Town of Chichester Cemetery Trustees meeting
March 6, 2023
The Cemetery Trustees met at 9:00 at the Historical Society building. Ruth Hammen, Fred Shaw, and Brenda Boswak were in attendance.
Old business
Lane Hodgkins from Hodgkins Painting & Maintenance attended the meeting for updated information on maintenance needed at Sanborn-Smith Cemetery and Hook Cemetery, if our article is passed at town meeting for the town to acceptance responsibility of Hook Cemetery. Lane has agreed to take on the responsibility for planting flowers in Leavitt Cemetery, as specified in some trusts. The Cemetery Trustees will purchase the flowers with money from those individual trusts. Fred will email Lane the photos and lot location of the specific graves that will have the flowers. We discussed the extensive cleanup needed in the Spring of many limbs in several cemeteries and the repair needed in Knowlton-Edgerly Cemetery on the ruts created last Spring by a vehicle.
The Cemetery Trustees have withdrawn the second warrant article we proposed to the Selectmen. We did not believe the updated wording, suggested by the Selectmen, would accomplish the goal we intended.
New business
The Cemetery Trustees are recommending the names of Justine Hayward and Gloria Beachy be submitted as Cemetery Trustee Alternates. Justine attended the meeting to familiarize herself with the responsibilities of being a Cemetery Trustee Alternate. Ruth will submit the paperwork for this to the Selectmen.
We discussed the significant price increase for granite cornerstones for cemetery lots. We currently require 4 cornerstones to be purchased and installed to mark the burial lot boundary. Brenda will check a few different vendors for more affordable options. Until now we have been purchasing cornerstones through Perry Bros. Monuments and NH Monuments. Ruth was contacted by Richardson Monument Company looking for business. We will review their information as a possible vendor. We continued refining the new ‘Right to Inter’ contract that we will begin using in the Spring. Ruthie answering many phone calls and emails. Wreath removal will be later this year due to the deep snow still in the cemeteries.
Meeting adjourned @ 12:00
Respectfully submitted, Brenda Boswak, Cemetery Trustee, Secretary