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Select Board announces requirement for headstones and to limit decorative items at Middletown Cemetery
Summary
Select Board Member Elizabeth Grant said the town will require headstones for future burials and the board agreed to restrict excessive figurines, flags and artificial flowers because they adversely affect the cemetery’s appearance; no ordinance or effective date was recorded.
The Select Board signaled a change in burial and grounds appearance policy at its June 12 special meeting.
Select Board Member Elizabeth Grant stated that "from now on, all burials will require a headstone," and the group agreed to restrict excessive decorative items such as figurines, flags and artificial flowers because they harm the overall appearance of the cemetery. The meeting minutes do not record a formal ordinance, petition language, or an effective date for these changes; the statements were made during the site-walk discussion and recorded as board direction rather than as an adopted rule.
Board members did not record follow-up steps to formalize enforcement or amending the town code; staff or the board may need to return to the Select Board at a later date if members intend to convert the direction into a formal policy or ordinance.
