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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Belgrade Cemeteries and Perpetual Care
The Town of Belgrade has three distinctive burial areas: Pine Grove and Woodside which face each other along Route 135, Ellis Cemetery near Salmon Lake, and the Quaker Burying Ground at the intersection of Routes 8 and 135. Earliest cemetery burials, according to the Town's 1976 history book, date to 1803 in Pine Grove, 1813 in Ellis, and 1820 in the Quaker Burial Ground. Following is an article written by Mark L. Turner, Belgrade Town Manager, in May 2005. With Memorial Day occurring this month, we thought that this would be a good time to provide a brief outline of how the cemeteries in Belgrade and their perpetual care are administered. I am most fortunate to have had at my disposal a valuable information resource and wish to thank Carl Yeaton for his contributions to this article. From questions that arose about cemetery care during the recent Town Meeting, it seemed as though residents may not be aware of how a burial in one of our cemeteries can be obtained. There was also some confusion about the terms "perpetual lot care" and "flowers in perpetuity." Let's examine some of these little known facts: How can a cemetery lot be obtained? In the early days, a lot was assigned without regard to a person's place of residency. Since voter approval of Article 46 at the 1974 Town Meeting, only a resident of Belgrade can be assigned a lot in one of our cemeteries. Also, by voter approval of Article 31 at our 1984 Town Meeting, no lot could be assigned to a resident unless perpetual care for the lot was paid in advance. This year, the perpetual care cost is $100.00 for a lot (six grave sites) up to a size 10'x12' and $200.00 for one that is 10'x24'. (At the 2006 Town Meeting Article 57, increasing the cost of a single lot from $25.00 to $50.00, was approved.) What does "perpetual care" provide? A cemetery lot upon which perpetual care payment has been made will be kept mowed and trimmed by the Town Sexton at no additional cost to the lot assignee/owner. Also, if a monument or stone on a lot covered by perpetual care falls or is broken, it will be repaired at no additional cost to the assignee/owner. An annual maintenance fee will be charged to the assignee/owner for mowing and trimming on a lot that is not covered by perpetual care. If a monument or stone falls or is broken on a lot that is not covered by perpetual care, responsibility for any cost of repairs will be that of the assignee/owner. What does the term "flowers in perpetuity" mean? For a one time minimum payment of $100.00 flowers will be placed on a designated cemetery lot for Memorial Day each year. The number of flowers will depend upon the amount of interest that is earned on the investment account established to accept deposits for this service. In past years, the interest earnings have provided enough money to purchase three geraniums per lot. A payment above the minimum $100.00 would provide more flowers. Where does the money paid to the Town for perpetual lot care and flowers in perpetuity go? Since the start of these payments in the late 1800's, the money has been invested in the Perpetual Care Trust and has become the financial support foundation upon which the interest earned is used for the purposes stated above. The principal can never be spent and use of the interest earned from the investments is restricted, by law, to the "maintenance of the lots covered by perpetual care and the avenues leading thereto." | ||