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Board debates limits, exceptions in proposed cemetery plot purchase policy
Summary
Select Board reviewed proposed revisions to the town's cemetery plot purchase policy to preserve finite burial space. The draft would let involuntarily relocated residents (assisted living or out‑of‑state due to illness) retain purchase rights indefinitely; voluntary leavers would generally be limited to purchases if they moved away within five years and retain 'substantial ties.' Members asked staff to add clearer examples for extenuating circumstances and to include resale procedures.
Select Board members discussed a proposed revision to the town's cemetery plot purchase policy designed to balance residents' requests with limited cemetery capacity.
Select Board member Rosemary/"Rosie" Kennedy—who led the policy review—said the draft aims to protect a finite resource while allowing reasonable exceptions. Under the proposal, elderly residents who enter assisted living or memory‑care units, or residents who move out of state because of incapacity, would retain the right to purchase a plot indefinitely. For residents who voluntarily move away, the draft would allow purchases only if the move occurred no more than five years earlier and the person retains a "substantial tie" to Hamilton (examples cited included attending Hamilton Wyndham School for most of K–12 or residing in town for 10 or more years). The draft also permits the select board to allow exceptions for extenuating circumstances.
Board members asked staff to clarify what would count as an extenuating circumstance; long‑term military service was offered as an example. Members also recommended that the revised policy explicitly state that a plot sale or transfer should be handled by the town (the seller sells back to the town, which then can re‑sell at the current rate) to prevent private profit and ensure eligibility checks for the new purchaser. Staff agreed to incorporate resale language and to work with town counsel and other staff to draft a complete policy for the first reading at a future meeting.
No vote was taken; staff will flesh out the exceptions language, add resale procedures, and present a completed draft for formal readings.
