KENT, Conn.—Nothing is more certain than death and taxes and the Board of Selectmen recently met with members of the Cemetery Committee to discuss its budget for the coming year.
The town’s Cemetery Committee was formed last spring when the Kent Cemetery Association disbanded after decades of service. Based on what association members reported about their activities, the selectmen set a first-year budget of $90,142.
Chairman Lori Schiesel reported to the selectmen Monday, March 17, that they had started their budget considerations using the first-year budget as a base.
The committee’s first year’s experience revealed some essential considerations. First was the need to map the cemeteries to reveal where graves are located and where there are open spaces for more interments.
Schiesel said a device was purchased to detect non-ferrous materials. Non-ferrous metal detection systems use methods such as eddy current or X-ray inspection to detect metals that are not magnetic, such as aluminum, copper and brass, and are not easily detected by traditional magnetic metal detectors.
Cemetery Sexton Brent Kallstrom said the device registers items such as rebar in cement vaults to a depth of 10 feet or the steel vaults used prior to 1942. “Other than that, it is hit or miss [locating graves],” he told the selectmen.
The committee also briefly used ground penetrating radar to examine the Flanders and Skiff Mountain cemeteries. Rows are not straight in portions of the Flanders burial ground, making it difficult to determine where graves lie, while on Skiff Mountain, it was reported that no additional space for burials existed.
The radar penetration revealed two patches where there were no burials, however. “I have two large areas marked out,” said Kallstrom, “and have four plots sold—but I couldn’t have sold them until I knew no one was there.”
In addition to marking where there are no burials, the committee is using the services of Jonathan Matson of Kent Computer Services to straighten out cemetery records. “We contracted Jon for mapping, so anyone can go online and look at it,” said Bernadette Ellegard. “Everything on paper has to be digitized.”
Schiesel said the Congregational cemetery records “didn’t quite sync” between older and newer maps. “We have to compare them and say, ‘Does that name match the report?’ Jonathan is working on that.”
To prevent future confusion about grave locations, Schiesel suggested purchasing a supply of temporary headstones that could be used until permanent markers are installed.
“We could add that $20 to $40 to the fee if you feel it is necessary,” she told the selectmen. “If there is not a stone there, we have to mark what we have done so they put it in the right place.”
The group briefly discussed changing trends in burials and what that means for Kent’s cemeteries. Each grave can hold one complete burial or up to four cremains. If there is a complete interment already in the grave, one additional cremain can be buried on top of it.
With the trend going toward cremation, Schiesel suggested the possibility of a columbarium in the future. A columbarium is a structure designed to house multiple cremation urns in individual niches, serving as a permanent resting place for cremated remains.
Kallstrom referred to the number of broken stones and those lying flat in the older cemeteries. He said it could be a big expense to restore them if it were to be included in the budget.
He also made a pitch for an assistant/trainee.
“It’s not so much an assistant as a future replacement,” he said. “Historically, a lot of sextants age out, and their knowledge goes away with them. Mostly, we need to train a replacement and someone not leaving for college next year.”
