The purpose of this chapter shall be to regulate
activities and conduct within Town cemeteries, to provide for basic
procedures under which said cemeteries should be operated, to delegate
the responsibility for the proper operation and maintenance of Town
cemeteries so that the good order and efficient operation of Town
cemeteries may be assured.
Unless otherwise specifically provided herein,
the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the so-called Center
Cemetery located on Cedar Street; to the so-called Church Street Cemetery
located at the intersection of Church Street and Kelsey Street; and
to the so-called West Meadow Cemetery located to the west of Willard
Avenue in the vicinity of Cedar Street; and such other public cemeteries
as the Town may establish in the future.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
SEXTON
The duly appointed Sexton of Cemeteries, or his/her designated
agent.
[Amended 9-12-1989]
The administration of all Town cemeteries shall
be the responsibility of the Town Manager who shall appoint the Sexton
of Cemeteries for the Town. The Sexton shall be responsible to the
Town Manager for the proper administration of this chapter, the management
of Town cemeteries generally and the proper operation and maintenance
of the cemeteries.
It is the intent of the Town Council that Town-owned
cemeteries shall, to the extent possible, be financially self-sustaining
with respect to operation and self-amortizing with respect to land
cost investment. To this end, the Town Manager shall establish, and
from time to time amend, a list of fees and charges pertaining to
the sale of gravesites and the performance of services by the Town
pertaining to the cemeteries, provided that notification of the establishment
of or amendment to said list of fees and charges shall be filed with
the Town Clerk and with each member of the Town Council at least 60
days prior to its effective date. If the list of fees and charges
or amendments thereto which the Town Manager intends to make effective
are unacceptable to the Town Council, the Town Council may, by resolution,
direct that they be changed. If the Council does not take action within
the sixty-day period provided for herein, said list of fees and charges
or amendment to said list of fees and charges, as the case may be,
will automatically become effective at the expiration of the sixty-day
period.
[Amended 9-12-1989]
The cemeteries shall be open each day from sunrise
until sunset. All persons shall leave the grounds of the cemeteries
at or before closing time. No person shall be in the cemeteries between
sunset and sunrise, unless expressly authorized by the Sexton. The
right of admittance to cemeteries is reserved. The Sexton may temporarily
close a cemetery or alter the open hours in case of an emergency or
to protect the public health and safety or preserve the privacy of
burial.
[Amended 9-12-1989]
The Sexton may cause any person violating the
restrictions below to be ejected from a cemetery or to be arrested
for being in violation of this chapter. No person shall:
A. Disrespect the solemnity of a cemetery by boisterous
or unruly behavior.
B. Willfully disfigure, mark, deface, injure or tamper
with or displace or remove any building, memorial monument, tablet,
turf, fence, paving, waterline or other utility or parts and appurtenances
thereof, signs, notices, placards, whether temporary or permanent,
property boundary markers, stakes, posts, equipment or other facilities,
either real or personal, within a cemetery.
C. Dig for the purpose of removal from such a cemetery
any sand, soil, rocks, stones, trees, shrubs, or plants by any means
or method without the express consent of the Sexton.
D. Willfully damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove
any tree or plant or injure the bark of any tree, nor shall any person
pick the flowers or seeds of a plant or dig in or otherwise disturb
lawn areas or walk upon planted areas which are designated as being
prohibited to foot travel.
E. Hold picnics or parties in a cemetery.
F. Enter the grounds of a cemetery except through the
established and designated entrances, loiter near or intrude upon
any funeral services, or stand about an open grave unless a member
of a funeral party.
G. Bear firearms within a cemetery except as may be expressly
permitted by the Sexton and except law enforcement officers.
H. Allow a dog to be in a cemetery except while enclosed
in a vehicle.
I. Be in a cemetery if he/she is under 12 years of age
and is not attended by a supervising adult.
J. Enter an area posted as "closed to the public," nor
shall any person use or abet the use of any area in violation of posted
notices.
K. Solicit alms or contributions for any purpose, whether
public or private.
L. Be under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs
while in the cemetery.
M. Ride, lead or allow a horse within a cemetery except
as may be expressly permitted by the Sexton.
N. Expose or offer for sale any article or thing, nor
shall he/she station or place any stand, cart or vehicle for the transportation,
sale or display of any such article or thing on Town-owned grounds
adjacent to a cemetery.
O. Announce, advertise, or call the public's attention
in any way to any article or service for sale or hire.
P. Paste, glue, tack, or otherwise post any sign, placard,
or advertisement or inscription whatever, nor shall any person erect
or cause to be erected any sign whatever in a cemetery or on any public
lands or highways adjacent to a cemetery.
Q. Ride a bicycle except on established roads. Bicyclists
shall at all times operate their machines with reasonable regard for
the safety of others and shall observe the accepted rules of the road
for motorized vehicles.
R. Willfully litter a cemetery or allow materials to
be scattered or blown about a cemetery so as to cause litter.
S. Photograph or record a committal service except with
the permission of and under the direction of the Sexton.
No person while in a cemetery shall:
A. Fail to comply with all applicable provisions of the
state motor vehicle traffic laws in regard to equipment and operation
of vehicles.
B. Fail to obey all police officers and cemetery employees
when such persons are duly authorized to direct traffic in a cemetery
and on the highway, streets or roads immediately adjacent thereto.
C. Fail to obey all traffic signs indicating speed, direction,
caution, stopping or parking.
D. Drive or ride a vehicle at a rate of speed exceeding
15 miles per hour, or exceeding a lower speed limit as posted by the
authority of the Sexton.
E. Drive any vehicle on any area except established roads
and parking areas.
F. Park a vehicle in other than an established or designated
parking area, and such use shall be in accordance with the posted
directions thereat and/or with the instructions of any authorized
attendant who may be present.
G. Leave a vehicle standing or parked anywhere in a cemetery
after the official closing time.
H. Double-park any vehicle on any roadway or driveway
unless directed to do so by a cemetery attendant, nor shall any person
otherwise park any vehicle so as to block any roadway or driveway.
I. Operate a vehicle which causes excessive noise due
to a defective or deficient muffler, tailpipe or other equipment.
J. Operate snowmobiles, minibikes, trail bikes, or other
all-terrain-type, off-the-road, recreational vehicles.
K. Willfully drive his/her vehicle or the wheels thereof
on any lawns or gardens or borders thereof. Any damage inadvertently
caused by the operation of vehicles shall be the responsibility of
the vehicle operator to repair or be responsible for the cost of repair.
L. Drive a vehicle so as to impede a funeral procession.
The driver of any vehicle, upon meeting a funeral procession, shall
clear the vehicle from the path of said procession and come to a standstill
until said procession passes.
[Amended 6-28-1977; 9-12-1989]
A. No monument or other memorial may be brought into
a cemetery until a sketch or a blueprint showing the design, material,
finish, size and inscription thereon is first submitted to the Sexton
for approval.
B. Workpersons engaged in the erection of memorials,
monuments, markers and vaults of any description shall be subject
to the control of the Sexton. Any workperson failing to conform to
the directions of the Sexton shall not be allowed to continue his/her
work.
C. Notice of the intent to set a monument shall be given
at least one day in advance of the work.
D. The building of monument foundations shall only be
in accordance with the specifications for same as promulgated by the
Sexton.
E. The erection or installation of monuments or memorial
markers shall not take place on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.
F. The lower base of all monuments must be dressed to
a true level on the bottom so as to bear evenly at all points upon
the foundation without the use of chips, sprawls, or underpinnings.
A bed of cement must be spread evenly over the top of a foundation
and the base lowered into it.
G. Upright monuments shall only be allowed in those areas
of a cemetery designated therefor by the Sexton. No chains or ropes
may be attached to trees or other objects for the installation of
monuments.
H. All monument foundations shall be installed clear
of graves and shall be constructed to a depth equaling that of a single-depth
grave, except where a concrete vault is used and a marker foundation
may be constructed at the end of same. Bridging or constructing any
foundation for a monument over a grave is prohibited. The provision
and installation of all markers and monuments and the bases and foundations
therefor shall be at the cost and expense of the gravesite owner.
I. The following provisions shall apply to the West Meadow
Cemetery only:
(1) Upright monuments in Section D may be of variable
heights not to exceed four feet in height. No monument shall be wider
than 36 inches at its widest point when placed on a gravesite containing
less than three contiguous plots.
[Amended 6-10-2008 by Ord. No. 0709-1]
(2) No memorial, whether upright monument or flush marker,
shall be less than four inches in thickness at its narrowest dimension,
nor more than a maximum of 14 inches. Upright monuments in the nonveterans'
section added in 2009, known as Section F, may be of variable heights,
not to exceed 48 inches in height, including the base. No monument
shall be wider than 36 inches at its widest point, when placed on
a single-grave monument lot. No monument shall be wider than 54 inches
at its widest point when placed on a double-grave monument lot.
[Amended 2-23-2010]
(3) Upright monuments shall be made only of granite. Memorial
flush markers shall be made only of granite or bronze. No monumental
work, once installed, shall be removed from a grave unless approved
by the Sexton.
(4) Only one upright monument shall be allowed for each
monument lot and only one flush marker per grave will be permitted.
On a flush marker lot, two flush markers will be permitted per grave.
[Amended 2-23-2010]
(5) Each grave shall have a concrete vault of a type approved
by the Sexton and installed in accordance with his/her direction.
The provision and installation of vaults shall be at the cost of the
gravesite owner.