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Milton cemetery committee prioritizes mapping, stone repairs and volunteer training after VOCA clean-up is canceled
Summary
The Milton Cemetery Advisory Committee canceled its June clean-up due to rain, discussed VOCA-led volunteer training, mapped repair needs (trees, gates, fallen stones) and planned targeted workdays and fundraising to pay for monument company quotes or equipment purchases.
The Milton Cemetery Advisory Committee on June 10 discussed plans to rebuild volunteer capacity and prioritize repairs after the town’s annual VOCA clean-up day was canceled because of rainy weather.
Peter Staniels, chair of the committee, said the June 6 event was called off and noted technical requirements for headstone conservation cited in VOCA’s reminder: stones must be dry for 48 hours for the D2 cleaning agent to be effective, and must be dry before and for 24 hours after epoxy application. Staniels said VOCA offered to help train a core group of Milton volunteers in headstone repair so the town can run smaller, more frequent workdays rather than large annual events.
Rod Moore presented a new list of cemetery needs and said he is working on mapping cemetery features so the committee can reference specific trees, gates and markers when scheduling repairs. The committee discussed immediate needs at Village Cemetery including repairs to the main gate and steps, trees growing through the iron fence on Main Street, and a tree near Section 6 that appears damaged by woodpeckers on one side.
Members also reviewed access and maintenance concerns for Checkerberry Cemetery and discussed whether existing verbal access agreements should be formalized with written easements. John Mayville flagged multiple fallen stones in Section 3 of Village Cemetery and the committee discussed options: using town equipment, purchasing a ‘Tombstone Jack’ tool, contracting a monument company, or fundraising through the Friends of the Milton Cemeteries and applying for grants (VOCA and DAR are named in the minutes as grant sources to explore). Rod Moore volunteered to meet with Mayville to photograph and list broken stones for price quotes.
The minutes record a recommendation from Mayville that the committee expand outreach beyond social media; he suggested placing an advertisement in The Islander to recruit volunteers. The committee did not set firm dates or dollar amounts for repairs in the minutes.
The committee approved the May 13 minutes and adjourned later in the meeting; procedural votes are recorded separately in the meeting minutes.
