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Norwich Township tightens Wesley Chapel cemetery eligibility and funds tree removal
Summary
Trustees adopted rules limiting grave-lot purchases to current township residents or immediate-family ties and approved a $9,000 contract to clear trees and brush at Wesley Chapel Cemetery; the board also set fee review and enforcement steps for overgrown plots.
Norwich Township trustees adopted a resolution restating and clarifying eligibility requirements for purchases at Wesley Chapel Cemetery and authorized immediate maintenance actions to address trees and overgrown plantings.
The board adopted Res. 07-11 (effective Feb. 19, 2007) that restricts purchase eligibility to current residents of Norwich Township or persons with immediate-family interments in the cemetery; the resolution also allows the board to grant exceptions for former residents or business owners with significant ties. Trustees directed cemetery staff to collect comparative fee schedules from nearby cemeteries and continue review of a proposed cemetery policy prepared by legal counsel Loveland & Brosius.
On March 5, 2007 the board approved Res. 07-13 to hire Ahlum & Arbor for $9,000 to remove trees and brush at Wesley Chapel Cemetery and later authorized staff to tag and remove overgrown arborvitae and shrubs with notice to lot holders (Res. 07-19). Cemetery Sexton Steve Montgomery provided operational details to the board about labor hours required for Saturday funerals and the staff time needed for interments.
Trustees also considered private grave-marker requests and set documentation requirements (for example, written acknowledgment of responsibility to remove a marker if the plot owner later requests). The minutes show the trustees flagged cemetery operations and fee review as an ongoing issue requiring further review by legal counsel and local funeral directors before additional policy changes are adopted.
The board’s actions combined policy clarification, immediate maintenance contracting, and continued review of fees and resident eligibility.
