In response to public feedback received during a February 6 Select Board meeting, the Marion Cemetery Commission met on Tuesday morning to review revisions to its proposed changes in the town’s Cemetery Regulations.
The revisions were crafted for the commission’s consumption by Select Board member Norm Hills, working off a summary of feedback during the February 6 public hearing that was compiled and later organized by Town Administrator Geoff Gorman.
While the Cemetery Commission, made up of Margie Baldwin, Paul St. Don and Helen Hills, has the authority to change or write new regulations, its revised recommendations are likely to be heard in the continued public hearing at the April 17 Select Board meeting.
The commissioners poured over definitions at the meeting also attended by Norm Hills, Department of Public Works Director Becky Tilden and Highway/Parks Supervisor Jody Dickerson.
Some of the many suggestions made by the public on February 6 were incorporated into the revised regulations, which most notably honors a request to remove the overgrown spruce tree at Old Landing.
The commission has relented on its proposed elimination of shepherds’ hooks. The revision will require that a shepherd’s hook be anchored within the 12-inch planting bed at a gravestone and limited to 3 feet in height.
“This is a good compromise,” said Baldwin.
Other suggestions were not incorporated into the revisions, most notably including the commission’s rejection of a proposal to grandfather existing, noncompliant gravesites. Nor will an appeal process be added to the commission’s decisions.
The planting area will remain limited to 12 inches out from the gravestone.
Visiting hours will remain from 8:00 am to sunset or to 7:00 pm, whichever comes first.
Regarding Massachusetts General Law Chapter 272, which was referenced by an attendee at the February 6 public hearing, Norm Hills clarified that the law against removing certain items from a gravesite pertains to unauthorized persons. The town, per the Cemetery Commissions Regulations can, in fact, remove certain items.
For instance, if a tree or shrub on a plot or grave becomes detrimental or inconvenient to routine maintenance, it is the commission’s duty to have it removed. The February 27 revision added that no shrubs, trees or bushes may be planted on burial plots in town cemeteries.
An effort to allow cars to park on the grass was rejected.
According to state law, burials must be permitted; that had not been previously specified in Marion’s Cemetery Regulations.
Photos and videos are permitted on cemetery grounds, but if being done for commercial purposes, they need the commission’s approval.
Some matters considered complicated will require more research, and Norm Hills plans to edit another set of proposed regulations with Tuesday’s tweaks.
A notification system was also discussed, and Tilden suggested an “e-blast” (email) with the printing of a new brochure with the revised regulations.
The next regular meeting of the Marion Cemetery Commission was not set at adjournment, but the commission is scheduled to meet with the Select Board on April 17 at the Town House Annex Building.
Marion Cemetery Commission
By Mick Colageo