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CEMETERY COMMITTEE  TO BE REVIVED AGAIN

LANDMARK N.Y.C. CEMETERY news...to rural Weston...


Valley Forge Cemetery:  Aquarion lays out challenges if Weston pursues site
Weston FORUM
by Kimberly Donnelly
Mar 5, 2008

The town would have to jump through several hoops to put a cemetery on the corner of Valley Forge Road and Newtown Turpike — and there’s no guarantee after jumping through them that it would ultimately be approved by the landowners.

That was the conclusion the Board of Selectmen came to after speaking with representatives from Aquarion Water Company on Feb. 28.
 
“You have a challenge ahead of you if you wish to consider the site in question,” said Leendert DeJong, manager of watershed and environmental management for Aquarion.

First of all, Mr. DeJong said, a state law was established in 1949 that prohibits cemeteries within a half-mile of a public water supply. The site in question is 800 feet from the Saugatuck Reservoir.

Selectman Glenn Major clarified that the law does not say the town can’t locate a cemetery there, but if it wants to, the town would have to go to Superior Court and prove the cemetery is a public convenience, a necessity, and it will not be detrimental.

Mr. DeJong agreed, but said there are other hurdles.

In 2002, what was formerly Aquarion land around the Saugatuck River Watershed was acquired by the state. In 2004, Governor M. Jodi Rell established the Centennial Watershed State Forest — the site in question is part of that 15,000-acre tract.

The land is technically owned by Aquarion, but is managed by the Conservation Land Committee (CLC), made up of the Nature Conservancy, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Aquarion. Mr. DeJong said conservation easements and a natural resources agreement exist between the three parties.

The agreement says Class I land, such as that being considered for the cemetery site, is to be “dedicated and preserved in perpetuity in its natural and open condition for the protection of natural resources,” Mr. DeJong said. The interpretation of that, he continued, is that the land is intended to be used as open space and for recreational use only.

In addition, Mr. DeJong said, the state health department has the ultimate say in what is approved or not on Class I land, so the cemetery proposal would require health department review and approval.

Steve Stamos, manager of natural resources for Aquarion, is the water company’s representative on CLC. He told the selectmen the group would consider a cemetery to be inconsistent with the natural resource management agreement.

Mr. Major said, “One could make the argument that a cemetery is not inconsistent with what’s being done here.” He wondered if the Superior Court, the state DEP, and the Nature Conservancy “sign off on that area as being a cemetery,” would Aquarion agree.

If Aquarion would simply never agree to having a cemetery on the site under any circumstances, “that obviously would have a huge bearing on how we proceed,” Mr. Major said.

Mr. DeJong said they could take the question to CLC at its meeting this week “and get a direct answer.”

However, Mr. Stamos said, “I can tell you, the answer is going to be no.”

First Selectman Woody Bliss said the board would still like an official answer from CLC, and Mr. Stamos agreed he would get one.

CEMETERY COMMITTEE REPORTS TO SELECTMEN DEC. 20, 2007:
We attended this Selectmen's meeting, and as we heard it, it was the opinion of the Chair. of the Cemetery Committee Richard Wolf that only the Lachat property (see above right) fits the bill as a site for a Town cemetery, and this view is supported in the study by a consultant.  FORUM report follows:

Weston eyes Lachat for cemetery
by BRIAN GIOIELE, Weston Forum
Jan 2, 2008
 
A portion of the Lachat property, near the corner of Godfrey Road West and Newtown Turnpike, has been recommended as a possible site for a new town cemetery. —Kimberly Donnelly photo 
Cemetery experts believe that the Lachat property could be home to more than just a nature center.

The Cemetery Committee’s report — presented to the Board of Selectmen Dec. 20 — says a four-acre portion of the Lachat property is the “physically and aesthetically most suitable location for a proposed cemetery of the sites reviewed.”

The only problem is the land is jointly owned by the town and the Nature Conservancy. And Selectmen Glenn Major said Dr. Steve Patton, director of the conservancy’s Devil’s Den, has said that type of use is off limits.

“I don’t think the use of the property is inconsistent with the agreements (made in the Lachat deal),” said Mr. Major. “But when asked about this, Steve Patton told me, ‘Fine, use eminent domain.’ Those were his words.”

The Lachat site was among five locations in town analyzed for character and cemetery potential by Grever & Ward Inc. Landscape Architects and Cemetery Planners.

The other sites were:

•    Some three acres on the corner of Valley Forge Road and Newtown Turnpike.
•    The library site on Norfield Road.
•    The Jarvis property where Jarvis House sits on Norfield Road.
•    Expansion of the existing Coley Cemetery on Weston Road, just south of Goodhill Road.

“We decided that only one site of town-owned property could be recommended at this point in time, and that is a portion of the Lachat site,” said Cemetery Committee member Richard Wolf.

The committee’s report notes the delicate nature of the site’s ownership, but a cemetery would not be “incompatible with other uses under consideration.”

“The committee is mindful of the practical and political issues which the use of a portion of the Lachat property for this purpose may present,” said the committee’s report. “Nevertheless, the committee strongly believes that this cemetery site should be included as part of the land use master plan now being developed for the Lachat property by the town and the Nature Conservancy.”

When asked the remaining order of preference of sites after the Lachat property, Mr. Wolf said that no such decision was made.

“It is important that we have an order of preference for the other options,” Mr. Major said.

“The committee hasn’t done that,” said Pam Bochinski, committee chairman. “The consultant doesn’t feel that the other sites, other than the possible exception of the Valley Forge site, are good cemetery sites at all.”

The selectmen then asked why the Valley Forge site, which was also found appropriate for a cemetery in the consultant’s report, was not recommended.  The committee said using that site would require land acquisition, since the property in question is part of the Centennial Watershed State Forest, jointly managed by Aquarion Water Co., the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the Nature Conservancy.

Ms. Bochinski said Aquarion officials have stated the company would not allow such a development, meaning eminent domain would again be the only option.  Mr. Major asked for more information about the suitability of the Valley Forge Road site as well as estimates on what the costs would be to use eminent domain to take either the four acres of Lachat land or the three acres of Valley Forge Road property.

“If we in fact have to spend X amount of money, we might determine that it would be more cost-effective for us to investigate purchasing properties that we had not considered purchasing before,” Mr. Major said.

The consultant found the Lachat site “appears to be a very viable choice for a town cemetery” that could hold some 2,000 graves plus substantial facilities for cremated remains.

“The immediate neighborhood is thinly populated, no major commercial or other public facilities are competing for existing infrastructure, the demand for public services is practically nil, and safety conflicts are not apparent,” the report states.

This site would have longevity of 50 years as a cemetery, according to the consultants.  The Valley Forge Road site, located at the corner of Newtown Turnpike, could yield 2.4 acres of interment space, or some 2,200 graves. This means the site would last some 55 years, the report states.

“There are no notable restrictive site limitations other than the small existing cemetery whose limits of occupation are unknown,” the report states. “An archeological study would likely ensue in respect to the existing burial ground to establish its limits and avoid compromising its historical and heritage values.

“Otherwise, there are no neighborhood constraints, businesses or competitive entities to challenge its usage,” the report states.

Ms. Bochinski said that not only land acquisition but also clearing of the property make the Valley Forge Road location unsuitable.  But Mr. Major said using the Lachat site could prove to be the “most complicated regarding deed restrictions.”

However, Mr. Wolf said the committee still felt the Lachat land would be most suitable for a town cemetery.

“We thought there was a possibility of switching. The town could give up the rights to an equivalent piece of land to the Nature Conservancy,” Ms. Bochinski said.

“I specifically asked Steve (Patton). He was very unequivocal: ‘No,’” responded Mr. Major.

Selectman Gayle Weinstein asked about reutilizing Coley Cemetery, an idea the committee members shot down immediately.

“Quite frankly, some committee members have said you can recompose the committee if you decide to look at Coley,” said Mr. Wolf. “We have taken the position that Lachat is the only property that would satisfy the needs of a town cemetery, unless the town purchases other land.”

Ms. Bochinski said expanding Coley Cemetery would yield another 200 to 300 new grave sites, while ultimately destroying the historical character of the old cemetery. She said any new graves would “really be cramming things in there.”

“So the committee’s position is it is Lachat or nothing?” asked Mr. Major.

“Yes,” responded Mr. Wolf.

News from around CT...
Cemetery Group Links Two More Accounts To Cross 
New London DAY
By Jenna Cho    
Published on 9/26/2007 

Ledyard — In a matter of months, the Gales Ferry Cemetery Association's new board of directors has gone from having no records of its financial history to learning about the existence of three separate bank accounts under its name.

The latest discoveries were of two high-yield Certificate of Deposit accounts, since closed, that the association's former sexton, Cynthia L. Cross, had held at The Dime Savings Bank. It was the same bank that had held a checking account in the association's name that association officials say Cross used regularly to write checks from and deposit funds into.

Association President Susan Billing is hopeful the information she is gathering will help with an ongoing police investigation on discrepancies in the cemetery association's finances, which Cross, 53, appears to have operated single-handedly for years. Cross has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing in the cemetery investigation.

Cross is currently serving a prison sentence for embezzling $152,000 from the Town of Ledyard's Water Pollution Control Authority. In that case, Cross was said to have pocketed cash payments made to the WPCA while she worked as its executive administrator.

Billing said Cross denied use of any bank account to conduct association business before she resigned in June. Billing discovered the CD accounts by requesting bank information on two deposits made to the association's checking account.

“Bank accounts are like road maps, right to the source of the money,” she said.

The problem, Billing said, was that banks only kept records for a certain number of years, and some of the history the association seeks goes back 17 years, when Cross took over as sexton from retired town treasurer Catherine L. Clark.

The CD accounts were closed on May 20, 2002 and Aug. 7, 2003. The account amounts — $8,104.22 and $4,996.97 — were deposited back into the checking account the same days the CD accounts were closed.

Association secretary Mary Emerich said that while Cross publicly denied managing any bank accounts under the association's name, Cross once told Emerich specifically that she was using interest generated from a CD account to maintain the cemetery.

The existence of the CD accounts also raises a question about the existence of a Board of Directors. Billing said Cross had told her before resigning that she worked under a board that met annually. The names Cross provided as board members didn't check out, but Billing said that bank records of the CD account that was closed in August 2003 showed that a woman named Kimberly E. Smith, identified in the records as the association's president, signed on that account.

Billing said she has not yet verified Smith's involvement and remained uncertain as to whether a board truly existed during Cross' time as sexton. The association reorganized in June and elected a new board.

Billing has requested information on 30 more deposits Cross made to the association's checking account. She said she hoped the history of those deposits would yield even more information on Cross' management of the association's funds.

“I think it's good news, even though unfortunately the money's not there,” said Billing of the discovery of the CD accounts. “What I'm hoping for is that one of the other deposits may show a source that still has funds in it. And I know that's probably wishful thinking, but it would be nice. If we don't find out, if we don't ask, we'll never know.”

In the public record...contact Town Clerk for membership on this Ad Hoc Committee.

The Town of Weston has been studying the need for a Town Cemetery for perhaps 15 years.  An Ad Hoc Committee has been active in several bursts of activity in that time.  All minutes are available at Town Hall, as this has been one of the very best Committees ever appointed for posting notices and keeping up to date minutes on file!  Video record of "testimony" by members at LWV of Weston "Speak Up" events over the years is witness to this.

Recently, a new effort has begun.  References in our Board of Selectmen's Minutes on-line are as follows:

NOTE: "About Town" did not continue attending this Ad Hoc Committee because some of the work was being done in Executive Session (land discussions) to which we would not be invited to attend (since we are not on the Committee).
Meeting #5
The fifth meeting of this Committee will take place on Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 9:30am in the Commission Room at Town Hall.  The posted agenda includes approval of minutes of the previous meeting and a continuation of the discussion and evaluation of potential cemetery sites.
Meeting #4
The fourth meeting of the renewed Cemetery Committee (#3 was a windshield survey of Town owned and some not Town-owned properties reviewed for possible consideration for a Town of Weston cemetery - "About Town" did not go on this legally noticed [Dec. 2] "tour.") took place on Saturday morning, December 9, 2006.

After reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of sites "visited" on Dec. 2, the Committee concluded that a spread-sheet analysis and whatever visual aides needed to communicate its work, could be prepared later in January 2007 for informal review by the Town leadership prior to further steps such as actually proposing an application [NOTE:  this website's opinion coming up...] for a new zone for cemeteries, or a new Special Permit category for a Town Cemetery, to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Meeting #2
In the second meeting of this new group, on Saturday, November 18, 2006, it was decided to move ahead with a quick review of land available including any made available since the last effort (windshield survey) as soon as a list of "top ten" sites can be assembled and located on appropriate maps to scale;  after the "windshield survey" the Committee will meet on Saturday, December 9, 2006 at 10am in the Commission Room at Town Hall.

New ideas regarding the existing memorial and role of a cemetery in community life were broached.

Minutes of the Cemetery Committee are available at the Town Clerk's Office.