Bill Text - SB72 (2010)

Consolidating cemetery boards of trustees in Nashua.

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Revision: Dec. 10, 2009, midnight

2009 SESSION

09-0978

06/04

SENATE BILL 72-FN-LOCAL

COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

ANALYSIS

This bill consolidates the boards of the Edgewood, Woodlawn, and Suburban Cemeteries in Nashua.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

09-0978

06/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Cemeteries; Trustees; Meetings; Vacancies. 1893, 243 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

243:1 Trustees; Meetings; Vacancies. There is hereby constituted a board of trustees made up of 10 members, who shall have the sole care, superintendence, and management of the property, expenditures, business, prudential affairs, and sale of lots in the cemetery located between Amherst, Cushing, and Forest streets in the city of Nashua, called and known as the Edgewood Cemetery, together with any and all additions thereto; the cemetery located between Hollis and Kinsley streets in the city of Nashua, called and known as the Woodlawn Cemetery, together with any and all additions thereto; the cemetery situated on the west side of the Lowell road adjoining and northerly of the brick schoolhouse, and bounded on the west by land of Lund, on the north by land of Thompson, and commonly known as the “Old South Cemetery;” the cemetery situated on the west side of the Lowell road, bounded on the south by land of Hiland A. Holt, on the west by land of Marshall, on the north by land formerly owned by Aaron F. Stevens, and known as the “Pratt Cemetery;” the cemetery near the Stillman Swallow place, and known as the “Gilson's Road Cemetery;” and the cemetery situated on the easterly side of Amherst Road, so called, bounded on the north by land of Roby, on the south by land of Roby and known as the “Roby Cemetery.” Said cemeteries are generally classed and known as Suburban Cemeteries, and shall thereafter be known and called as Suburban Cemeteries. Two members of such board shall retire from office each year, and two members shall be elected by ballot, annually, in the month of March, by the board of mayor and aldermen of said city, in convention with said board of trustees, by majority vote, to hold their office for 5 years, retiring trustees having no vote therein, the first of which elections shall take place in March, 2010; and the term for which the members herein appointed shall hold their office shall be determined by lot, 2 to hold their office for 5 years, 2 for 4 years, 2 for 3 years, 2 for 2 years, and 2 for one year. The mayor of said city shall be ex-officio a member of said board. Said trustees shall receive no compensation for their services as such. No person shall be eligible as such trustee who is not a resident and taxpayer in said city and a lot owner in said cemetery. Said board shall meet annually on the first Monday in April for organization, and shall elect a chairman and secretary from their own number and 6 members shall constitute a quorum for the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of said board. Any vacancy occurring in said board, by death, removal, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled by said board of mayor and aldermen in convention with said board of trustees for the remainder of the term.

243:2 Powers and Duties. The said board of trustees shall set apart and lay out a portion of the Edgewood Cemetery and a portion of the Woodlawn Cemetery; not exceeding one tenth of their area, as a public burial-place for the use of the inhabitants of Nashua, free of any charge, and they shall lay out the balance of said cemeteries in suitable lots or other subdivisions for family or other burying-places, with all the necessary paths, avenues, and drives, and may plant and embellish the same with trees, shrubs, flowers, and other ornaments, and may enclose the same with proper and suitable fences or hedges, and erect or annex thereto such suitable edifices, appendages, and conveniences from time to time as expedient; and said board shall have the same power and authority as cities and towns may have in such premises, to acquire, by purchase or otherwise, land adjoining said cemeteries, to be used for the same purposes; and said board may make all necessary by-laws, rules, and regulations in the execution of their trust, not inconsistent with this chapter or the laws of this state, as are expedient; and such board of trustees shall hold such property and estate for the same uses and purposes, and charged with the same duties and liabilities for and subject to which the same are now held by the city councils of the said city of Nashua; and all rights of ownership of lots which any person or persons have acquired in such cemeteries shall remain to the same extent as if this chapter had not been passed provided, however, if any person or persons shall fail or neglect for one year after a written notice to make improvements upon their lot in the Woodlawn Cemetery or in the Suburban Cemeteries, said lot shall be forfeited to this corporation.

243:3 Authority to Convey Rights and Privileges. The said board of trustees shall have authority to grant and convey to any person or persons, by deeds duly executed, the sole and exclusive right of burial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, tablets, and other monuments, in any of the designated lots or subdivisions of such cemeteries, upon such terms and conditions as they by their rules and regulations shall prescribe.

243:4 How Money Disposed. The proceeds of sales of lots or rights of burial, appropriations by the city councils, or other moneys, except as provided, received for such cemeteries, shall be paid into the city treasury to be kept separate from any other funds of the city and subject to the order of said trustees, and shall be devoted to the care, improvement, embellishment, and enlargement of said cemetery under the direction of said trustees.

243:5 Bequests. The board of trustees are authorized to take and hold any grant, donation, or bequest of property; upon trust, to apply the same, or the income thereof, for the improvement or embellishment of such cemeteries, or for the erection, repair, preservation, or renewal of any monument or other erection, or for the planting and cultivation of trees, shrubs, or plants in or around any lot, or for improving the premises in any other manner or form consistent with the purposes for which such cemeteries are established, according to the terms of such grant, donation, or bequest; and whenever any such grant, donation, or bequest, or any deposit, shall be made by the owner of any lot in such cemetery, for the annual repair, preservation, or embellishment of such lot and the erection thereon, the trustees may give to such owner, or his or her representative, an agreement or obligation, in such form and upon such terms and conditions as they may establish, binding themselves and their successors to preserve and keep in repair said lot forever, or for such period as may be agreed on; and any legacy, bequest, donation, grant, or deposit heretofore made to said city for like purposes in such cemetery, and now in force, shall be placed under the control of the board of trustees. The board of trustees, as constituted under this chapter, are hereby authorized and empowered to establish and create a perpetual care fund for the Edgewood Cemetery, additional to that authorized by the original act, by setting aside such sum or sums as the board may deem best and to take, receive and place therein any donation, legacy or bequest specifically made therefore and which shall be known as the fund for the perpetual care of the paths, walks, drives and avenues of such cemetery, as well as for the fences enclosing the grounds thereof; that such fund created as aforesaid shall be invested, treated, considered, and held and the liability of the city of Nashua shall be the same as other perpetual care funds, as set forth in the original act; that the interest or income only of such fund shall be used and applied by said board of trustees for the construction, care, and maintenance of such paths, walks, drives, avenues, and fences of such cemetery.

243:6 Disposal of Gifts. Any sums of money so received by the trustees shall be invested by the city treasurer of Nashua, under the direction of the trustees, in savings banks, or in any securities in which savings banks are authorized to invest, and all such property received under the provisions of the foregoing section, unless other provision is made by the terms of any such grant, donation, or bequest, shall be invested under the charge of said city treasurer, but shall always remain separate from and independent of any other moneys or property belonging to said city of Nashua and free from all control of the city council; and the income of such fund or funds shall be received by said treasurer, subject to the order of said trustees, and shall be appropriated by them in such manner as shall in their opinion best promote the purposes for which said grants, donations, bequests, or deposits are made.

243:7 City Responsible for Trustees. The city of Nashua shall be responsible for the good faith of said trustees and the treasurer of said city in the execution of any trust which they may assume pursuant to the foregoing provisions; but said trustees shall not be liable to make any renewal or reconstruction of any monument or other erection, on any lot in such cemeteries, unless such liability shall be expressed in the agreement given them as aforesaid, or in the terms and conditions under which they accept any grant, donation, or bequest.

243:8 Report. The board of trustees shall annually, in the month of December, make a detailed report in writing to the city councils of their acts and proceedings and of the condition of the cemeteries, and an account of the receipts and expenditures for the same, and funds subject to their order.

2 Repeal. The following are repealed:

I. 1895, 223 relative to Woodlawn Cemetery.

II. 1897, 194 relative to Suburban Cemeteries.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

09-0978

01/21/09

SB 72-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE

FISCAL IMPACT: