TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN
CHARLESTOWN UNION CEMETERY
HAYTON HILLSIDE CEMETERY
CEMETERY RULES and REGULATIONS
Perpetual Care 5
TOWN CEMETERIES. This chapter shall create rules and regulations with regard to properties known as Charlestown Union Cemetery and Hayton Hillside Cemetery.
SUPERINTENDENT OF CEMETERIES. The Town of Charlestown Town Board shall appoint someone to act as the Superintendent of Cemeteries.
(2) POWERS AND DUTIES. The Superintendent of Cemeteries shall:
(a) Have general supervision and charge of cemetery grounds, and the laying out of cemetery lots, the sale thereof, and the recording of ownership of all lots.
(b) Keep all necessary records of all burials and of all burial permits and of the transfer of ownership of cemetery lots.
SALE OF LOTS. All sales of cemetery lots in the Charlestown Union Cemetery shall be governed by this section.
(1) The Town Board shall fix the price of lots, and such price shall include perpetual care.
(2) All applications for the purchase of lots in the cemeteries shall be made to the Town of Charlestown.
(3) (a) There will be a limit of four (4) urns per grave site for cremation.
(b) There will be a limit of one (1) vault and two (2) urns per grave site.
CONVEYANCE OF LOTS. Cemetery lot conveyances shall be made as follows:
(1) All lots sold in the cemetery shall be conveyed by deed. The purchaser acquires the title and fee to the lot, subject to the conditions, limitations and reservations established by this chapter or those which may hereafter be established for the government or maintenance of the Town of Charlestown Cemeteries.
(2) Any transfer of ownership of a grave site, if there has been no interment therein, shall be made subject to the written approval of the Town of Charlestown Town Board. If a lot has interment therein, then a transfer of ownership is subject to Wisconsin Statute Section 157.10.
INTERMENT AND DISINTERMENT. No interment or disinterment shall be made without a written permit issued by the Town of Charlestown Town Board. Interment shall be made in a concrete or better quality crypt or box. The owners of lots may allow the interment of others than their immediate family, provided permission is given in writing and the same is filed with of Town of Charlestown Town Board. Disinterment and removal of the body shall not be made without the permission of the Town of Charlestown Town Board, the lot owner, and the next of kin of the deceased. No disinterment shall be made without a written permit issued by the County Medical Examiner. The permit shall be filed with the Town of Charlestown Town Board. There shall be an established permit fee for each interment or disinterment.
GRAVE REGULATIONS. (1) All graves which are dug in any lot of the Charlestown Union Cemetery shall be have the head placed on the east end of the lot and headstones erected thereon shall be placed at the east end of such graves that being the head end of the grave. Engraving on the monument must face west.
Each monument shall be placed on a concrete slab that is a minimum of 4 inches thick, with a minimum of 3 re-enforcing rods no smaller than one half inch in size, 2 rods of which shall be spaced 6 inches from the outside edge and the third in the center of the slab laying parallel to the other two.
Such slab shall be no wider than 24 inches and no longer than 48 inches for single interment and shall be installed at ground level for maintenance purposes.
Slabs for family monuments shall be no wider than 24 inches and no longer than 72 inches and shall be installed at ground level.
(2) All monuments shall be installed on concrete slabs as provided herein and shall be so located on the slab so as to maintain a 6-inch lip on all sides of the concrete slab.
(3) Before any grave is dug in the Charlestown Union Cemetery, the owner of the lot upon which it is to be placed shall consult with the Town of Charlestown Town Board and/or the Superintendent of Cemeteries, and shall follow their directions relating to the position upon which the grave shall be placed. Any person erecting a headstone upon any grave in the Charlestown Union Cemetery shall consult the Town of Charlestown Town Board and/or the Superintendent of Cemeteries prior to erecting said headstone.
(4) No grave in the Charlestown Union Cemetery or the Hayton Hillside Cemetery shall be made or maintained above the level of the remaining portions of the lot upon which it is placed.
(5) The planting of trees, shrubs, perennials or annuals or a tall growth on graves is not permitted. One flower or plant shall be placed at the base of the monument. Additional items are allowed to be temporarily placed on the monument but may not extend over the base of the monument slab.
(1) No monument or grave marker shall be erected or placed upon a lot by any person without first having obtained a burial permit from the Town of Charlestown Town Board.
(2) Dealers' or manufacturers’ cards or advertisements shall not be marked on any stone or placed anywhere within the cemetery limits.
(3) Workmen engaged in placing stones, or removing excess ground, shall provide suitable boards on which to move the same, or on which to run trucks, and immediately after work is completed rubbish is to be cleared away and the ground left clean and in good condition. Adjoining lots, paths or roads where work is being done must not be blocked or damaged. All workmen engaged in erecting monuments or other structures are prohibited from tying ropes to trees, shrubs or other objects. The workmen shall not litter the grounds longer than necessary. Surrounding lots are to be restored to their proper condition. In cases of neglect removal or repair work will be made by cemetery employees at the expense of the lot owner or contractor.
(4) The Town of Charlestown Town Board or Superintendent of Cemeteries shall have the right to enter and remove from any lot, any monument, effigy or enclosure, or any structure, which shall be determined by them to be improper, offensive, or injurious to the appearance of the cemeteries.
(5) The placing of boxes, shelves, ornaments, , banners, chairs, settees, glass, wood, or iron cases and similar articles upon a lot shall not be permitted, and if so placed the Town of Charlestown Town Board or the Superintendent of Cemeteries shall reserve the right to remove the same.
(6) The Town of Charlestown will not be responsible for any damages to the lots or structures thereon, or for flowers or plants removed from any lot. Any damage or loss shall be reported to the Superintendent, who shall endeavor to discover the offender.
(7) Lot owners are prohibited from placing any curbing or fencing around their lot. The Town of Charlestown Town Board or the Superintendent of Cemeteries may remove curbs or fences at the cost of the owner of the lot in case of violation of this section.
CONDUCT IN CEMETERIES. The following regulations shall govern the public in the cemeteries of the Town of Charlestown:
(2) Visitors shall keep on the paths and avenues and not walk over lots to take a shortcut through the cemetery.
(3) Animalsare not allowed in the cemetery.
(4) No person shall throw rubbish on the avenues, walks, or any part of the cemetery grounds.
(5) No person shall pluck or remove flowers, either wild or cultivated, or break any tree, shrub or plant, or write upon, deface, or injure any marker, monument, or structure in or belonging to the cemetery.
(6) Unsupervised minors are not allowed in the cemetery.
(7) Firearms are not permitted in the cemeteries, except those used by law enforcement and military companies.
(8) No person shall disturb the quiet and good order of the cemeteries by noise or other improper conduct.
(9) No person shall erect or maintain any advertising sign upon cemetery grounds.
TOWN BOARD AUTHORITY. The Town of Charlestown Town Board shall, from time to time make such rules and regulations for the governing of the cemetery grounds, as it may deem proper and expedient. All lot owners are subject to such rules, conditions, limitations and regulations as the Town of Charlestown Town Board may make from time to time, for the governing and improvement of cemetery grounds. The Town of Charlestown Town Board or the Superintendent of Cemeteries shall have the right to enter upon any lot and remove therefrom any tree or shrubs in such lot, when they become detrimental to adjacent lots or avenues or cause inconvenience to passers-by by reason of roots, branches or otherwise.
PERPETUAL CARE. (1) DEFINITION. Perpetual care means the cutting and sprinkling of grass at reasonable intervals; the raking and cleaning of the lot or grave, the pruning of the shrubs and trees; also includes capital improvements to buildings and grounds and such work as may be necessary to keep the lot or grave in good and neat condition in a manner as is now regularly done upon the lots or graves. It also includes the removal of snow from the roadway to the cemetery lot and the clearance of a sufficient space adjacent to the lot to facilitate the conducting of a burial. The repair or replacement of any foundation marker or monumental structure, the planting of flowers or plants, or any special work, or the cleaning of monuments or stones is not included in the term perpetual care. The same service given to lots upon which
Perpetual care has been placed shall be given to lots which are on the annual assessment plan. Perpetual care also includes capital improvements to buildings and grounds.
(2) The Town of Charlestown shall provide all perpetual care as described in (1) in perpetuity for those graves in the cemetery.