As of August 23, 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE TOWN OF BARRE CEMETERIES

            Wilson, Maplewood and West Hill

For the mutual protection and benefit of lot owners, and each Cemetery as a unit, the following Rules and Regulations have been adopted as the Rules and Regulations of Wilson, Maplewood and West Hill Cemeteries, and all lot owners and visitors within the Cemeteries, and all lots sold, shall be subject to said Rules and Regulations, amendments or alterations as shall be adopted by the Board of Cemetery Commissioners from time to time; and the reference to these Rules and Regulations in the Deed or Certificate of Ownership to a lot shall have the same force and effect as if set forth in full therein.

Definition of Terms

1.         The term "Commission" shall mean the Board of Cemetery Commissioners of the Town of Barre, Vermont, and the person or persons duly appointed by them for the administration of Wilson, Maplewood and West Hill Cemeteries, hereafter, singly or jointly, referred to as the Cemetery.

2.         The terms "lot", "plot", or "burial space" shall be used interchangeably, and shall apply with like effect to one or more than one adjoining grave.

3.         The term "interment" shall mean the permanent disposition of the remains of a deceased person by cremation and interment, entombment or burial.

4.         The term "memorial" shall include a monument, marker, tablet or headstone, for the family or individual use.

5.         The term "office" shall mean the office of the Commission at Town Clerk's office in the Town of Barre.

General Supervision Within Cemeteries

6.         All persons, vehicles and funerals within the Cemeteries are subject to the control and order of the Superintendent and his assistants.

Interments and Disinterments

7.         Besides being subject to these Rules and Regulations, all interments, disinterments and removals are made subject to the orders and laws of the properly constituted authorities of the town, county and state.

8.         Once a casket containing a body is within the confines of the Cemetery, no funeral director, or his embalmer, assistant, employee or agent, shall be permitted to open the casket or to touch the body without the consent of the legal representatives of the deceased, or without a court order.

9.         All interments, disinterments and removals must be made at the time and in the manner and subject to such charges as fixed by the Cemetery Commission.

10.            Interments, disinterments and removals on Sundays and holidays are regarded with disfavor; when necessary, such services are subject to special additional charges.  An additional charge is also made when the time of arrival of a funeral necessitates payment for overtime labor.

11.       The right is reserved to insist upon at least twenty-four hours notice prior to any interment, and at least one week's notice prior to any disinterment or removal.

12.       The Commission reserves the right to refuse interment in any plot, and to refuse to open any burial space for any purpose, except on written application by the plot owners of record.

13.       The Commission reserves the right to make an interment of any member of the immediate family of any one of the several plot owners upon his written authorization.  No other person may be interred in any plot without the consent of all those owners of the plot who are recorded as such on the books of the Commission.

14.       When instructions regarding the location of an interment space in a lot cannot be obtained, or are indefinite, or when, for any reason, the interment space cannot be opened where specified, the Sexton may, in his discretion, open it in such location in the lot as he deems best and proper, so as not to delay the funeral; and the Commission shall not be liable in damages for any error so made.

15.            Detailed written instructions are desired by the Commission, and the Commission shall not be responsible for any order given verbally or by telephone or for any mistake occurring from the want of precise and proper instructions as to the particular space, size and location in a plot where interment, disinterment or removal is desired.

16.       The Commission reserves, and shall have, the right to correct any errors that may be made by it either in making interments, disinterments, or removals, or in the description, transfer or conveyance of any interment property, either by cancelling such conveyance and substituting and conveying in lieu thereof, other interment property of equal value and similar location as far as possible, or as may be selected by the Commission, or, in the sole discretion of the Commission, by refunding the amount of money paid on account of such purchase.  In the event such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person in such property, the Commission reserves, and shall have, the right to remove or transfer such remains so interred to such other property of equal value and similar location as may be substituted and conveyed in lieu thereof.  The Commission shall also have the right to correct any errors made by placing an improper description, including an incorrect name or date, on the memorial. 

17.  The Commission shall in no way be liable for any delay in the interment of a body where a protest to the interment has been made, or when the Rules and Regulations have not been complied with; and, further, said Commission reserves the right, under such circumstances, to place the body in the receiving vault until the full rights have been determined.  The Commission shall be under no duty to recognize any protests of interment unless they be in writing and filed in the office of the Commission.

18.       The Commission shall not be liable for the interment permit nor for the identity of the person sought to be interred.

19.       No interment shall be permitted or memorial placed in or on any property not fully paid for except by special consent of the Commission in each and every case.  In the event such consent is given, any and all interments or memorials placed in or on said property shall be considered as temporary.  A note shall not be considered as payment, and no rights shall be acquired by the plot purchaser of said interment or interments until such property is fully paid for in cash, including principal and interest.  In case the purchaser of said property shall fail to meet all payments within thirty days after the same are demanded by the Commission, then the Commission may reenter said property and hold the same as of its former estate.  The Commission, thereupon, shall be released from all obligations thereunder, and it may retain such payments as may have been made toward the purchase of such property as liquidated damages.  The Commission reserves the right and shall have the right, immediately or at any time thereafter, without notice, at its discretion, to remove to single graves, to be chosen by the Commission, each of the remains interred in said property.  The Commission, further, shall have the right to remove any memorial that has been placed on said property.

20.       Not more than one body, or the remains of more than one body, shall be interred in one grave, except by written consent of the Commission, and provided proper identification is made of such interment or interments on one regulation memorial or marker.

21.       No interment of any body, or the cremated remains of any body other than that of a human being, shall be permitted in the cemeteries.

22.       Where a plot is owned by a Church, Lodge or other society, interments shall be limited to the actual members of that organization and to their husbands or wives, and to immediate families of members.

23.            Artificial grass and equipment owned by the Commission may be used in making interments, disinterments and removals.  Undertakers must remove their equipment immediately after interments.  Failure to do so promptly will necessitate the removal of the equipment by the Sexton at the expense of the undertaker.

Disinterments and Removals

24.            Removal, by the heirs, of a body or cremated remains so that the plot may be sold for profit to themselves, or removal contrary to the express and implied wish of the original plot owner, is repugnant to the ordinary sense of decency and is absolutely forbidden.

25.       A body, or cremated remains, may be removed from its original plot to a larger or better plot in the Cemetery, where there has been an exchange or purchase for that purpose.

26.       The utmost care will be exercised in making a removal but the Commission shall assume no liability for damage to any casket, burial case or urn incurred in making the removal.

Service Charges and Overdue Indebtedness

27.       The charges for the cemetery services must be paid at the time of the issuance of the order of interment, disinterment or removal.

28.       The Commission reserves the right to refuse to do or allow to be done work of any character, including interments in or upon any lot until arrangements have been made for payment of any and all indebtedness due the Commission for work performed in or upon the lot.

Property Rights of Plot Owners

29.       All lots, plots and burial space conveyed shall be presumed to be the sole and separate property of the person or persons named as grantee in the instrument of conveyance; provided, however, that the husband or wife shall have a vested right of interment of his or her body in any burial plot conveyed to the other, which right shall continue as long as he or she shall remain the husband or wife of the plot owner and shall be his or her wife or husband at the time of such plot owner's demise.  No conveyance or other action, without the joinder therein or by written consent attached thereto, shall divest such husband or wife of such vested right of interment; provided, however, that a final decree of divorce between them shall terminate such vested right of interment unless it shall be otherwise provided by such decree of divorce.

In all conveyances to two or more persons as joint tenants, each joint tenant shall have vested right of interment of his or her remains in the plot so conveyed.  Upon the death of a joint tenant, the title of the burial plot heretofore held in joint tenancy immediately vests in the survivor or survivors, subject to the vested right of interment for the remains of the deceased joint tenant owner.

A vested right of interment as in this rule provided may be waived and shall

be terminated upon the interment elsewhere of the remains of a person entitled thereto.

30.            Whenever an interment is made in a plot that has been transferred by deed or certificate of ownership to an individual owner by the Commission and is held as a separate plot, it shall be indivisible; and the whole of such burial plot thereby becomes inalienable and shall be held as the family burial plot of the owner, in which one grave may be used for the owner's interment, one for the interment of the surviving husband or wife, if any, or the owner who by law has a vested right of interment therein, and in those remaining, if any, of the children of such deceased owner may be interred, in the order of need, without the consent of any person claiming any interest therein.  In the event there shall be no child surviving such deceased person, the right of interment therein shall go to the next heirs at law of said deceased owner as specified by the statutes of descent.

31.       On the decease of the proprietor of a lot, when the lot is not specifically mentioned in his will, an affidavit must be filed at the office of the Commission signed by one of the heirs at law, and in the cases of minors, by their guardian.  This affidavit must include a list of the names of all heirs and a majority must also designate one of their number as the representative, who shall be authorized to sign orders for interments in the lot and to give all other needful directions regarding the lot.  If no such affidavit shall be filed, the Commission may designate some one of the heirs at law so to act until such time as the before mentioned affidavit shall have been filed.

32.       If no interment has been made in a plot which has been transferred by deed or certificate of ownership to an individual owner by the Commission, or if all the bodies have been lawfully removed therefrom, in the absence of the specific disposition thereof by the owner's last will and testament, the whole of said plot, except the one grave, niche or crypt which must be reserved to the surviving husband or wife of the owner, shall, upon the death of said owner, descend in regular line of succession to the heirs at law of the owner.

Transfers or Assignments

33.       No transfer or assignment of any plot, or interest therein, shall be valid without the consent in writing of the Commission first to be had and endorsed upon such a transfer or assignment, and thereafter being recorded            on the books of the Commission and the Town Clerk.

34.       The Commission may refuse to consent to a transfer or to an assignment as long as there is any indebtedness due the Commission from the record plot owner.

35.       All transfers of ownership in plots shall be subject to a nominal charge, which charge must be paid to the Commission when the transfer is recorded.

36.       The subdivision of plots is not allowed, and no one shall be buried in any plot not having an interest therein, except by written consent of all parties interested in such plot and of the Commission; provided, however, a relative of any record owner may be buried in said plot as provided in these rules or in the laws of the state of Vermont.

Control of Work Within Cemetery

37.       All grading, landscaping and improvements of any kind, and all care on plots, shall be done, and all trees and shrubs and herbage of any kind shall be planted, trimmed, cut or removed and all openings and closings of plots, and all interments, disinterments and removals shall be made only by the Commission, unless by special permit from the Sexton in writing.

38.       All improvements or alterations of individual property in the Cemetery shall be under the direction of and subject to the consent, satisfaction and approval of the Sexton; and, should they be made without his written consent he shall have the right to remove, alter or change such improvements or alterations at the expense of the plot owner, or, in any event, at any time, in his judgment, they become unsightly to the eye.

If any trees or shrubs, situated on any lot, shall, by means of their roots or branches, become detrimental to the adjacent lots or avenues, or unsightly or inconvenient for visitors, the Commission shall have the right to enter the said lot and remove said trees or shrubs or such parts thereof as they shall determine to be detrimental, unsightly or inconvenient.

Decoration of Plots

39.       a) No flower receptacles may be placed on any plot, unless of metal or satisfactory substitute material of approved size and design.  The Commission shall have the authority to remove all floral designs, flowers, weeds, trees, shrubs, plants or herbage of any kind from the Cemetery, as soon as in the judgment of the Sexton they become unsightly, dangerous, detrimental, or diseased or when they do not conform to the standards maintained.  The Commission shall not be liable for floral pieces, baskets or frames in which or to which such floral pieces are attached, beyond the acceptance of such floral pieces for funeral services held in the Cemetery.  The Commission shall not be liable for loss, misplaced or broken flower vases.  The Commission shall not be responsible for frozen plants, or herbage of any kind, or for plantings damaged by the elements, thieves, vandals, or by other causes beyond its control.  The Commission reserves the right to regulate the method of decorating plots so that a uniform beauty may be maintained.  The Commission reserves the right to prevent removal of any flowers, floral designs, trees, shrubs or plants, or herbage of any kind, unless the Sexton gives his written consent.

b) Silk flowers will be allowed only from October 1 through June 1, with the

exception of Christmas wreaths.  At no time shall plastic flowers be permitted in the cemetery.

c) The Commission shall have the authority to remove all floral decorations, flags, shrubs, plants or herbage of any kind, which in the judgment of the Commission, have become unsightly, dangerous, diseased or detrimental, or which do not conform to the regulations outlined.

40.       a) The placing of boxes, shells, toys, metal designs, ornaments, chairs, settees, vases, glass, wood or iron cases, and similar articles, upon plots shall not be permitted, and, if so placed, the Commission reserves the right to remove the same.

b) Coat hangers or other wires in the ground or attached to memorials as pot holders are not allowed.

41.       All fittings, adornments, urns, inscriptions and arrangements shall be, and are hereby declared to be, subject to the approval and control of, and acceptance or rejection by the Commission.  Any urns or baskets left on graves for more than 5 days shall become the property of the Commission at their option.

42.       As a special mark of respect to those who have so served our country, the American flag shall be displayed only on the graves of those persons who have honorably served in the armed forces of the United States of America.

Changes in Grade and Replanting

43.       The right to enlarge, reduce, replant or change the boundaries or grading of the Cemetery or of a section or sections, from time to time, including the right to modify or change the locations of or remove or regrade roads, drives or walks, or any part thereof, is hereby expressly reserved.  The right to lay, maintain, and operate or alter or change pipe lines or gutters for sprinkling systems, drainage, lakes, etc., is also expressly reserved, as well as is the right to use cemetery property, not sold to individual plot owners, for cemetery purposes including the interring and preparing for interment of dead human bodies, or for anything necessary, incidental or convenient thereto.  The Commission reserves to itself, and to those lawfully entitled thereto, a perpetual right of ingress and egress over plots for the purpose of passage to and from other plots.

44.       No easement or right of interment is granted to any plot owner in any road, drive, alley or walk within the Cemetery, but such road, drive, alley or walk may be used as a means of access to the cemetery or buildings as long as the Commission devotes it to that purpose.

Conduct of Persons Within the Cemetery

45.       Persons when within the cemetery grounds shall use only the avenues, walks, alleys and roads, and any person injured while walking on the grass, except that be the only way to reach his plot, or while on any portion of the Cemetery other than the avenues, walks, alleys or roads, shall in no way hold the Commission liable for any injuries sustained.

46.       Only the plot owner and his relatives shall be permitted on the cemetery plot.  Any other person thereon shall be considered a trespasser, and the Commission shall owe no duty to said trespasser to keep the property, or the memorial thereon, in a reasonable safe condition.