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Trustees adopt updated cemetery rules and fees, authorize fence and maintenance work at Wesley Chapel
Summary
After months of discussion about old‑section bushes, disputed graves and boundary questions, Norwich trustees approved new cemetery rules and a schedule of fees effective Jan. 1, 1999, authorized fence work at Wesley Chapel and adopted a $150 weekend/holiday burial surcharge split among on-duty workers.
Following repeated items on the agenda across 1998, the Norwich Township trustees adopted an updated set of cemetery rules and a revised fee schedule that the clerk made available to sexton and funeral homes. The board formalized fees and effective dates after a series of meetings that recorded disputes with church property owners over hedges and a request from Kathleen Devaney for a gravespace.
Trustees reviewed prosecutor guidance after the clerk asked Franklin County Prosecutor George Speaks to research a disputed plot and to advise on shrub removal; the prosecutor recommended proceeding with the scheduled removal if the property owner did not respond. The board later accepted a $300 payment from Kathleen Devaney for a grave adjacent to her family plots and attached the prosecutor’s letter to her bill.
The board authorized installing chain-link fence along the Old Section of Wesley Chapel after obtaining quotes (Trudeau Fence Company completed work at a reported cost of about $400) and approved placing new flagpoles with a granite plaque at cemetery entrances. Trustees also adopted a new weekend/holiday burial surcharge ($150) to be divided among workers who performed the service and instructed the clerk to circulate the new pricing to funeral homes and the public.
Board members repeatedly instructed Superintendent Steve Montgomery to proceed with tree removals and to obtain stump‑removal estimates; they authorized use of a sprayer for road/berm work near school crossings and to maintain cemetery grounds. The record shows trustees acting unanimously on major cemetery votes and asking the clerk to notify residents and funeral homes of the rule changes and fees.
Next steps: staff were directed to publish the new rules and fees, to distribute them to local funeral homes and to schedule additional maintenance work (tree stump removal, flagpole base repairs) in the cemetery budget calendar.
