Town of Warwick 
Cemetery Commission
March 8, 2011 Meeting Minutes
Town Hall

Meeting was called to order at 10:36 AM by chair Jeff Joyce.

Present were Jim Toth, Jeff Joyce, and Ed Hawes.

Minutes of November 23, 2010 were not presented.

Bills: Toth moved to pay and Hawes seconded. All in favor

Power bills for period ending 11/29/2010, 12/29/2010, 1/29/2011, and
2/28/2011 of $10.90, $10.00, $10.09, and $10.17 respectively

Invoice from Miner Landscaping dated 12/30/2010 for $185.00

No invoice from George Roaf for the final mowing and leaf pickup of the
year was received

Burials: None since last meeting and none pending.

Green Burials: Joyce moved and Hawes seconded that Toth shall prepare
publicity about 11/23/2010 commission vote to allow "green burials"
beginning with the thaw of 2011 and that such burials shall conform to
the policies and standards established by the commission and amended as
necessary from time to time.

Resignations: Toth noted that Joyce had contacted the town coordinator
expressing his desire to resign from the commission in the near future.
Toth also noted that Hawes had expressed his own interests in resigning
in the near future as well. Toth further noted that his own term was up
this May and that he was not seeking re-election. In light of the above
Toth had drafted a help wanted/positions available notice for 1-3
Cemetery Commissioners that reads:

Commission responsibilities include:

Cemetery operations including mowing, trimming, debris cleanup, and leaf
removal. This involves equipment procurement and maintenance and the
hiring and supervision of one or more part-time employees.

Keeping records of burials and lot assignments

Making lot assignments. This involves reviewing the records to determine
lot availability, finding and marking the lot on the ground, creating
assignment documents, updating assignment records, and processing
assignment revenues.

Coordinating burials with communication between funeral director and
family, burial agent, and grave digger. This also includes processing
revenues and expenditures in revolving fund.

Setting Commission policies, fee structure for burials and assignments,
and wage rates for employees. All Commission decisions are governed by
Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.

Commission members should be competent in all of the above
responsibilities and it is beneficial if they have expertise in one or
more of the above responsibilities. Additionally the Commission members
traditionally have undertaken the roles of Commission Chair, Secretary,
and Burial Agent. Past Commission members are available to assist new
members in getting familiar with responsibilities, past policies, and
the records. There is a $200 annual stipend for the position of Cemetery
Commissioner.

Interested parties should contact David Young, Town Coordinator.


If Jeff and Ed resign prior to the deadline for filing election papers
with the Town Clerk, their positions can be filled by election this
coming election. Otherwise the Selectboard can appoint to fill vacancies
until the next regular election.

Toth noted that if possible, resignations should not be submitted until
willing replacements are found or we risk not being able to have quorum
to decide Commission business.

Tree cutting and wood removal: there was discussion about the tree
cutting by the Highway Department and the ensuing fiasco regarding the
removal of firewood. All present agreed that it was in the best
interests of the Commission to have all the wood removed by anyone that
wants it as soon as possible and that the Selectboard has no
jurisdiction over disposal of wood within the cemetery but they do
supervise the highway department employees.

Meeting adjourned at 11:00 AM

Minutes submitted by J. Toth