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Select Board: Butler Cemetery sale veto upheld; town to maintain veterans' graves and close cemetery to future burials
Summary
Thomaston's Select Board confirmed voters vetoed the proposed sale of Butler Cemetery and directed trustees to maintain veterans' graves and place flags; the cemetery is closed to future burials and no work may be done without trustee approval. Trustees will explore a lease option.
The Thomaston Select Board confirmed on Feb. 20 that town voters vetoed the proposed sale of Butler Cemetery and instructed trustees to preserve veteran graves and to place flags on veterans' plots at appropriate times.
The decision followed public comment and a trustees' review. The board and trustees announced that Butler Cemetery is closed to future burials, that no non‑trustee work may be done in the cemetery without trustee approval, and that family members may tend individual gravesites by permission. The Chair said the town will maintain the veteran gravesites going forward.
Why it matters: Butler Cemetery contains veterans' graves and neighbors had pressed for protection of those plots during earlier meetings. The public veto ends the board's prior effort to transfer ownership; trustees retain management authority over records and physical maintenance decisions.
Public commenters raised ownership and maintenance questions. Mark Fitzgerald asked whether the cemetery's stone wall is privately owned; trustees cited the original deed and said the wall is part of the cemetery. The Fitzgeralds asked whether they could mow the cemetery and be paid to maintain it, and were told that regular mowing for the cemetery has been removed from the town's standard mowing contract and only trimming around veteran graves will be performed by the town.
Donna Godfrey asked whether perpetual care exists for the cemetery; trustees said there are no perpetual-care records. In expressing her objection, Donna Godfrey told the board, "You will." The meeting record shows Donna and another attendee, Jamie Fullerton, left the meeting after making several accusatory comments about the trustees.
Trustees discussed, and the board noted, a lease option raised previously by Walter Butler. The trustees may establish a five-year lease without voter approval under the applicable ordinance; Larry Butler indicated he would be interested in pursuing a lease through the town lawyer with parameters and expectations to be spelled out.
Procedural context: the board had taken public comment out of order by unanimous vote earlier in the meeting. No formal vote changing ownership or selling the cemetery occurred; the public veto prevents a transfer and the trustees retain authority to manage cemetery records, burials, and on-site work.
Next steps: trustees and the town clerk will clarify control of burial cards and the cemetery database and will report back as they explore record custody and the possible lease option.
