[HISTORY: Adopted by Cemetery Trustees of
the Town of Dalton 7-9-2014.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: These rules and regulations superseded former
Ch. 701, Cemetery Rules and Regulations, adopted 3-29-2004.
For the mutual protection of lot holders and the cemeteries
as a whole, the following rules and regulations have been adopted
by the Dalton Cemetery Trustees as the Rules and Regulations of the
Dalton Cemeteries, and all lot holders and visitors within the cemeteries,
and all lots assigned, shall be subject to said rules, regulations,
amendments or alterations as shall be adopted by the Cemetery Trustees
from time to time.
BURIAL AGENT — The person appointed by the Town
Select Board to coordinate burial planning and burial activities with
funeral directors and the Superintendent, to establish lot layouts,
burial locations and burial times, and to keep burial records.
A burial park for earth interments.
The Cemetery Department office operated at the Main Street
Cemetery.
Three persons duly elected by the voters of the Town to establish
and administer cemetery rules and regulations and to oversee operation
of the cemeteries.
The permanent disposition of the remains of a deceased person,
by cremation and interment or by burial.
A particular area of a section.
A device set flush with the ground, surface, located at the
corner of a lot.
A memorial which is flush with the ground surface.
A monument, headstone, tombstone or marker used to identify
burial locations.
A memorial of natural stone, which extends above the surface
of the ground.
A plan held by the Cemetery Department, showing the locations
of sections, lots and plots.
An area of sufficient size to accommodate one adult interment,
approximately 3 1/2 by 10 feet.
A numbered area of a particular cemetery.
The person appointed by the Dalton Select Board to supervise
the work of the Highway and Cemetery Department.
A.
All land occupied by the cemeteries is owned in perpetuity by the
Town of Dalton. No deed, lease or title is given to a burial lot.
B.
The cemeteries will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. until dusk, weather
permitting.
C.
Employees of the Cemetery Department are not required to do any work
for lot holders, except on specific order of the Superintendent. Employees
are required to be courteous to all visitors.
D.
All charges issued by the Cemetery Department are payable to the
Town of Dalton. Patrons of the cemeteries are requested to refrain
from offering any fee or gratuity to any Cemetery Department employee.
E.
Persons within the cemeteries shall use only the roads and walkways
to move about. Treading upon lots is not permitted, except as necessary
to gain access to a particular lot. The Cemetery Department expressly
disclaims liability for all injuries sustained because of violation
of this rule.
F.
Persons within the cemeteries are prohibited from defacing or damaging
any memorial, fence or other structure or surface in the cemeteries.
Breaking, picking, or otherwise damaging any plant, shrub, tree or
container is also prohibited.
G.
Motor vehicles must be kept under legal control at all times. Funeral
processions have the right-of-way. Vehicles must be shut off when
the driver is not in the driver's seat. Vehicle speed limit is
10 miles per hour. Vehicles must travel only on the roads built for
that purpose.
H.
Bicycles, motorcycles and recreational vehicles are prohibited, except
when used for attending a burial service or on other official business
with the Cemetery Department.
I.
Children younger than their tenth birthday must be accompanied by
a supervisory person capable of understanding and abiding by these
rules and regulations.
J.
Discarding of rubbish or debris on the cemetery grounds is prohibited.
K.
The placing of trinkets, ornaments, toys, metal/plastic/wood/composition/paper
designs, chairs, settees, statues, figurines, emblems, insignia, photographs,
artwork, clothing, fencing, aprons, borders, curbs or similar articles
upon lots or memorials are prohibited. Any such item so placed is
subject to removal by the Cemetery Department.
L.
It is of the utmost importance that there be a quiet and calm atmosphere
maintained in the cemeteries. Persons in a cemetery shall avoid unbecoming
conduct, such as:
(1)
Loud or boisterous talking, shouting, etc.
(2)
Loafing or idle conduct.
(3)
Lunching or refreshments.
(4)
Peddling or soliciting sales.
(5)
Bringing or allowing a pet there.
(6)
Bringing a firearm there, except by a military escort participating
in a burial service or attending a memorial service.
M.
It is the duty of the Cemetery Trustees, Burial Agent and Superintendent
to see that the cemetery rules and regulations are adhered to, and
it is their duty also to see that order is maintained and to protect
and promote the best interests of the cemeteries. To that end, they
are authorized to make temporary additional rules which may be needed
from time to time, to meet emergencies which are not covered by these
rules and regulations.
N.
Special cases may arise in which the lateral enforcement of a cemetery
rule or regulation may impose unnecessary hardship. The Cemetery Trustees
reserve the right, therefore, to make exceptions, suspensions or modifications
of any of these rules or regulations, without notice when, in their
judgment, such action appears necessary; and such temporary exception,
suspension or modification shall in no way be construed as affecting
the general application of such rules and regulations.
O.
The Cemetery Trustees hereby expressly reserve the right to adopt
additional rules and regulations or to amend, alter or repeal any
rule, regulation, article, section, paragraph or sentence in the rules
and regulations, at any time. Sufficient notice will be given by the
Trustees of any rule or regulation change which will create expense,
hardship or inconvenience to lot holders or other persons having business
with the Cemetery Department.
A.
A burial lot is assigned only at the time of death. A lot assignment
consists of space for no more than two burials, regardless of the
number of survivors. If a child under legal age passes away before
the parents, space will be reserved for the parents.
B.
To be eligible for assignment of a lot, the deceased shall have been
a legal resident of the Town of Dalton at the time of death, as determined
from the records maintained by the Town Clerk, or shall have been
a legal resident of the Town of Dalton at the time of moving out of
town into a staff nursing home or assisted living facility to procure
necessary on-site medical care or on-site living assistance.
C.
Deceased eligible for a lot assignment shall receive the assignment
from the Burial Agent. The location of a lot assignment shall be determined
by the Burial Agent.
D.
Stillborn infants and children under six months of age shall be assigned
burial space in special plots established for that purpose, unless
a plot is available in a previously assigned family lot.
E.
Cremains burials will be in the Urn Garden of the Ashuelot Cemetery.
Only flush markers are allowed in the Urn Garden. Cremains burials
are also allowed in existing family lots or plots, in any cemetery,
if space allows. Additionally, cremains burials are allowed in Fairview
Cemetery, in any new or existing lot; flush markers or standard monuments
are allowed. This rule will remain in effect unless an Urn Garden
is established in the Fairview Cemetery at which time cremains burials
will follow the same procedure as Ashuelot Cemetery cremains burials.
F.
No lot or plot shall be used for any other purpose than for the burial
of the human dead.
G.
No easement or right of interment is granted to any lot holder in
any road, drive or walkway within the cemeteries, but such road, drive
or walkway may be used as a means of access to the cemetery or buildings,
as long as the Burial Agent denotes it to that purpose.
H.
The right to enlarge, reduce or change the boundaries or grading
of a cemetery or a section, from time to time, including the right
to modify or change the locations of or remove or re-grade roads,
drives or walks, or any part thereof, is hereby reserved. The right
to install, operate, maintain, alter or change pipelines or gutters
for water supply or drainage is also reserved, as well as the right
to use unassigned cemetery areas for cemetery purposes, including
interment of the dead or for anything necessary, incidental or convenient
thereto.
I.
The Cemetery Department reserves to itself and to those legally entitled
thereto a perpetual right of ingress and egress over lots for the
purpose of passing to or from other lots.
J.
Descriptions and locations of lots and plots will be in accordance
with the plates which are on file at the cemetery office.
K.
The Cemetery Department will take all reasonable precautions to protect
lots and memorials within the cemeteries from loss or damage. However,
the Cemetery Department disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage
from causes beyond its control, especially from damage caused by the
elements, acts of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious
mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasions, insurrections,
riots or order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage
be direct or collateral, other than herein provided.
L.
It is the duty of a lot holder to notify the Burial Agent of any
change of the holder's address.
M.
The instrument of conveyance of these rules and regulations, and
any amendments thereto, constitute the sole agreement between the
Cemetery Department and a lot holder. The statement of any employee
or agent, unless confirmed in writing by the Burial Agent, shall in
no way bind the Cemetery Department.
A.
The general care of the cemeteries is assumed by the Superintendent,
which includes the cutting of grass at reasonable intervals, the raking
and cleaning of the grounds, the pruning of shrubs and trees, and
the maintenance of lots, roads, drives, walkways and buildings.
B.
The general care assumed by the Cemetery Department shall in no case
mean the maintenance repair or replacement of any memorial, nor does
it mean the doing of any special or unusual work, or the reconstruction
of any stone work at any section or lot, because of damage from causes
beyond the Cemetery Department's control, whether the damage
be direct or collateral.
The Cemetery Department reserves and shall have the right to
correct any errors that may be made by the Department in making an
interment, disinterment or removal.
The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts govern the descent
of assignment to cemetery lots as well as other matters pertaining
to assignments, conveyances, devises, trust deeds and inalienability.
The Burial Agent shall assist any lot holder who desires information
or advice on questions pertaining to their lot.
A.
The cemeteries will be open for interments from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. daily, with the exception of Saturdays, Sundays and Massachusetts
legal holidays. During severe weather, the decision whether a grave
can be prepared rests with the Superintendent, the Burial Agent and
the Cemetery Trustees.
B.
The cemeteries will be open for interments on Saturdays from 9:00
a.m. to 12:00 noon, except that when a legal holiday occurs on a Saturday
no burials shall be permitted.
C.
When immediate burial is required by the laws of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, or under the rules and regulations of the Board
of Health, interments may be made on Sundays or holidays, and an additional
charge will be added to the regular interment charge.
D.
All funerals, upon entering a cemetery, shall be under the charge
of the Burial Agent.
E.
Once a casket containing a body is within the confines of a cemetery,
no person, funeral director nor his embalmer, assistant, employee
or agent shall be permitted to open the casket or to touch the body
without the consent of the legal representative of the deceased or
an order signed by a court having jurisdiction.
F.
Funeral directors, upon arrival at a cemetery with the remains of
a deceased, must present the necessary burial permits.
G.
Lot holders shall not allow interments in their lots in return for
remuneration of any kind.
H.
No interment of two or more bodies shall be made in one grave, except
in the case of a parent and child or two infants buried in one casket.
I.
When an interment is to be made in an established family lot, the
location of such interment shall be designated by the lot holder.
Should the lot holder fail or neglect to make such designation, the
Cemetery Department reserves the right to make the interment in a
location designated by the Burial Agent.
J.
The Superintendent and the employees of the Cemetery Department are
the only persons who shall be permitted to open a grave, with the
following exceptions:
(1)
When the Cemetery Department is directed to make disinterment by
order of a court of competent jurisdiction and a certified copy of
such order has been filed with the Cemetery Department and the Burial
Agent.
(2)
When the Coroner directs the disinterment for the purpose of holding
an inquest and has filed his signed authorization with the Cemetery
Department and the Burial Agent to release the body to him and his
lawful agents. In such case, the disinterment must be made by the
Coroner or his lawful agents. Cemetery Department employees will not
be permitted to assist the Coroner or his agents.
K.
In order to maintain a high standard of care and to eliminate sunken
graves caused by the collapse of wooden boxes, it shall be required
that all burials be made within an outside container made of natural
stone, metal or reinforced concrete. All such containers shall meet
with the approval of the Cemetery Department.
L.
All charges made by the Cemetery Department for interment or services
in connection therewith shall be paid to the Town of Dalton, which
will issue a receipt therefor upon request.
M.
All Cemetery Department charges shall be in accordance with current
rates as established by the Cemetery Trustees. The funeral director
is considered responsible for full payment of all Cemetery Department
interment charges.
N.
The Cemetery Department reserves the right to a minimum of 24 hours'
notice of any interment, and a minimum of seven days' notice
of any disinterment or removal.
O.
All interments, disinterments and removals shall be made at the time
and in the manner and upon the charges fixed by the Cemetery Department.
P.
Besides being subject to these rules and regulations, all interments,
disinterments and removals shall be subject to the orders and laws
of all properly constituted public authorities.
Q.
The Cemetery Department shall not be responsible for any order given
by telephone nor for any mistake occurring from the want of precise
and proper instructions as to the particular space, size of grave,
and location in a lot, where interment is desired.
R.
The Cemetery Department shall not be liable for the interment permit
nor for the identity of the person sought to be interred.
S.
Funeral homes will be allowed to use the Main Street Cemetery vault,
at the discretion of the Cemetery Trustees, to store bodies in their
caskets while awaiting burial due to weather or other extenuating
circumstances. Storage will be allowed for up to six months, unless
special permission is granted by the Trustees. Surrounding communities
not having such a facility may also use the vault with the approval
of the Trustees, if space allows, at a fee designated in the cemetery
charges fee schedule. Funeral homes are responsible for all damage
done to the vault as a result of any action of the funeral home or
casket in their care. If repair or cleaning is done by the Cemetery
Department as a result such action, the responsible funeral home will
be billed.
A.
The Cemetery Department will undertake the planting of trees, bushes
and shrubs, and to preserve and maintain landscape features. No other
person shall plant trees, bushes or shrubs in a cemetery.
B.
There shall be no planting in the ground, nor placing of containers
in the ground, by any person, where a lot has a memorial foundation
exposed at a memorial. Planting in the ground, and placing containers
in the ground, is allowed on lots where there is no exposed memorial
foundation.
C.
Persons may place attractive urns, vessels or containers on memorial
foundations, where foundations occur, so long as their contents do
not extend over adjacent lawn areas beyond the edge of the foundation.
Where there is no memorial foundation exposed at a memorial, urns,
vessels, containers and plantings may be placed on or in the ground
immediately adjacent to the front face of the memorial, so long as
they do not extend more than 12 inches from the face of the memorial.
There shall be no glass or unsightly containers placed to hold plants
or decorative bouquets. Urns, vessels or containers shall not be placed
on a memorial.
D.
Memorial decorations shall be only live plant material or artificial
plants. Plastic plants may be used as memorial decorations only between
November 1 and April 1. Decorations shall be held only by urns, vessels,
containers, common commercial floral frames or baskets, placed at
ground level. Plant material may also be supported directly by a memorial.
E.
The Cemetery Department shall not maintain urns, vessels or containers,
nor their contents, nor shall they maintain memorial decorations.
The Cemetery Department shall not be responsible for any damage to
urns, vessels, containers, their contents, floral decorations, frames
or baskets caused by reasons beyond their control. All such decorative
items placed at a memorial within the scope of these rules and regulations
shall remain the responsibility of the donor, and shall be cared for
and eventually removed by the donor. Items placed at a memorial which
do not comply with these rules and regulations shall be removed without
notice, by the Cemetery Department, and held at the cemetery office
for the next seven business days. Donors may retrieve their items
during that holding period. Otherwise, the items will be discarded
by the Cemetery Department.
F.
The Cemetery Department shall have the authority to remove and discard
any plant or decoration when, in the judgment of the Superintendent,
it becomes unsightly, dangerous, detrimental or diseased, or when
it does not conform to the standards of care or appearance maintained
by the Cemetery Department.
G.
The Cemetery Department shall not be liable for funeral floral pieces,
baskets or frames, beyond the acceptance of such pieces for burial
services held within the cemeteries.
H.
The Cemetery Department reserves the right to prevent the removal
of any plant rooted in the ground within the cemeteries, unless the
Superintendent gives consent.
A.
Only one family memorial shall be placed upon a multigrave lot, and
it shall be located a minimum of three inches from the rear line of
the lot. Single grave assignments shall have only flush markers.
B.
Memorials, even for temporary use, made of concrete, artificial stone,
composition, and wood, metal or plastic are not permitted.
C.
Any person proposing to install, erect, alter, inscribe, clean or
repair a memorial shall first obtain permission from the Cemetery
Department to do so, and in so doing, shall comply with the reasonable
directions of the Department and with these rules and regulations.
The person or firm requesting such permission may be required to furnish
satisfactory evidence of their ability to properly perform the work
proposed.
D.
All work in progress of any description, including memorial work,
shall cease while a funeral, service or interment is being conducted
nearby, and all workers and equipment shall withdraw from the area.
E.
Approaching the bereaved for the purpose of soliciting any business
within a cemetery is not permitted.
F.
All monuments and stone markers shall be of high quality and endurance,
of granite, marble, or other highly weather-resistant natural stone.
Markers may also be of bronze.
G.
A memorial supplier, and its quarry, shall warranty the quality of
their product by correcting or replacing the product if it is found
to be below trade standards of quality of material, or of craftsmanship
of finishing or inscribing, or of improper setting, all at no cost
to the Cemetery Department or the purchaser.
H.
All memorials shall be set at locations designated by the Cemetery
Department, in accordance with these rules and regulations, and in
accordance with any special instructions of the Cemetery Department
deemed necessary because of the nature of the particular location.
Memorial placement shall be limited to:
(1)
The location of the completed interment whom the memorial names.
(2)
A previously assigned lot which would serve as a suitable location
for a marker memorializing a veteran whose body was lost in the military
service of the United States of America.
(3)
A location designated by the Cemetery Trustees for placement of a
memorial to veterans who served in the military forces of the United
States of America.
I.
A scale drawing of each proposed memorial, showing design, dimensions,
materials, inscriptions and color, shall be submitted to the Cemetery
Department for approval. Stone memorials will not be considered as
eligible if they are made as replicas of life time property. So that
the cemeteries may develop in beauty and good taste, the Burial Agent
shall have authority to approve a memorial proposed, or to reject
it within 10 business days if it is considered unsuitable for the
lot on which it would be placed. Rejection shall include an explanation
of the reasons therefor. Upon request, any rejected proposal shall
be promptly reviewed and judged by the Cemetery Trustees.
J.
A memorial may have a single legal trademark inscribed on it, providing
that such mark is cut into the material, without pigmentation, and
not more than two square inches in area.
K.
A memorial may have legal copyright notices on it, placed so as not
to detract from its appearance.
L.
Advertising of any kind within a cemetery is prohibited.
M.
The face area of a new family memorial shall not exceed 13 square
feet. The width of a new memorial, its greatest horizontal dimension,
shall not exceed four feet six inches. The height of a new memorial,
above the ground surface or foundation surface, shall not exceed three
feet zero inches.
N.
At East Main Street Cemetery and at the oldest sections of Main Street
Cemetery where colonial memorials exist, new monolith memorials may
be used at each grave of a lot, rather than a central or family memorial.
Monoliths shall not exceed two feet in width, three feet eight inches
in height, or six inches in thickness.
O.
Markers shall be of sizes approved by the Cemetery Department, and
shall be located at the end of a grave farthest from the base of a
monument in that lot. At the Urn Garden, only markers will be permitted.
All markers shall be delivered to the Cemetery Department, and only
the Department will set markers in the ground. A scheduled charge
shall be made to the memorial dealer for the setting of a stone marker,
and to the appropriate person for the setting of a veteran's
marker.
P.
The application of coloring material to the lettering or design on
a memorial, if approved, shall be of a permanent nature capable of
retaining its beauty without maintenance.
Q.
Symbols, epitaphs and historical inscriptions, in good taste, may
be part of a proposed memorial design submitted for approval to the
Cemetery Department.
R.
Memorial foundations shall be installed only by the Cemetery Department,
and a scheduled charge shall be made to the appropriate memorial dealer
for each foundation in a lot.
S.
Should any memorial become unsightly, dilapidated, or a safety hazard,
in the judgment of the Cemetery Trustees, the lot holder will be notified
that prompt corrective action is necessary and required. All corrective
action shall be at the expense of the lot holder.
T.
No memorial shall be removed from a cemetery without permission of
the Cemetery Trustees and the lot holder.
U.
Damage done to lots, walks, roads, trees, bushes, shrubs or other
property, in a cemetery, by dealers, contractors, vault companies
or their agents shall be repaired by the Cemetery Department and the
cost of such repairs shall be charged to the party causing the damage
or to his principal.
V.
The Cemetery Department, at its own expense, shall without liability
correct any error made in the placing of a foundation or marker.
W.
All persons, while within the cemeteries, shall abide by these Cemetery
Rules and Regulations.
The Burial Agent, Superintendent, and Cemetery Trustees shall
seek to enforce these Cemetery Rules and Regulations, and to exclude
from the cemeteries any person violating them.
