Meadowtown council proposes changes to cemetery rules, plans public hearing

Meadowtown — At its regular meeting, the council discussed proposed changes to the town cemetery ordinance and an updated fee schedule for cemetery services.

A council member overseeing parks and cemetery explained two primary proposed amendments. First, the proposal would allow the placement of memorials on unfilled graves or lots — currently prohibited — provided the owner obtains written permission from the sexton or town council and accepts financial responsibility for moving or replacing the memorial when the lot is used for interment. "Owners of the lot plot shall obtain written permission from the sexton and or town council before the placement of the memorial," the proposal states, and it would make owners responsible for movement/replacement costs.

Second, the speaker asked the council to remove or change language that requires trash containers inside the cemetery because none currently exist; the proposed text would require that refuse be removed and taken to the local refuse depot instead of requiring on-site containers.

Council members agreed that ordinance changes must follow the town's established process: staff must schedule a public hearing to solicit input before any amendment is adopted. The council asked staff (Monica) to track the two proposed ordinance changes and noted there are several ordinance items being considered for revision.

The council also said the cemetery fee schedule has been updated; specific fee amounts were not read into the record during the discussion.

Next steps: staff will add the cemetery ordinance proposals to the tracker and the council will schedule a public hearing if members choose to advance the amendments.