Dorchester County burial‑site board seeks members, plans public outreach and mapping work

The Dorchester County Burial Site Preservation Board spent the bulk of its meeting on recruitment, public outreach and how to record burial sites for planning and property‑transfer purposes.

The board said it will solicit letters of intent for open seats and route nominations to the county manager and Dorchester County Council for formal appointment. Kelly (county staff) confirmed that the board may have up to nine members under its bylaws and that, if the board is full, a majority of five would be needed for decisions. Kelly also said the board currently receives no direct funding from Dorchester County and that letters of intent should be submitted via the new county email domain at dorchestermd.gov.

Why it matters: board composition affects the group’s ability to respond to vandalism, to compile a reliable county record of burial locations and to represent the county at public events. Recording previously unreported burial sites into an official county record is the board’s immediate priority, members said.

Board recruitment and appointments

Board members and staff described outreach to several potential appointees at the meeting. Marcus Alvaria, introduced himself as the new director of the Dorchester County Historical Society and said he would consider joining after learning more about the board’s work: “I’m pleased to be here,” Alvaria said. Rod Benjamin, who identified himself as part of the Sandy Island Cemetery Group and a longtime county educator, told the board he would be willing to serve.

Members clarified the appointment process: interested residents submit a short letter of intent to county staff (info@dorchestermd.gov or cemetery@dorchestermd.gov). Kelly explained submitted letters are forwarded to the county manager and then to county council for appointment. The board also discussed ex‑officio positions for people who can advise but not take full voting roles.

Public outreach, events and volunteer staffing

The board approved participating in the Native American Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 13, and discussed staffing and materials for an informational booth. Festival hours were confirmed as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; members asked for up to 200 printed copies of the board’s new cemetery‑reporting form for distribution and planned family‑friendly activities such as rubbings of grave‑marker reliefs and a visual demonstration using modified bowling pins to illustrate the effect of vandalism.

Separately, the board sketched plans for fall field events to raise awareness. Members proposed a two‑part weekend: a Friday hands‑on session on gravestone cleaning/preservation techniques and an all‑day Saturday of guided site visits. Tentative dates discussed included Oct. 24–25 and Oct. 25; committee members also offered Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 as alternates. The board identified three candidate sites for an initial field trip: the Richardson family burial ground in Church Creek, Old Trinity Church and the Wofford/Mace Cemetery on Taylor’s Island. Logistics under discussion included meeting points, parking, shuttle support from the volunteer fire company and liability/permission for private sites.

Mapping and records: survey form, GIS and planning & zoning

Board members confirmed that the newly approved cemetery survey form will be retained in the planning and zoning office. That record, members said, is intended to create an official county trace of discovered burial locations so they do not “disappear” during property transfers or development. Kelly explained that the board sets its own rules and procedures and that a future draft of those procedures will be reviewed by county counsel.

Technical mapping support was discussed in depth after Mark Dileo, a photogrammetric engineer and county resident, described options for geocoding and mapping burial sites. "If you know a cemetery, send us a geo — send us a picture with a geolocation," Dileo told the board, explaining that geo‑tagged photos can be incorporated as a GIS layer for planning and public access. Members discussed Salisbury University’s existing databases as a possible platform and asked planning and zoning to coordinate the technical integration.

Legal and process limits

Members discussed limits of county authority when a cemetery is revealed in a deed or when a title company does not list a burial location. Staff and members said the long‑term solution could require changes in how deeds or title searches document burial sites, which may be beyond the county’s immediate authority and could involve state‑level processes. For now, the board agreed to develop a set of rules, procedures and a public FAQ to guide responses to vandalism reports and discovery notifications.

Next steps and administrative actions

The board asked staff to: circulate a template for letters of intent, work with county printing services on up to 200 copies of the new cemetery form for the fall festival, coordinate a timeline for council appointments (Kelly noted Dorchester County Council meetings in September), and arrange a planning/workshop session to draft rules and procedures ahead of the board’s presentation to county council. The board also asked to pursue technical coordination between planning and zoning and Salisbury University GIS resources and invited Dileo to advise on implementation.

Votes at the meeting

The board approved the meeting minutes by voice vote after a motion and second; members responded “Aye.” At the end of the meeting a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.

The meeting adjourned after discussion of scheduling: future meeting dates discussed included Sept. 29, Oct. 27 and Nov. 17; members tentatively planned a November cemetery visit (Nov. 8 with Nov. 15 as fallback) and said they would confirm dates at the next meeting.