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Town sexton outlines cemetery digitization; initial cost $6,500 plus $110/month service
Summary
Town Sexton Bill Gilding reported the cemetery committee contracted All Funeral Services to digitize deeds and maps, converting handwritten vault records into a searchable website; the town paid $6,500 for initial work and the ongoing service fee is $110 per month.
Concord's town sexton told the Select Board the cemetery committee has completed work to restore and stabilize headstones and has contracted with a vendor to convert historic deeds and maps into an online, searchable record.
"You folks paid $6,500 for that work to be done," Sexton Bill Gilding said, describing the initial contract to create a public website and document repository. He added that the ongoing service carries a monthly fee of $110 to keep the living record current when deeds are sold or burials occur. The sexton said the new system will let staff and families update records and reduce the risk of duplicate plot sales or unclear burial locations.
Gilding said the committee will provide the board with a prioritized list of other cemeteries that need restoration work and cost estimates for standing headstones to reduce winter damage. The board thanked the sexton for the work and acknowledged that the digitization will make cemetery records more accessible and easier to maintain.
