition for such work.
F.
No person shall deliver any material within the Cemetery
except under the direction of the Superintendent or his assistants.
G.
All work must be done during the normal working hours
of the Cemetery, and all contractors will be held responsible for
the protection of other stones, paths, avenues, graves, trees and
shrubs.
H.
FOOT STONE
GRAVE MARKER
HEADSTONE
MONUMENT
Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A stone to mark the locations of a particular grave and shall
be set at or below ground level at the foot of the grave. No more
than one foot stone measuring no more that two feet, zero inches by
one foot, zero inches by eight inches is allowed on each grave.
A one-piece stone set at one or all four corners of a lot
to mark the location of a particular grave.
A stone to mark the location of a particular grave and shall
be erected at the head of the grave.
Any memorial structure other than a tomb, mausoleum, headstone,
foot stone or grave marker.
I.
No raised letters or designs will be allowed on the
base of any stonework where it can be damaged by grass-cutting implements.
J.
No more than one headstone or monument will be allowed
on any one lot.
The term "perpetual care" shall mean the maintenance
of the lot or grave in reasonable condition. This include cutting
the grass at proper intervals, pruning trees and shrubs, raking and
cleaning the grounds and raising the sunken graves. Under this agreement
the Department does not bind itself to maintain, repair or replace
any structure erected thereon, nor plant ornamental flowers or shrubs,
nor to regularly water the grass or flowers.
The Department of Public Works will take every
reasonable precaution to protect the private property of lot and grave
owners within the Cemetery from loss or damage, but it disclaims all
responsibility for loss or damage from causes beyond its control,
especially from the acts of thieves, vandals, malicious mischief makers
and from the acts of Providence, including wind, hail, snow and frost.
A.
Six cremations will be allowed per single grave where
the right of burial has not been used. Since the Commission feels
that cremations do not disturb the remains of a person already interred
it will allow up to six cremations to be placed around the headstone
area.
B.
Cremations must be placed in permanent containers
when delivered to the Cemetery via parcel post.
[Amended 3-15-2016; 3-29-2016]
