(A) Purchase of cemetery plot(s).
(1) Plots in the cemetery shall only be sold to citizens and former citizens of the municipality, and shall be for their use and the use of their immediate families. IMMEDIATE FAMILY shall be defined as spouse, children, stepchildren, parent or legal guardian, stepfather, stepmother, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, grandparents and grandchildren.
(2) Before any cemetery plots are sold, approval must be given by the Board of Aldermen. No person shall be entitled to purchase more than four town cemetery plots, except where there are unusual and extraordinary circumstances, and after he or she has received the specific approval of the Board of Aldermen.
(3) The Town Clerk shall be responsible for keeping and maintaining accurate records of the owners of each cemetery lot(s) sold, as well as the name(s) of each particular space(s) where each person(s) is buried.
(4) There shall be maintained in the Town Clerk’s office an official cemetery map, which shall depict, as accurately as possible, the boundaries of the town cemetery, and the location and dimensions of all lots within the cemetery. Burial rights in all lots shall be sold in reference to the official cemetery map.
(5) Prices for the town cemetery plots shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Aldermen as it deems appropriate. As of March 2, 2015, the price per plot is $500.
(B) Procedure.
(1) Plots will be deeded to the purchaser who will assume responsibility for the plots purchased.
(2) Upon purchase, the Town Clerk shall cause the deed to be executed by the town, registered in the office of the County Register of Deeds, and subsequently delivered to the purchaser. A copy of the deed shall also be kept by the Town Clerk.
(3) Deed-recording costs, as set by the office of County Register of Deeds office, will be paid by the purchaser at the same time the cemetery plot(s) is purchased.
(C) Grave liners. Vaults or lining are required for all burials in the West Jefferson Municipal Cemetery.
(D) Rights of the cemetery plot owner.
(1) Each deed issued shall contain a clause stating that the plots may not be sold nor transferred to a second party, except in the event of an estate settlement, where the receiving party or parties shall also be members of the immediate family of the deceased owner.
(2) Upon the death of the owner of the cemetery plot(s), all rights to the cemetery plot(s) shall pass to the owner’s heirs in accordance with the probated will or other applicable state law.
(3) The ashes of more than one deceased person may be buried in a single cemetery plot.
(E) Disruptive activity prohibited.
(1) No person may drive any motor vehicle of any kind in the cemetery, except upon the main roads provided therein for vehicular traffic.
(2) No person shall park, or cause to remain parked, any vehicle within the cemetery, unless engaged in attendance at a burial service or otherwise engaged in activities that call for the presence of the vehicle within the cemetery.
(3) No person may take any dog, horse or other animal into any cemetery, or allow any animal to run at large therein.
(F) Monuments.
(1) The location of all monuments must be approved in advance by the town.
(2) Footstones must be a minimum of eight feet from the headstone, and their location must be approved in advance by the town.
(G) Trees, shrubs, other plants, floral arrangements.
(1) No trees, shrubs or plants shall be planted in, pruned or removed from the cemetery without the consent and written approval of the Town Manager or the Maintenance Supervisor.
(2) The Town Manager or the Maintenance Supervisor shall have authority to prune, remove or transplant any tree, shrub, plant or other growth necessary for the general beauty, welfare and best interest of the cemetery.
(H) Repurchase of lots. Upon the request of the lot owner, and the approval of the Board of Aldermen, the town may repurchase cemetery plots at a price it deems appropriate.
(Ord. passed 3-2-2015; Ord. passed 3-5-2018)