Rules

The Cemetery Association shall be known as the Middlebury Union Cemetery Association.

The object of this Association is to buy and hold sufficient land in the Township of Middlebury (near Keeneyville) for the purpose of a Cemetery, to lay out, improve, and ornament the same, and to sell lots therein to such persons as may which to purchase.

Each person who has purchased a lot or lots in the Cemetery shall be entitled to membership in the Association.

The Middlebury Union Cemetery Association will meet at least twice a year, spring and fall, to conduct the business of the Cemetery.  Notice will be given to each board member via letter and to the general public via local newspaper advertising at least two weeks prior to the event.  Election of Directors will take place at the spring meeting.  These Directors shall conduct such business as may properly come before the meeting.
 
Three Directors shall be elected at the spring meeting and shall serve a three-year term or until their successors are elected.  Any vacancies shall be filled at the spring meeting.  At the spring meeting the Directors will elect a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer by vote of majority of the Directors present and voting.  If any officer is unable to fulfill the remainder of his/her term, the present Board of Directors shall elect another Board Member to fill the balance of said term.

Duties of the Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors will adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of the cemetery, and it will also establish such committees as it deems necessary for the efficient operation of the Cemetery.  Each committee shall provide a report, in writing, of all activities conducted on behalf of the Cemetery since the preceding meeting.  This report shall be signed and presented at each board meeting, and be given to the Secretary for record keeping purposes.  No vaults or other structures above ground shall be built except by special permission of the Board of Directors, after plans for the same have been submitted and approved by the Board.  The Board will set the mowing fee each year;  it will set prices for cemetery lots and perpetual care endowments;  and it will set prices for grave openings and closings, grading, and reseeding.  The Board of Directors will bind themselves and their successors to keep the lot or lots designated in good order in perpetuity.  The Directors agree to appropriate the annual income of endowment trust funds to the proper care of trees, grass, shrubbery, and memorial stones on said lots as far as said income will provide.  Any portion of the income that shall not be needed for the care of lots may be used in such a manner as the Board determines in its judgment to be most conducive to the general appearance of said cemetery.  To ensure good work and as a protection to all lot holders, the Board of Directors reserves the right to build all foundations for monuments, head stones, or markers at the expense of the lot holder; and retains the right to remove any tree, shrub, or plant that has been deemed detrimental to any lot or to the cemetery.

Duties of the President/Vice President:

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and at any meeting of the Association shall vote only in case of a tie.  The President shall sign all orders by order of the Board and shall sign all certificates of location.  The President may appoint a Committee of Auditors to audit the financial records of the Association prior to the spring meeting.  Appointment of the Committee of Auditors should be done no less than three months prior to the spring meeting to allow enough time for the Committee to perform the audit.  The President may appoint other Committees, as necessary, for the operation of cemetery business as described in the Rules and Regulations Manual.  The Vice President shall act in the absence of the President.

Duties of the Treasurer:
The Treasurer shall collect all monies of the cemetery and pay all bills incurred on behalf of the cemetery.   The Treasurer will hold the principal of the endowment trust in a safe manner and properly invest the same in the most careful manner at the highest percentage rate available covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  At the end of the term, the Treasurer will give over all monies, books, and papers belonging to the cemetery to his/her successor.

Duties of the Auditors (3):
The auditors will meet before the meeting and audit all accounts of the Association and make a written report in a book kept for that purpose.  The report will mention notes, bonds, mortgages, bank accounts, and cash in the hands of the Treasurer.

Duties of the Secretary:
The Secretary shall keep full minutes of all the proceedings of the Board and the Cemetery Association in a book provided for that purpose and keep in his/her possession all known laws, bylaws, rules and regulations, maps, and other data pertaining to cemetery business.  The Secretary shall sign all orders by order of the Board, and shall issue a deed and bond for perpetual care, properly signed by the President, Secretary, and Treasurer after payment for lots has been made in full.  The Secretary shall keep up-to-date a book showing the date of burial, name of deceased, date of death, lot number on which burial is made, name of the lot owner and whether it is a conventional burial or a burial of cremains, and such other records as have been previously established.  The Secretary shall perform all services pertaining to the office as the Board may direct.  He/she shall also keep records of the transfer of lots or parts of lots to third parties (if information is available) and this information should be in the Secretary’s possession before the purchaser is allowed to use the lot.  The Secretary will receive reports from Committees to be kept as part of the cemetery records.  At the end of the term of office, the Secretary shall deliver to his/her successor in office, all books and papers belonging to the Cemetery Association.

Duties of the Burial Committee:

The Burial Committee shall dig, or cause to be dug, all graves within the cemetery grounds and will require of the undertaker a burial permit, as made out by the Local Registrar, showing the name, residence, and age of the deceased and the cause of death.  This information shall be delivered to the Secretary by whom an accurate registry of the same shall be made.  The Committee shall be responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations adopted by the Cemetery Association and for maintaining good order and decorum in the cemetery grounds.  Workmen employed in any capacity in the cemetery are subject to the direction and control of the Burial Committee.  Workmen who do not regard the rules and regulations and proprieties of the Cemetery Association will not be permitted in the cemetery.

The Burial Committee may take such action as may be necessary, although not expressly authorized by the rules, in order to protect the property of lot holders or of the cemetery from injury, and to preserve peace and good order in the grounds.  Whenever there are assessments levied and assessed against any lot or lots, in accordance with the rules and regulations and bylaws of the Association and the persons to whom location certificates are dead and there are no heirs or relatives of such persons who are liable for the payment of such assessments or for any cause such assessments cannot be collected and the same are in arrears for a period of two years or more, it shall be the duty of the Burial Committee to take possession of the unoccupied portion of said lot or lots and report the same to the President and Secretary of the Association, giving the number, location of said lot or lots retaken and appropriated by the Association, so that the same may be marked upon the map or plot of the cemetery and be disposed of upon such terms and conditions as seems best to the corporate officers of the Association.

 Further duties of the Burial Committee are listed under the Cemetery Rules section following.

Cemetery Rules:
The Board of Cemetery Directors have adopted the following rules and regulations which will supersede the rules and regulations heretofore in force and shall be in effect on and after April 16, 2002.  The rules and regulations have been formulated after due consideration of rules and regulations which have been in force previously and those currently in force in many of the best cemeteries in the country.  These are published for the benefit of the lot holders and the public, with the expectation that they will be observed by all.

It is the desire of the Directors that the cemetery be conducted in the best interest of the lot holders as a whole and that it be made attractive and beautiful, as becomes a resting place of the dead.  It may, therefore, at times be necessary for the individual to accept the judgment of the Directors in these matters, even should it be different from the individual’s own.  The Directors ask the cooperation of all persons in maintaining due observance of the rules and regulations.

Persons wishing to purchase lots will be given all the needed information by calling on a member of the Burial Committee or an officer of the Board of Directors, who will show plans, locations, and give prices.

All bodies to be buried in the cemetery must be placed in approved vaults or concrete grave liners as specified by the Burial Committee.

Adequate notice of any interment must be given to the Burial Committee, and a Burial Permit, as required by law, must be provided to the Association by the undertaker.

All burials shall be made on the east side of the grave marker.  The grave marker may face east or west, as the family decides.

All lots must be paid in full before any interment will be permitted.

All opening of graves, and all interments, including cremains, will be made by employees or contractors of the cemetery under the direction of the Burial Committee.

All footers (bases) for headstones or other monuments will be made by employees or contractors of the cemetery under the direction of the Burial Committee.

Only one burial per lot will be allowed.  This also applies to the burial of infants and the burial of ashes.

All funerals and interments will be under the direction of the Burial Committee while they take place in the cemetery.  Persons desiring to allow the interment of bodies other than of members of their own families must give a written permit for the same, signed by the lot holder or by his/her heirs.

Workmen in the vicinity of the burial must suspend their labors during the services.

All grading and fitting of lots and embellishing of the cemetery grounds is to be done under the supervision of the Burial Committee.

In order to preserve a more park-like appearance in the cemetery, no cornerstones to the lots will be allowed.  Markers for lot boundaries are to be approved and set by the Burial Committee.  No enclosing of lots by fence, hedge, or curbing will be allowed.  The Burial Committee is authorized to remove any and all enclosures heretofore made.

No heavy trucks will be allowed inside the grounds except by special permission from the Burial Committee, unless bringing materials for work to be done in the cemetery.

Any damage that may be done to driveways by vehicles drawing monuments or any other material must be made good by the contractor, or the expense of the repairs will be charged to the lot holder responsible for the work.

No trees, shrubs, or flowers shall be planted without the approval of the Burial Committee.  If anything is placed on any lot which should be deemed offensive or improper, the Burial Committee shall have the right, and it shall be their duty, to remove the same.

Floral designs and cut flowers will be removed as soon as they become unsightly.  All pots and flower arrangements shall be removed bi-annually by a published date to facilitate spring and fall clean-up of the cemetery.

The grass on all lots will be regularly cut by the workmen of the cemetery under the direction of the Burial Committee.

All persons are prohibited from plucking flowers, either wild or cultivated, breaking or injuring any tree or shrub, or defacing any monument or other structure.

Owners of animals will be held responsible for any damage done by their animals to trees, shrubs, or lots, or for damage to any monument or other structure through the owner’s carelessness or that of employees attending the animals.

No disinterment or removal of any body will be allowed without an order in writing from the duly authorized person.

No boisterous conduct, profane language, or rude behavior will be permitted.

Any person violating these rules will be liable to the fines and penalties as prescribed by the statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.