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CEMETERY ORDINANCE
THE PURPOSE OF THIS ORDINANCE IS:
TO PROVIDE RULES TO
ALLOW FOR
AUTHORITY FOR THIS ORDINANCE IS THE LEGISLATIVE BODY.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE SELECTPERSONS OF THE TOWN OF
BELGRADE, STATE OF MAINE.
Section 1. Short Title.
This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the
CEMETERY ORDINANCE for the Town of Belgrade.
Section 2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following
terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given
herein:
Cemetery Committee shall mean the collective group of
volunteer citizens, appointed by the Board of Selectpersons and charged by the
voters to oversee management of Town cemeteries.
Cremains shall mean the ashes that remain
from a human body that has been cremated.
Flower Plants shall mean any of a variety of
natural flower that possesses roots.
Flower Display shall mean any flower that is
artificial whether in a container, bouquet or spray.
Lot shall mean a designated area in a
Belgrade cemetery that consists of four or eight burial spaces as depicted on
the original surveys and layouts of each cemetery.
Owner or Assignee shall mean a person to whom a lot
or spaces in Town cemeteries, as identified in this Ordinance, has been
assigned by an authorized Town agent.
Perimeter shall mean the strip of Town-owned
land immediately surrounding each of the four cemeteries.
Perpetual Care shall mean the care and maintenance
and the reasonable administration of those cemetery lots or spaces for which an
owner or assignee has paid for care and maintenance in perpetuity as specified
in this ordinance.
Person is anyone having an interest in
grave spaces in the identified Town
cemeteries.
Service Dog A dog that has been
individually trained to mitigate his or her partner’s disability. This term is sometimes used to refer to dogs
that are partnered with a physically disabled person who is neither blind nor
deaf.
Space shall mean a burial place for one
casket remains or up to three cremains.
Town Agent shall mean the Town
Sexton/Caretaker, a member of the Cemetery Committee, the Town Manager or a
member of his office staff.
Tree shall mean any bush or tree that
has roots larger than two inches in diameter at its base and having a height in
excess of four feet.
Section 3. Eligibility for and Assignment of a Burial
Lot or Spaces.
1. Only
residents of Belgrade are eligible for a burial lot or spaces in Belgrade
cemeteries.
2. A resident
can be assigned a lot or spaces for personal use by paying the voter-approved
cost for perpetual care.
3. Burial lots
or spaces in Belgrade cemeteries remain Town property and do not become the
property of the assignee.
4. A resident
of Belgrade does not have a right to sell, trade, will, donate or otherwise
dispose of burial spaces to a non-resident of Belgrade unless spaces are to be
used by non-resident parents or children of the owner, their spouses or
children, or others that are approved by the Cemetery Committee and authorized
by the Board of Selectpersons.
5. A resident
who was assigned a lot or spaces in a Belgrade cemetery and has since become a
non-resident can still use that lot or spaces for himself/herself, a spouse,
children or parents of either spouse.
6. A resident
or former resident who wishes to cancel his/her assignment of an unoccupied lot
or spaces can inform the Town and receive a full refund of the money, less
interest, paid to the Town for perpetual care unless the lot has been used to
bury an eligible person. In this case,
no refund will be made.
Section 4. Responsibilities of the Belgrade Cemetery
Committee.
The function of the Cemetery Committee is to perform
four specific duties:
a. Hold periodic meetings.
b. Decide present and future cemetery needs.
c. Establish policies for the use and
maintenance of the cemeteries.
d. Supervise the maintenance and use of the cemeteries
and related properties.
Section 5. Rules for Town of Belgrade Cemeteries.
Lack of care and respect for graves in our cemeteries
has required that the following regulations be established to assure proper
management of our cemeteries and to show our respect for the deceased who are
buried in them:
1. Flower
plants may be set adjacent to a monument/stone on a gravesite and will not be
removed by the Sexton/Caretaker unless they are poorly maintained or dead.
2. Flower
displays may be placed adjacent to a monument/stone on a gravesite but will be
removed by the Sexton/Caretaker when they become faded or after 30 days of
display whichever comes first.
3. A small
bush or shrub no higher than four feet may be planted on each side of a main
monument, but each must be kept trimmed by the lot/space owner. The Sexton will remove bushes or shrubs that
are not kept trimmed or exceed four feet in height.
4. No trees
may be planted inside the perimeter of any Town cemetery, unless they are part of a design approved of by the Board of Select
Persons. Members of the Town Tree
Committee or Cemetery Committees may plant trees along the perimeter of a Town
cemetery.
5. The flag of
the United States and organizational flags may be flown on a gravesite. Any such flag that becomes torn or discolored
will be removed and properly disposed of by the Town Sexton.
6. Cemeteries
are quiet places providing opportunities for the living to pay their respects
or mourn those who have died. No sports,
games, or activity of any kind that interferes with the proper use for a
cemetery is allowed.
7. Each burial
space may contain one casket or up to three cremains. Both types of burials must be in an approved
vault or liner.
8. Head and
corner markers must be installed at ground level so mowing machines can pass
over them without the possibility of damaging blades.
9. Perpetual
care for a grave provides for grass mowing, trimming, monument cleaning and
re-filling of sunken spaces; it does not provide for raised beds,
monument/stone relocation or repairs.
10. No pets,
except for Aservice dogs@ are allowed in our cemeteries.
11. Only human
remains may be buried in Belgrade cemeteries.
12. The Town
of Belgrade, the Town Sexton, Town of Belgrade employees, or members of the
Cemetery Committee assume no responsibility for any damage that may occur
during the perpetual care and maintenance of our cemeteries. The Town of Belgrade will not compensate
anyone for any accidental damage that may occur to any flower plants, flower
displays, shrubs, bushes, trees, or other items that are placed at burial
sites.
Section 6. Cemeteries Appearance.
1. Erection of
a monument on a grave, with the name of the owner thereon, is encouraged. An
owner of a lot or spaces should consult with a Town Agent to determine the best
location for a monument and one that will assure the best use of the lot or
spaces.
2. Removal of
flower displays that have served their purpose, lost color, or are in temporary
containers that have disintegrated is encouraged and will be appreciated. However, the Town Sexton will remove them if
they are not voluntarily removed.
3. Vehicular
traffic in our cemeteries, other than that necessary for the maintenance and
proper care of the cemetery is not authorized during periods when the ground is
soft and wet, or in any condition that will cause vehicles to leave the
cemetery roads with ruts or muddy areas.
4. Owners of a
lot or spaces must remove flower containers, dead flowers, wreaths, stands and
other unessential items and keep the items or dispose of them at the transfer
station as the owners choose. If this is
not done, the Town Sexton will remove them.
The Town of Belgrade and any Town Agent will not be responsible for the
value of any item removed by the Town Sexton.
5. Garish
displays on a lot or spaces by owners are discouraged and may be removed with
the approval of the Town Manager.
Section 7. Enforcement and Appeals.
1. Town Agents
are responsible for enforcement of this Ordinance.
2. A person
who believes that he/she has been aggrieved by provisions of this Ordinance or
actions of Town Agents may appeal the action to the Town Manager. If the grievant is still not satisfied,
he/she may appeal to the Board of Selectpersons by informing the Board, in
writing, providing the reason for an appeal and asking for a date and time to
appear before the Board.
Section 8. Severability. Upon adoption, this ordinance, will
supercede any other ordinance, rule, policy, or Town warrant article in effect
prior to
Section 9. Effective Date. This Ordinance is hereby declared to be necessary for proper
management of Belgrade cemeteries and shall be in full force and effective from
and after its passage and publication as provided by law.
Passed this_____________________day
of _______________________2008.
Signed this ____________________ day
of________________________2008
Signed by the Board of Select Persons:
Chair
___________________________________
V.Chair ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Attested :by
:_______________________________________Town Clerk on
_______________________, 2008