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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 13, 2022 NANTUCKET CEMETERY COMMISSION 2E' 2 AUG I I NI 2: 211 Posted Meeting of July 13,2022,at 3:00 pm DPW Conference Room, 188 Madaket Road with Zoom Connectivity FINAL AND APPROVED MINUTE Attendance: Commissioners: Frances Karttunen, Scott McIver, Allen Reinhard (Chair), Lee Saperstein, and Barbara White (by Zoom);Ken Beaugrand, Real Estate Specialist, Charlie Polachi and TaKyra Renner(DPW). Guest:Nigel Rudolph, Preservation Institute of Nantucket,PIN (snrudolph@usf.edu); Jason Harpe, Director of Cemetery Conservation at Richard Grubb and Associates 1. Call to Order. Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 3:02 pm. He reminded participants that the session was being recorded(https://youtu.be/jgPZsG6vU3U). A roll-call of attendees showed that a quorum existed among the in-person attendees. 2.Public and Commissioner Comments. Nigel Rudolph introduced himself along with his affiliation with the Preservation Institute of Nantucket, PIN, and his interest in Black cemeteries. He had visited the Historic Coloured Cemetery with Commissioner Barbara White and was engaged by the effort that the Town has put into its preservation. Lee Saperstein noted that Jason Harpe had joined the meeting on Zoom but did not speak. At Allen Reinhard's invitation, Ken Beaugrand gave an update on the Polpis Cemetery land swap. Although given at this point, it is reported in item 6. 3. Approval of Minutes from June 8,2022. Scott McIver moved, and Frances Karttunen seconded, and the Commission unanimously approved the minutes from the meeting of June 8,2022. The vote was by roll call. 4.Annual Reorganization; Election of Officers for FY2023. Allen Reinhard reminded the Commissioners that the July meeting,this one, is when boards, committees, and commissions reorganize for the new fiscal year. Scott McIver jumped in with a nomination for Allen Reinhard's renewal as Chair and Lee Saperstein as Secretary. Apparently, Lee Saperstein wads listed on the Committee's web site as Vice-Chair although he has functioned as Secretary in the past year. Frances Karttunen then nominated Scott McIver as Vice Chair. There were no other nominations and the election was unanimously in favor. [ ction�PL e aperstein w7 askAiiing Pd it gs to up date the web site,] 1 5. Approval of Lot Sales Since Last Meeting. Allen Reinhard told the Commission that he has sold two lots in Polpis and the sales will need approval. He noted that the paperwork and payment had not yet been received for either of these sales. He suggested that we approve them in advance of receiving the forms and checks, with approval contingent upon their receipt. The two lots, both in Polpis, are Lot E-10, sold to Karen Pelrine; and D-18, sold to Kerry Flynn. A motion was made to approve both lot sales, contingent on receipt of applications and payment, by Scott McIver, seconded by Frances Karttunen and approved unanimously by roll call vote. Allen Reinhard reported that he was at Polpis Cemetery recently and noticed that there appears to be a mix-up between lots E-28 and F-28. Susan Albach owned F-28 but,based on the monument stone,Was interred in E-28. Scott McIver said that he recalled the inurnment and that they may have put the stone in the wrong place. He offered to check where the actual burial took place. He is asking that we do not change records until this is resolved. He will check with his records and DPWrs. If a mistake was made, it may be possible to rectify it without the need for Commission action. This item will return to next month's agenda. [Actio`i Resolve Albach b iria1 l©catioii J 5. Ken Beaugrand,If Available: Polpis Latest Developments and Consolidation of Newtown. As described abor,Ken Beaugrand made his comments at the time for public and commissioners' comments. He was very pleased to report that there has been real progress on the land swap betvk'een the Town and the owners of 268 Polpis Road, eastern abutters to Polpis Cemetery. He has received the necessary paperwork from Town Counsel and has learned that a surveyor has been hired to create recordable plots of the cemetery and the parcels to be swapped. He is awaiting an assessor's judgment on the values of the two to-be-swapped parcels. He will pass this material to the abutters' attorney as soon as he gets the surveyor's report. In response to Allen Reinhard's question,he reported that the surveyor is Joseph Marcklinger. Again, in a response to a question from Allen Reinhard,Ken Beaugrand said that there has been no legal activity at Newtown Cemetery. He regretted that with the large amount of real estate activity under the Town's aegis,Newtown has fallen to the bottom of the list of items needing legal review. Lee Saperstein said that the delay was regrettable because Newtown was the only cemetery with space for future full-body interments and we needed to run a ground-penetrating radar, GPR, survey in the lots that are under question to find out how much new space we truly have. 6. Monument Restoration Project: Bid Process Update, Charlie Polachi. Charlie Polachi reported that the final contract sign-off for the first contract to conserve and restore monuments in five Nantucket cemeteries will occur at tonight's Select Board meeting. 2 The contract for restoration work on monuments at Old North Cemetery will be awarded to Ludlow Memorials Co.,whose bid is for$24,106;the high bid was for$86,000. Bid summaries are attached. Charlie Polachi thinks that they will be here as soon as they can get their equipment on the ferry; certainly, by the fall. Allen Reinhard added that with the reasonableness of the bid, we can imove to the next cemetery. Nigel Rudolph, guest, asked about the nature of the repairs and Charlie Polachi answered that a survey is available that ranks monuments needing conservation on a three-part scale and that the bid is based on this survey. He asked also about the use of the Biologic cleaner and Frances Karttunen responded that it has been used successfully at the Quaker Cemetery and at the Historic Coloured Cemetery. Allen Reinhard said that we should think about the next one and will schedule the item for the August meeting. Frances Karttunen offered that Newtown was her choice because it was so visible. Allen Reinhard said that he has recently visited Old North and realizes that it definitely needs work. With respect to future monument work,when we run out of funds, we should request a renewal from the Community Preservation Committee, CPC. Ken Beaugrand said that this work is historic preservation and fits within the scope of the CPC. Proposals for funding should be made by September 9th. Barbara White and Frances Karttunen thought that there may be no rush given that we may have unexpended funds in the current grant and that we may wish to evaluate the work done at Old North. 7. Discussion: On-going Projects, Commission Goals for FY2023. Opening the discussion on future projects,Allen Reinhard said that he was pleased that the Polpis land swap is moving forward because we have fewer than 20 lots left at Polpis. This project has been on our agenda for years. Now,the next project for Polpis is to clear the swapped land, mark the boundaries, and place fences. While we await final action on the swap, we need to lay out new plots on paper so as to be able to buy corner and lot markers. Then we will ask the surveyor to help us locate the lots on the ground. With the approval;of the contract to conserve monuments in Old North Cemetery,this project will move to a sequence of projects for the remaining four cemeteries: Historic Coloured,New North,Newtown,'and Quaker. He noted that Newtown remains important for full-casket burials. Also, that there is a consultant's report on how best to restore this cemetery,particularly the southeastern end. While it may be dated, it provides guidance on laneways and parking. The GPR survey needs to be extended to determine if there is space for additional burials and how much. Fencing at New North should be extended completely along Franklin Street. Frances Karttunen remarked about neighbors' concern for cleaning up brush. Allen Reinhard added that the same concern applies to the Historic Coloured Cemetery. Maybe additional fencing will be needed at Old North once the monuments are restored. He also reported that the Nantucket Island Land Bank owns a large lot of land behind Old North and is in court with a land developer who believes that he may develop Wyers Way as a way into a property that is to be developed. Barbara White asked if the cemetery went under the driveway, which is referenced as Wyers 3 Way and should there be a GPR survey of Wyers Way. Allen Reinhard said, given the lay of the land,that this was unlikely and a survey would not be needed. Frances Karttunen spoke about a doing a tour of the Historic Coloured Cemetery on Juneteenth and was pleased to have 15 visitors despite rain. 8. Old,New, Other Business,and Final Comments; Zoom or In-Person Meetings? Scott McIver had a message from a colleague during the meeting that said that the stone in question in Polpis was probably mislaid. They will still need to check to see if there are cremains in E-28.I At the moment,the mix-up is still unresolved; Scott McIver and NPI will arrange for a correction. After the meeting, Scott McIver sent a note to say that the mix-up had been fixed and that the monument stone is now, correctly, at Lot F-28. 9.Adjournment came at 3:57 pm by consensus. Next regular meeting: Wednesday,August 10,2022,at 3:00 pm, in the DPW conference room at 188 Madaket Road. For those who wish to attend virtually,a Zoom link will also be sent to Commissioners. Respectfully submitted: ;Date: Lee W. Saperstein, Secretary Nantucket Cemetery Projects List. • Cemetery monument condition survey (completed); awarding of four more contracts for monument conservation. • Split rail fence at Polpis Cemetery: installed in existing cemetery; needed in newly acquired land. • Survey to lay out additional lots at Polpis. • Toe and lot corner markers for new Polpis lots when laid out. • Consolidation of lots at Newtown Cemetery with recordable ground survey. • Fencing at the Historic Coloured Cemetery: sections installed,needed against Vesper Lane. • Fencing and brush removal at New and Old North Cemeteries. 4 Town of Nantucket,Massachusetts Procurement Office Register of Bids&Award Notice Bid 4 2022-TON-0608 MB for Old North Cemetery Restoration and Conservation Project Bid Opening TiMe: 10AM,June 24,2022 Department:Public Works BIDDERS Ludlow Memorial Village Green Richard Grubb& Co. Restoration,Inc. Associates,Inc PRICE $24,106 $37,800 $86,000 Award Made To: Ludlow Memorial Co Assistant Procurement Officer: Alice Marie Kellogg Date: • 5