RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ALL TOWN OWNED CEMETERIES
The following Rules and Regulations have been adopted by the Commissioners for the mutual protection of lot owners and the Cemeteries as a whole. All lot owners and visitors within the cemeteries, and all lots sold shall be subject to these Rules and Regulations and to such other Rules and Regulations and amendments 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 fully set forth therein.
DEFINITIONS
1. CEMETERY: The word cemetery is defined to include a burial park for
earth interments, a community mausoleum for vault
interments, a columbarium for cinerary interments or a
combination of one or more than one thereof.
2. GRAVE: The word grave shall apply to a space of sufficient size to
accommodate one adult interment not less than three feet four
inches by ten feet.
3. LOT: The word lot shall apply to numbered divisions as shown on the
record chart which consists of one or more graves.
4. INTERMENT: The word interment shall mean the disposition of the remains of
a deceased person by cremation and interment, entombment or
burial.
5. MEMORIAL: The word memorial shall include a monument, marker, tablet,
headstone, private mausoleum or tomb for family or individual
use.
6. MONUMENT: The word monument shall include a tombstone or memorial of
granite or marble which shall extend above the surface of the
ground.
7. MARKER: The word marker means a memorial flush with the ground.
8. LOT MARKERS: The words lot marker mean a marble, metal, or granite post used
by the cemetery to locate corners of the lot or graves.
CERTIFICATE OF The words certificate of ownership shall apply to the ownership
OWNERSHIP: shall apply to the original conveyance given by the Cemetery
to the original purchaser.
10. COMMISSIONERS: The word commissioners means the Board of Cemetery
Commissioners of Monson.
GENERAL RULES
The cemetery will be open during May through October from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and during November through April from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
12. Employees of the cemetery are not expected to work on Sundays or holidays except
when absolutely necessary. There are no burials permitted on Sundays, holidays or
after 11:00 a.m. Saturday.
Employees of the cemetery are not permitted to do any work for lot owners except
upon order of the Superintendent or his Assistant, but are required to be courteous to
all visitors.
All fees or charges for services are payable to the Town of Monson as stated herein.
All such fees or charges will be deposited with the Town Treasurer.
Persons within the cemetery shall use only the avenues, roads, walks, and no one is
permitted to walk upon or across lots or lawn unless it is necessary to do so to gain
access to one own lot.
Persons visiting the cemeteries or attending funerals are prohibited from picking flowers, wild or cultivated, braking or injuring any trees, shrubs, or plants, or from writing upon, defacing or injuring any memorials, fences or other structures within the cemetery grounds.
Children under fifteen years of age will not be admitted unless accompanied by a person responsible for their conducts.
Automobiles must proceed at a rate of speed not exceeding ten miles per hour. They must be brought to a full stop when meeting a funeral, and they must not pass a funeral going in the same direction.
Drivers of motor vehicles hired to attend funerals must remain quietly within their vehicles during ceremonies and the person in charge of the funeral will be held responsible for any damage which may result from carelessness of any employee.
Drivers of motor vehicles shall not make a complete or partial reverse turn of any motor vehicle on any road or driveway within the cemetery.
No vehicle shall be driven upon lawns or grass next to any road or driveway.
Receptacles for waste material are located at convenient places and rubbish, dead flowers, and other material must be deposited therein.
Placing of boxes, shells, toys, metal designs, ornaments, chairs, vases and similar articles upon lots are not permitted, and if so placed the Commissioners reserve the right to remove and dispose of them.
FENCES: No lot or grave shall be defined by fence, railing, coping, hedge, or other enclosure of any description.
FLOWERS AND RECEPTCALS: Glass jars, tin cans or similar containers will not be permitted as flower holders. Artificial flowers will not be permitted nor will wood or wire devices used to hold pots upright.
MOUNDS: Mounds over graves are prohibited.
STRUCTURES: The Commissioners reserve the right to prevent the erection of any structure or to remove any structure which they shall deem injurious to the general appearance of the cemetery or dangerous to the public.
PREPARATION FOR BURIAL: At least 48 hours notice must be allowed to prepare for burial. All graves will be prepared by the Superintendent and his assistants at a charge including opening and closing the grave, and sodding or seeding the same unless there is an unforeseen obstruction which could alter the time and change. For winter burials, the period or December 1 to April 1, charges will be made in accordance with difficulty of the work and the time required to prepare the grave.
FUNERAL CONTROLS: Funerals while within the cemetery will be under the control of the Superintendent and/or his assistant.
DEATH CERTIFICATES: No burial will be made without a proper death certificate of burial permit.
LOCATION OF GRAVES: When the undertaker orders the location of a grave, no change of location, after the grave is prepared, will be made except at the expense of the lot owner. In most cases a pre-burial form must be signed.
GRAVE RESTRICTIONS: The interment of two bodies in one grave will not be allowed, except in case of mother and infant, father and infant, or two children under ten years of age. Two cremations, one cremation, and one body are allowed in the same grave.
REMOVAL OF DECORATIONS: As soon as flowers, wreaths, emblems, baskets used at funeral or placed upon graves at other times become unsightly, they will be removed and no responsibility for their protection or maintenance will be assumes. All spring decorations are to be removed by July 1, and all winter decorations to be removed by April 1st.
RESTRICTIONSS ON INTERMENTS: No interment of any body other than that of a human being will be permitted. No cinerary interments shall be made except in a grave or mausoleum, and no disposition of the ashes or residue of a cremated corpse shall be made in any other manner.
Orders for interment in lots must be signed by the owner of the lot or his legal representative. When this is not reasonably possible because of absence from town, a pre-burial form or letter equal to will be sufficient.
OPENING GRAVES AFTER INTERMENT: Lot owners or their heirs desiring graves opened will be required to submit evidence of ownership, and reason for the request for opening to the Commissioners. The Commissioners reserve the right to refuse such a request, except upon order of the Board of Health of Monson or a court competent jurisdiction. There is a charge for this service.
SINGLE GRAVES: Single flush marker graves may be purchased and will receive the same general care as other parts of the cemetery.
REMOVALS: No disinterment and removal of a body will be made without the written consent of lot owner or legal representative and either spouse or the next of kin of the deceased whose body is to be removed, unless a court of competent jurisdiction shall order disinterment and removal. All necessary permits must be obtained.
All persons are reminded that the cemeteries are dedicated to the burial of the dead and that there should be strict observance of the niceties conduct in the cemeteries. The following acts and conduct must be avoided:
Loud or boisterous talking, idling or loafing on the ground or in any of the buildings.
Bringing lunches or refreshments into the cemeteries or consuming them on the grounds.
Peddling or soliciting the sale of any commodity within the cemetery or placing of signs or notices or advertisements of any kind within the cemetery.
Bringing dogs into the cemetery or any of its buildings. Bringing firearms into the cemetery except by a military escort accompanying a veteran’s funeral or attending memorial services.
It is the duty of the Commissioners and the superintendent to see that the Rules and Regulations are complied with and to see that order is maintained. It is recognized that special cases may arise in which literal enforcement of a rule may create unnecessary hardships. The Commissioners reserve the right to make exceptions or suspension of any of these Rules and Regulations without notice when, in the judgement of the Commissioners, such action is deemed necessary.
LOT AND LOT OWNERS
PERPETUAL CARE: A fund will be created for perpetual care by laying aside from the purchase price of each lot, a fixed percentage thereof to be determined by the Commissioners, which will be paid into the Town treasuries and be kept separate from other funds. The Town Treasurer may invest all such funds and the interest earned therefrom may be appropriated for the care of cemetery roads, lawns, trees, shrubbery, improvement and embellishment or enlargement of the cemetery and generally to maintain the cemetery in good condition.
SPECIAL CARE: Certain lot owners may desire to provide for special care of their lots, crypts in the mausoleum, or their memorials, or grave markers. In such event, the Cemetery Commissioners may accept such funds as the lot owners may wish to provide as a special gift or bequest for maintaining cemetery lots, which will be paid into the town treasury and, with the accounts thereof, shall be kept separate from other money and accounts of said town. The Town Treasurer shall invest all such funds in accordance with the stipulations, if any, accompanying them; other wise the Treasurer shall invest them as ordered by the Selectmen and said Commissioners and pay the income therefrom upon their order or with their approval. The proceeds of sales of lots or rights of burial in such
cemeteries shall be paid into the town treasury and be appropriated to reimburse the town for the cost of the land, its care, improvement, and embellishment, or the enlargement of the cemetery.
SUPERINTENDENT AND ASSISTANT: The Superintendent and his assistant shall have general charge of the maintenance and operation of the cemeteries subject to the direction of the Commissioners. Their advice and assistance is available to lot owners or prospective lot owners as part of the cemetery service.
TERMS OF SALES: Graves or lots will be sold only to persons who are residents or past residents of the Town of Monson. Graves may be purchased under a deferred payment contract, 25% of the purchase price must be paid upon signing the contract, and 10% of the purchase price is to be paid upon the first business day of each month thereafter until the balance of the purchase price is paid. The purchase price of any grave purchased on the deferred payment plan must be paid in full prior to any interment.
When the purchase price of a grave or graves is paid a certificate of ownership for
burial purposes only will be issued by the Commissioners.
If a lot is purchased under a deferred payment contract, and the purchaser fails to
complete payment of the full purchase within fifteen months from the date of the
deferred payment contract, the said contract shall be void at the end of said fifteen
months period and the Commissioners will retain all money from partly paid graves
under said contract as liquidated damages or otherwise.
CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP: The certificate of ownership of a lot grants to the owner only the right of interment upon his or her lot or its use for burial purposes for himself or family, his heirs and devisees. Friends may be buried therein upon written request of the lot owner, but without profit, gain, or emolument whatsoever to the owner, and such interment shall be subject to all the by-laws, rules and regulations of the Commissioners.
OWNERSHIP: No person will be recognized as owner or part owner of a lot unless his or her name appears upon the record of the Commissioners as such owner.
DEATH OF OWNER: When a lot owner dies, the heirs or devisees of the owner should have proof of such death recorded in the records of the Commissioners, since without such record, it is not possible for the Commissioners to know what persons have rights in any such lot.
DESCENT OF TITLE: The laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts govern the descent of title to cemetery lots as well as other matters pertaining to assignments, conveyances, devises and inalienability. The Commissioners, Superintendent, and Assistant will assist any lot owner who desires information or advice on questions pertaining to his lot.
SALE OR TRANSFER: No sale, transfer, or assignment of any lot shall be valid without the written consent of the Commissioners.
RECEIVING VAULT: We do not at this time perform this service.
STONE WORK: No stone work shall be done when temperature is below freezing. The Commissioners reserve the right to refuse to permit stone work to be erected between December 1st and the following April.
Contractors and workmen engaged in such work shall be held responsible for any
damage done. Materials for any work will not be received unless accompanied by
workmen to erect the same.
Heavy equipment will not be permitted if in the judgement of the Superintendent
roads may be injured thereby. Rolling stones across sections shall be done only with
the consent of and under the supervision of the Superintendent or one of his
assistants. The turf must be thoroughly protected by planks and left in as good
condition as before the work started.
No stone work shall be brought into the cemetery on Sunday, and no work shall be
commenced Saturday which cannot be finished and debris removed before the hour of
closing the gates.
MAUSOLEUMS, VAULTS, AND TOMBS: The erection of mausoleums, vaults or tombs, entirely above ground, will be permitted in such parts of the cemetery as the Commissioners may approve. Complete plans drawn to scale, accompanied by specifications describing materials, sizes, etc., must be submitted to and approved by the Commissioners before work is commenced.
Before a mausoleum may be erected a fund must be provided and deposited with the
Commissioners in trust, the income of which is to be used exclusively for maintenance
and care of such mausoleum. The amount of such fund shall be determined in each
case by the Commissioners. The money so paid shall be deposited with the Town
Treasurer and shall be deposited by the Town Treasurer in one or more savings banks
in Hampden County. The Town Treasurer shall pay the income therefrom annually or
at more frequent intervals upon the written order of the Commissioners.
The right is reserved to prohibit the erection of any structure that is not considered safe, suitable, or desirable.
Duplicate keys for private mausoleums must be left in care of the Superintendent.
FOUNDATION: All foundations for memorials will be built by the Commissioners employees. Written orders for foundations are required to be signed by a lot or grave owner and shall be filed with the Superintendent at least fifteen days before foundations are needed. Payments must be made at the time it is ordered. No stone work of any kind may be set without a foundation. Monuments must have a foundation at least four feet deep and markers three feet deep. All graves and opening fees must be paid before any foundation work is performed.
HILLCREST CEMETERY ONLY: Monuments are allowed only on monument lots. Flush marker lot: A flat marker 1’ by 2’ shall be centered on a one grave lot. A flat marker up to and including a 1’ by 3’ shall be centered on a two or more grave lot.
Shrubbery shall be planted only with the consent of the Superintendent or his assistant. No shrubbery is allowed in Hillcrest Cemetery.
ENFORCEMENT OF RULES AND REGULATIONS: The Commissioners shall enforce all rules and regulations and shall exclude from the cemetery all persons violating the same. The Superintendent and his assistants, subject to the Commissioners, shall have charge of funerals, traffic, and employees and at all times shall have supervision and control of all persons in the cemetery.
TERMS: All invoices will be net at the end of thirty days. A finance charge of 1 1/6% (14% annual rate) will be added to all invoices over 30 days.
MONUMENTS IN HILLCREST CEMETERY: The monuments must not be over 18” in width and not over 30” per gave in length.
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