1. On a given day it may be necessary to schedule a burial service at a time different than what is desired by either the deceased’s family or the funeral director. The funeral director should verify the scheduling of a burial service with the Cemetery before setting and publishing the funeral time. This will help prevent any conflict with previously scheduled services and thereby prevent a need for re-scheduling by the funeral director.
2. On Monday through Friday, burial services in the Cemetery may be scheduled from 9:00 a.m. until an agreed upon time prior to 2:00 p.m. Attendees at the burial service shall leave the burial site in order to allow the Cemetery personnel sufficient time to completely close the grave by 4:00 p.m., unless said attendees desire to remain to observe the grave closing. On Saturday, burial services may be scheduled from 9:00 a.m. until an agreed upon time prior to 12:00 noon. The attendees at the burial service will then leave the burial site in order to allow the Cemetery personnel sufficient time to completely close the grave. On any day, the burial service must be completed in a timely manner so as to allow forty-five minutes for the Cemetery personnel to complete the Cemetery’s responsibilities of filling the grave, placement of flowers on the grave, and the storage of working materials and implements. Times other than those listed will require an additional fee.
3. All burial fees, opening and closing fees and other related charges, including overtime or additional charges for all burials, shall be set by the Board of Trustees. These charges shall be reviewed annually no later than November 30th of each year and such charges shall be set forth on the “Annual Fee Schedule” for the Cemetery for the upcoming calendar year. These fees shall be set annually by Board Minutes.
4. An interment will be made on a family lot only with the written consent of the lot owner or the owner’s representative or where a prior reservation exists in the Cemetery records. The Cemetery shall not be held responsible for any order authorizing any interment given by telephone, nor for any mistakes occurring from the lack of precise and proper instructions as to a particular space, size, and location on a lot where interment is desired. The proper grave space for an interment may also be designated by one of the following: reservation in the Cemetery files, inscription on a memorial, and other commercially accepted electronic means.
5. An interment is not permitted on any lot where there exists any past due indebtedness. Whenever there is a dispute among surviving owners as to whether or not a person can be buried on a specific lot, the right to be buried on the lot shall be vested in such person or persons as designated by a court of competent jurisdiction to decide the disputed ownership of the lot. Neither the Cemetery, nor any Cemetery employee may decide a disputed ownership of a lot, or partial lot. In the event a person is buried on a grave site situated on a lot whose ownership comes into dispute after the burial, the deceased shall remain buried in that space until such time as a court of competent jurisdiction determines the correct ownership of the lot in question. If the court so finds that the lawful lot owner has not authorized the burial and the lawful lot owner demands that the deceased be removed, then in that event, the Cemetery will remove the deceased upon payment of the appropriate fees by either the lawful lot owner or the deceased’s next of kin and proceed to move the deceased’s remains to a different burial site within the Cemetery if another gravesite is purchased or available. The appropriate disinterment laws must be followed by the party seeking to move the deceased’s remains.
6. For all burials in the Cemetery, except for cremations, all persons must be buried in a casket and concrete or steel vault. The only exceptions will be for the reburial of old remains contained in a 19th century steel sarcophagus or consisting of dust, dirt, ash, and small pieces. All persons who die of, or are infected with, any highly communicable disease such as AIDS, cholera, diphtheria, hepatitis, etc., must be placed in a leak proof container before being placed in the casket and vault. The Cemetery must be notified in advance if a person is so infected as described above.
7. The removal of a body of a person buried by a lawful lot owner on his or her own lot will not be permitted without written consent of the lot owner and the deceased’s surviving spouse and next of kin. The only exception to this is that a person so buried shall be removed upon lawful court order.
8. For burial services scheduled Tuesday through Saturday the Cemetery reserves the right to require a forty-eight hour notice and for burial services on Monday, a sixty hour notice.
9. Disinterment fees shall be set by the Board of Trustees and included on the “Annual Fee Schedule”. In the event a disinterment is requested and approved, and as part of the consideration for the Cemetery performing such services in addition to the fee charged, the Cemetery will not be liable or responsible for any damage to the vault or casket that has occurred while buried or during such disinterment or reburial.
10. The funeral home and funeral directors officiating at a burial service shall be responsible for putting up and removing any tents and chairs used.
11. The Richmond Cemetery Company Director of Grounds, or his designee, shall oversee and enforce all rules and regulations promulgated by the Cemetery.
12. The use of grave liners is prohibited. Concrete and steel vaults may only be used in a burial with a casket.
13. The funeral home conducting the burial service or interment is responsible to move the casket from the hearse to the gravesite. By previous regulation, the Cemetery employees have been directed to stay a discrete distance from the burial service.
