The Brentwood Town Cemetery Trustees said Thursday they would ask the select board to accept a donation of land from Bruce Stevens for future cemetery use as the town's existing sites approach capacity. The trustees also discussed rules about conservation land and alternatives to in-ground burial.

The discussion matters because "New Hampshire law'we have to municipalities have to have a burial ground," Cemetery Trustee (chair) told the meeting, explaining the town must either maintain a burial ground or contract with another town. That legal obligation framed trustees' review of remaining space and of possible alternatives.

At the start of the meeting, resident Liz Ferriero asked about remaining available plots. "There were approximately 80 spots left," Ferriero said, and later confirmed the published lot dimensions: "Lots are 4 by 10." Ferriero noted that a 4-by-10 lot can "get 1 casket or 4 to 6 urns," and she said she plans to inspect the available plots before advising others.

Trustees and Superintendent Joyce (Cemetery Superintendent) said town-owned conservation parcels cannot be used for new cemetery ground, so the trustees examined other town-owned parcels and the Stevens offer as potential sites. The trustees reported they had "voted that we would accept' once that's a town property, we wanted to tell the select board to accept that land as a donation for the future use of the cemetery." The board did not record a separate motion in the meeting transcript; the trustees said they intend to notify the select board once the donation is formalized.

Trustees and residents also discussed nonland burial options and cemetery design for future capacity. Ferriero and Joyce both raised alternatives including green burials, scattering gardens and columbariums for urns. Joyce said the superintendent has flexibility under current rules to accommodate some family requests already and that any large-scale changes would be considered as part of planning for the new site.

Trustees said the next formal steps are municipal acceptance of the donated parcel and, later, planning for layout and permitted uses. The trustees flagged that conservation land is excluded from cemetery use and that any final plan will be posted and discussed with the public.

Clarifying details: the trustees cited state statutory duty for municipalities to provide burial grounds; Ferriero reported the Tonnery inventory as "approximately 80" available 4-by-10 lots. The trustees said they will request select board acceptance once the Stevens parcel becomes town-owned and will return to the public with layout options once property status and constraints are confirmed.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the public-comment and trustees' agenda items and are documented in the meeting transcript.