(A) After the effective date of this chapter, cemetery plots shall be sold by the town for the purpose of burial for the purchaser of a cemetery plot, or his or her immediate family. No sale shall be made to funeral directors or others.
(B) All sales and transfers of cemetery plots will be administered through the Clerk-Treasurer's office using a form approved by the Town Council and signed by the designated town official, which grants a right of burial only and does not convey any other title or right to the cemetery plot or burial space sold. Such forms shall be signed by the Town Clerk-Treasurer or Deputy Town Clerk-Treasurer.
(C) At the time of purchase from the town, each cemetery plot shall be assigned the name of the specific person (if available) who shall be interred in that cemetery plot upon death. If the owner of a cemetery plot desires to effectuate a name change regarding the assigned cemetery plot, that person must present the originally issued deed along with a letter stating whom and how many plots are to be transferred. At that time, the current fee for recording must be paid for each deed that is to be reissued. The fee will be listed in the most recent cemetery fee schedule resolution.
(D) The fee needed to record the deed information with the Marshall County Recorder's Office is included in the price of the cemetery plot. The Clerk-Treasurer's Office will be responsible for recording the deed prior to it being issued. Once recorded, the deed will be mailed, so a mailing address will be required at the time the plot is purchased.
(E) Cemetery plots may be sold back for the original purchase price to the town. Any plot sold back to the town that is located in the "older sections" of Maple Grove (plot numbers between 1 and 999) may or may not be available for resale. The Town Council will be responsible for that determination.
(F) The Town Council shall have the authority to place a limit on the number of cemetery plots sold to a particular person, as well as such person's family and relatives. Furthermore, the town shall have the absolute right and discretion to determine whether a particular cemetery plot or plot(s) will be sold to a specific person and where such cemetery plot or plots will be located within the town cemetery. Such decision shall be based upon reasonable factors, including, but not limited to, the number of vacant cemetery plots available and whether family or relatives of the person seeking to purchase a cemetery plot or plots are buried adjacent or nearby the cemetery plot or plots requested.
(G) The town shall have the right to correct any errors that may be made concerning interments, disinterment, or in the description, transfer or conveyance of any cemetery plot, either by canceling the permit for a particular vacant cemetery plot or plots and substituting and conveying in lieu thereof another vacant cemetery plot or plots in a similar location within the cemetery at issue or by refunding the money paid for the cemetery plot to the purchaser or the successor of the purchaser. In the event that an error involves the interment of the remains of any person, the town shall have the right to remove and transfer the remains so interred to another cemetery plot in a similar location in the same cemetery in accordance with law.
(H) The owner of every cemetery plot shall be responsible for notifying the town whenever that person's mailing address or contact information changes.
(Ord. 2023-06, passed 4-19-2023)