Town of Pomfret

Town of Pomfret
CEMETERY RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Town of Pomfret, NY considers our Cemeteries a sacred place, honoring the lives of the people entrusted into our care. We welcome and encourage visitors to the cemetery.  We ask that you honor the burial sites of those interred here, as we do.


General Rules:

• The Cemetery is open dawn to dusk. Closed at dusk and during periods of high winds.
• No dogs are allowed to run in the Cemetery.
• The speed limit in the Cemetery is 10 miles per hour.
• The operation of motor vehicles in the Cemetery is limited to designated roadways.
• The operation of motor vehicles in the Cemetery is limited to purposes of ingress and egress.
• The operation of motor vehicles in the Cemetery for instructional purposes is specifically prohibited.
• In order to function as a Cemetery, the Cemetery reserves the right to remove any tree, shrub, bush, flower or other item which is placed contrary to these regulations; or which interferes with the excavation for a burial or which interferes with the proper maintenance of the Cemetery; or which becomes unsightly or is deemed inappropriate. The cemetery will not be responsible for replacing any item so removed.

Interments:

• Maximum interments per grave is three (3):
  • One (1) Casket with Two (2) Cremains on top, or
  • Three (3) Cremains
  • All graves with an initial interment may not be suitable for the maximum allowed interments.
  • To ensure your grave is able to be used to the capacity that you wish the cemetery should be informed of your plans for use of the grave prior to the initial interment.
  • If you feel that you have additional interment rights on a grave with an initial interment, prior approval must be given through the cemetery office.
• If there is a casket interment on a grave, the casket must be interred first. The cemetery does not disinter cremains to inter a casket.
• Cremains inurnments are to be done in non-biodegradable containers that seal tightly.
• Casket interments must have a vault.
• Pet cremains are not allowed to be interred in Town Cemeteries.
• The Town of Pomfret does not allow the scattering of cremains within the Town Cemeteries.

Who can be interred?

• The original lot/grave owner may give permission to anyone to be buried in his/her lot.
• The lot owner, spouse and direct descendants have a “natural right” of burial, provided there is still adequate space available, according to original dictation of the grave use, burial rights (maximum interments) and appropriate authorization.
• Direct descendants include children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, as per the Table of Consanguinity).  Spouses of direct descendants may be buried if there is room with appropriate authorization.
• Once the lot owner is deceased, the right of burial passes to the children, then to grandchildren.

 Headstones/Monuments/Niche Plaques:

• The Town reserves the right to regulate the style, size, and placement of monuments and markers and the nature of inscriptions thereon.
• There shall be only one headstone or marker per single gravesite.
• Headstones are to be set by memorial companies only and are to be made out of granite.
• The construction of headstone, marker, or monument foundation by anyone other than Cemetery personnel is prohibited. Headstones, markers, and monuments are to be placed only by a reputable business and made of permanent materials.
• Each Niche will be allowed a maximum of two 8" x 5" bronze plaques. US Veterans are eligible for bronze plaque commemorating their service free of charge.  No other adornment or memorialization of any kind can be affixed to the niche door.  Installation and affixing markers and Niche covers shall be performed under the direct supervision of Town cemetery personnel, by an authorized agent.
• The Town of Pomfret Cemetery, and the Town of Pomfret, assumes no responsibility for the safe keeping of any monument, memorial, headstone, or marker and will not be responsible for any damage to same.  

Plantings/Adornments:

• New plantings of trees, shrubs and bushes will not be permitted, except with the approval of the Cemetery Superintendent.
• Any tree, shrub, or bush now on any lot must be kept trimmed and cared for by the Lot Owner or other responsible party.
• Planting of flowers will be permitted only in beds located on the grave site of the marker and not to extend more than one foot from the marker or in the maintenance walkway. The Cemetery will not be responsible for the care of such beds.
• The planting of any naturalizing plant is prohibited. (E.g.: ivy, myrtle, lilies, Iris)
• Prohibited:
  • Glass, ceramic, or other breakable pots or adornments
  • Mounding of dirt, decorative stone, mulch, or loose materials
  • Tile, bricks, metal, hanging baskets, and shepherds’ hooks
• Plastic flowers, or other arrangements containing wire or metal must be in containers and can be used only between November 1st and April 1st.
• Winter wreaths are permitted only from November 1st to April 1st.
• Anything to be retained by the Owner must be removed by April 1st, prior to Spring Clean-Up.
• The Cemetery will not be responsible for any monument, marker, urn, vase, pots, flowers, or other material placed on a grave or lot.
• The enclosure, bordering or other definition of a gravesite or lot, or group of lots, by coping, fencing, planting of flowers, hedging or any other means is prohibited.
• Any plantings which extend beyond one foot from the marker or in the maintenance walkway, will be marked with a flag stating the plantings are in violation of the cemetery rules. After one month, any unmodified grave displays will be considered abandoned and removed. The Town of Pomfret will not retain any items not in compliance with the cemetery rules and regulations.

Pricing:
As per the 2024 Town of Pomfret Organizational Meeting the Town has adopted the following pricing structure.  This pricing structure is subject to change by action of the Town Board.  Please contact the Office of the Cemetery Sexton or the Town Clerk to verify pricing.

Cemetery Lot/Grave                 $650.00
Opening/Closing (Burial)          $750.00
Cremains Burial                         $400.00
Grave Opening (Cremation; Sat./Sun./Holidays)   $600.00
Grave Opening (Sat./Sun./Holidays)                        $1,200.00

Charge per half hour if funeral remains after        $ 30.00
3:00 PM Weekdays or 12:00 PM Sat./Sun./Holiday

Foundations: Per Square Inch                 $ .75
Minimum                                                     $150.00 (10”X12”)
Historical Research:         Minimum            $25.00
                                               Per Hour          $25.00

Columbarium Pricing:
$750.00-single niche                                                  
$1,000.00-double niche
$150.00 per opening, per internment
$200.00 per opening on Saturday or Sunday
All plaques and engraving will be purchased and done by A.D. Titus Monuments of Fredonia.

Saving Graves:
The Town of Pomfret does not save graves nor take partial payments on graves. When a gravesite(s) is requested an invoice will be generated. Invoices are valid for 90 days. If an invoice for a grave is not paid in full by the end of the 90 days, it is to be considered null and void. Subsequent invoices will not be made for the same grave or interested persons unless full payment is rendered when the gravesite(s) is re-requested.

Request for Information/Information that may be released:
Information that the cemetery will share for genealogical purposes:
Name – Date of Birth – Place of Birth – Date of Death – Place of last residency – Place of Death – Funeral Home involved – Minister / Church affiliation – Maiden name of females – Place and date of interment – Names of any family members that we may have listed.

If the cemetery has any cause of death regardless of the year it was recorded, the cemetery does not release that information.

Anyone desiring an exception to the above must be submitted in writing to the Town of Pomfret Cemetery office.

Town of Pomfret Board                                       
Cemetery office: (716) 672-7156
Located in the Chapel at Forest Hill Cemetery
57 Lambert Ave. Fredonia, N.Y.