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ST.
COLUMBAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
BY-LAWS
Revised
August, 2006
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a print version of these By-Laws (15KB PDF file)
Article I. Name:
This organization shall be known as Catholic Cemetery Association.
Article II.
Operation:
The Catholic Cemetery Association shall be operated as a non-profit organization exclusively
for its members, and providing for the care and maintenance of the Catholic cemetery. All
earnings from sale of lots or otherwise shall be kept and maintained for future perpetual care of
the cemetery.
Article III. Board
Members:
The Catholic Cemetery Association will have on its board the pastor of St.
Columban Parish and eight members of the parish, making a total of nine board members. If a vacancy occurs on the board the priest will approach
members of the parish to fill the vacancy and the remaining members of the board will elect the new board member by a majority vote at any
meeting with a quorum present. The following persons are not eligible to be members of the board due to
conflict of interest issues that may arise: any person that in any way has
connections to the funeral industry such as directors and employees of funeral homes, grave digging, and/or
monument companies. Present board members are: Father Tom Hermes, President Don Murrell,
Secretary/Treasurer Craig Myers, Mary Catherine Damm, Agnes Miller, Kevin Jeschke, David
Link, Mike Miller, Jarrod Marshall. (As of April 2008)
Article IV.
Meetings:
Meetings of the Catholic Cemetery Association will be held quarterly in
the church rectory.
Article V. Duties of the Board:
The board shall elect the president and secretary and hire ground keepers.
No member shall receive compensation for any work done. The board shall make and approve all rules and
regulations governing the cemetery.
Article VI. Cemetery
Ground:
The real estate not used for graves shall be farmed or rented to the Green
Hills Soccer Association. Monies received from rent should be added to the cemetery care fund. Any new ground needed for expansion of
cemetery is to be taken from ground being rented to the Soccer Association. This area is located immediately west of the present
cemetery.
Article VII. Rules and
Regulations:
- All lots are sold by the parish priest and president of the board.
- Lots may be sold back to the board at the buyers original purchase price.
- No interment shall be made without the permission of the board.
- If the buyer did not make a decision on placement of bodies on their lot
at the time of purchase, the remaining immediate family must make that
decision. The board must have written permission from the owner or next
of kin for interment of others.
- If the original buyers or next of kin have unused spaces on the lot 75
years from the date of purchase those spaces revert back to the board.
- The owner of each grave must erect a proper monument there on. In the
case of veterans, the U.S. Government issued stone can be placed as a
headstone or placed at the foot of the grave. The monument is to be placed on the lot and lined up with other stones in a straight
row. Proper foundation for the monument shall be no less than 18 inches.
- No enclosure of lots of any kind will be allowed. Corner markers may
be used if placed flush with the ground.
- No mausoleum type grave will be allowed on any lot.
- All grading of lots will be done under direction of the board and no one
will be allowed to raise their lot above the adjoining surface. All graves,
after fully settling, will be level with the adjoining surface and no abrupt
sides will be allowed. Also, the priest or board members should not be
questioned or harassed about ground settling, for there are many factors
that one must take into account (i.e. wintertime); nonetheless, it will be
taken care of at the proper time.
- It shall be the duty of the board to have the power to lay out roads,
walkways, as may be deemed proper, providing this doesn’t interfere with
lots already sold, and to make rules and regulations, amend and repeal
same for the governing, protection, and improvements of the grounds.
- The price of lots are set by the board and subject to change at any
meeting. At present the price is $125.00 per space for actively practicing
registered parishioners. Non-registered Catholics and those Catholics
from out of the area will be charged $1000.00 per space.
- Besides being subject to the rules and regulations of the board, all
internments, disinterments, and removals are subject to the laws of the
constituted authorities of the city, county, and state.
- All digging, internments, and
disinterments are to be authorized and done through the board and our contractor.
- There will be allowed only one burial per space including cremations.
Article VIII. Cemetery
Decorative Items:
Section 1.
The board reserves the right and power to plant and transplant, and cultivate such trees,
shrubs, and flowers at they may deem proper in any part of the cemetery grounds; also to
supervise and control all improvements on any lot or lots. No planting allowed on any grave.
Explanation: If plantings are not controlled they can damage monuments by other trees taking root near a monument. When a dead tree stump is
being removed it is possible for a monument to mistakenly be damaged. The board will accept donations for trees, but they will be planted where
the board deems necessary.
Section 2:
Flower containers in the form of cans, jars, and crockery are absolutely
forbidden. Except on Memorial Day, provided they are placed on the graves, not inserted in the ground. After
Memorial Day flowers have died, they, with all containers will be removed by the cemetery
grounds keepers. The cemetery is not responsible for any valuable containers that may be
broken or lost. One week after Memorial Day all these materials will be picked up.
Section 3:
Cut flowers and potted plants may be placed on graves at any time, but not
inserted in the ground.
Section 4:
Wreaths or other decorative items should be attached to headstone or
basket hangers. If not, items will be removed. Exception is one week after Christmas, if the items are not to be taken, they must be picked up.
The board and its grounds keeping crew will not be responsible for items
that were not intended to be taken.
Section 5:
The board has the right to remove from lots and graves, without notice to
owner, all withered flowers, plants, boxes, cans, shells, toys, wood or iron
cases, trellis work, brick, rock, or coping around lots and any such objects
that are detracting to the lot and cemetery, in the opinion of the board, will
be removed immediately.
This has been in the cemetery rules since 1945 as have the no planting on
lots rules. Some have been allowed in the old sections of the cemetery, but shall not be tolerated in the newer
sections.
St. Columban Cemetery Association Board Members: Don Murrell, David Link,
Craig Myers, Agnes Miller, Mary Catherine Damm, Kevin Jeschke, Mike Miller,
Jarrod Marshall.
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