Brentwood trustees review town cemetery GIS list, await attorney sign-off on new easement

The Brentwood Town Cemetery Trustees met March 5 and spent the bulk of the session reviewing the town’s cemetery inventory and GIS entries, confirming a recent lot buyback and planning field verification before updating deeds and the town mapping system. Chair called the meeting to order and noted the alternate member Caleb was unable to attend.

Trustees confirmed a lot buyback is complete. “It’s all completed. I sent out the check and the deed, and they just let me know earlier this week that they got the package and everything set,” a committee member reported, and trustees said the monument for that lot is scheduled to be moved in spring weather.

The trustees focused on bringing historical cemetery records into the town GIS so residents, funeral directors and staff can locate burial sites. Using parcel searches and satellite imagery they captured GPS coordinates and parcel/map-and-lot numbers for many small sites, noting examples such as the White Cemetery (11 South Road, parcel mentioned in meeting materials) and Ladd Fellows Cemetery (identified on Route 107/Old Danville Road). For several small plots trustees estimated acreage on the fly (examples discussed in the meeting ranged from roughly 0.07 to 1.3 acres for different sites) and flagged parcels with no separate GIS lot for follow-up.

Chair cautioned that legal steps remain before formal changes: Joyce prepared a draft easement and letter for the landowner for the new cemetery parcel, but trustees agreed to "wait until the attorney says, yes," before approaching the owner or recording deed updates. The group asked to involve the town attorney to confirm the correct legal process and then route deed updates through planning and GIS.

Trustees also discussed outreach and training: several members said they plan to attend the New Hampshire Cemetery Association spring meeting on April 7 (a budgeted training opportunity) that will cover legislative updates and alternative interment topics. Members listed May volunteer activities — flag placement, a Memorial Day ceremony, Police Week recognition and possible stone-cleaning events — and agreed to promote those opportunities in the town newsletter and on social media.

On next steps the trustees scheduled a work session to continue the GIS review and agreed to invite the new town assessor to a meeting to discuss making cemeteries selectable lots in the GIS (so a click would return "Town of Brentwood" and the cemetery name). The board set the next meeting for April 2 at 4:00 p.m., with a possible change to 5:00 p.m. to accommodate the alternate member.

Votes and formal actions at the March 5 meeting were procedural: trustees moved and unanimously approved the minutes from Feb. 12, 2026, and later moved to adjourn. The trustees expect to complete the cemetery-GIS updates after field verification, attorney guidance and coordination with planning/assessing staff.