Cemetery Trustee Committee Regular Meeting Agenda (minutes)
The Cemetery Trustees voted 2-1 to approve the August 8 minutes, with Ellie dissenting. The board unanimously voted to freeze Atwell, Jones, Birch Hill, and Cobble cemeteries, prohibiting future burials or lot sales. Regarding finances, the Trustees unanimously directed the Finance Officer to stop the monthly uniform charge, though Nancy will hold the letter pending a talk with Bob Henry. To address a budget shortfall for tree removal exceeding the contracted services line, Nancy will contact Sal Percia of the Budget Committee. The Trustees unanimously accepted a $23,600 quote from Thomson Timber Harvesting & Trucking LLC for tree work, contingent on confirming funds. The recent public hearing on proposed Cemetery Ordinance changes received no objections, and they await the signed document from the Select Board. The next meetings are set for September 14 and September 28, 2026. Source: https://www.canaannh.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08262026-462
Page 1 of 2 Cemetery Trustees meeƟng FINAL – Approved Sept. 14, 2026 Aug. 26, 2026 Minutes – Regular MeeƟng of Cemetery Trustees, August 26, 2026 Present: Cemetery Trustees: Nancy Birkrem (Secretary); Ellie Davis, Lynne A. Murray (Chair) and Bill Amaral (alternate) The above named gathered at the Mascoma Senior Center for a regular meeƟng of the Cemetery Trustees on August 26, 2026. A quorum being present, Lynne convened the meeƟng at 4:35 p.m. MoƟon 68. Nancy moved to approved the Aug. 8, 2026 meeƟng minutes noƟng that minor edits had been made for clarity. Ellie seconded. Ellie said she disagreed with the descripƟon of what was discussed at that meeƟng regarding the lot boundaries in the Canaan St. Cemetery and, therefore, would not approve the meeƟng minutes. The vote to approve the minutes was 2 in favor and 1 against. Bill leŌ the meeƟng. MoƟon 69. Nancy made a moƟon to “freeze” the Atwell, Jones, Birch Hill and Cobble cemeteries meaning that there would be no further burials or sales of lots in any of them. Lynne seconded. Ellie expressed concern that perhaps the town did not really own all of these cemeteries; Nancy pointed out that we had been maintaining them for over 100 years and it was unlikely we would have done this if we didn’t own them. There was some discussion whether other cemeteries should also be frozen; we agreed to start with these four. The vote to approve was unanimous. 2026 budget review. There was discussion of the Cemetery expenditures as reported through early August. There were surprises. Lynne had found some answers; we hope Bob Henry can shed light on other items. Nancy suggested that perhaps we should insist that no payments (except salaries/benefits) be paid from our accounts without Lynne approving them first. This suggesƟon was well received, but no further acƟon was taken. ResulƟng from this discussion-- MoƟon 70. Nancy made a moƟon that the Cemetery Trustees send a leƩer to the town’s Finance Officer direcƟng her to stop the monthly uniform charge. Ellie seconded. There was some discussion about what benefit we were geƫng for this charge. We noted that we had not approved the expenditure iniƟally nor had it been included in budget discussions last fall. The vote to approve the moƟon was unanimous. Nancy will draŌ a leƩer. [Secretary’s note: the Chair subsequently asked her to hold on sending this leƩer unƟl we talked to Bob Henry, Public Works Superintendent.] Page 2 of 2 Cemetery Trustees meeƟng FINAL – Approved Sept. 14, 2026 Aug. 26, 2026 Tree removal esƟmate: We discussed at length the two esƟmates, one from Chippers and one from Thomson. We looked at ways to reduce the cost by scaling back what would be done this year. However, since the total sƟll exceeds what is in the contracted services budget line, Nancy will reach out to Sal Percia of the Budget Cmte to see what our opƟons might be. MoƟon 71. Nancy made a moƟon that we accept the quote for tree work from Thomson Timber HarvesƟng & Trucking LLC as revised amounƟng to some $23,600, subject to confirming availability of funds. Ellie seconded. The vote to approve was unanimous. Nancy will noƟfy both companies of the decision. General comments: Ellie noted that road work had been done in Canaan Street Cemetery and that it looked good; she hoped it would last. There was a brief discussion of last week’s public hearing on our proposed changes to the Cemetery Ordinances. No one at the hearing had made any objecƟons, and we look forward to geƫng the signed document back from the Select Board. (See minutes of the Select Board meeƟng of Aug. 18, 2026 for details.) Lynne reported that she had unexpectedly found quite a bit of cemetery-related material in the Town Clerk’s office. She is sorƟng it out. Our next two meeƟngs will be on Sept. 14 and Sept. 28, 2026 (both Mondays). MoƟon 72. Nancy made a moƟon to adjourn the meeƟng which Lynne seconded. There being no objecƟons, the meeƟng adjourned at 6:05 p.m. SubmiƩed by Nancy Birkrem, Secretary.