A survey of an unrecorded burial site in Brentwood is complete, and cemetery trustees said Jan. 8 they will ask the town attorney to create and register a deed so the town can formally claim the parcel under the abandoned-cemetery process.

The trustees’ superintendent reported the surveyor marked four corners, provided coordinates and identified where remains are located. "I did check with NHMA, and they did say once the cemetery is declared abandoned, it becomes the property and responsibility of the town of Brentwood," the chair said, summarizing guidance the trustees received.

Why it matters: the parcel had never been recorded as cemetery land, so the survey was the first step to create an official town deed. Trustees said planning staff told them planning cannot update town maps or tax records until a deed is created and recorded; the attorney must prepare the deed language that will convert the small parcel to town ownership under state abandoned-cemetery procedures.

What trustees said they will do next: the chair said he will obtain written suggestions from the town planner, then meet with the select board chair and town administrator and ask the town attorney to draft and register a deed for the roughly 0.084-acre parcel so it will appear on GIS and town records. "Once it's created, the town of Brentwood owns it because of the abandonment process," the chair said.

Trustees also asked to be included in follow-up steps: a trustee asked to be involved with attorney meetings and the chair agreed. The board instructed staff to coordinate the planning-to-attorney handoff and to report back when the deed is filed.

Process and outstanding questions: trustees noted the case is unusual because the cemetery existed physically but had never been formally deeded; planning staff cannot complete the transfer without the attorney’s deed work. Trustees said they will also confirm whether the adjacent property owners (the Sanborn family) need to be notified or have paperwork amended as part of the registration and asked the town attorney to advise on who pays any legal costs.

Next step: trustees listed the deed preparation and registration as the immediate action item; planning will then update town records and GIS after the deed is recorded.