Our Policies and Procedures
Maple LEaf Cemetery
Maple Leaf Cemetery Policies and Procedures
OPERATIONAL:
The Caretaker has the right and responsibility to interpret and enforce all policies and procedures.
The Caretaker is the overseer of all Cemetery Deeds, Transfers, grave sales and any attendant paper and computer records required.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to operate wheeled mowing equipment.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to trim or prune shrubs and/or trees within the cemetery.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to plant flowers, shrubs, or trees. No flowers, shrubs, or trees are to be planted on individual graves.
Within Maple Leaf Cemetery there are two designations of graves, a full burial grave and a cremation burial grave. On a full burial grave the following will be allowed: the burial of one human remains in a casket with liner, or the one human remains in a casket with liner and up to two cremated remains with liners, or up to three cremated remains with liners with no human casketed remains. On a cremation grave, burial of up to two cremated remains with liners are allowed.
All caskets interred in Maple Leaf Cemetery must be placed in a cement burial liner, or a burial vault. Green burials are now offered by arrangement with the Caretaker.
All urns interred in Maple Leaf Cemetery must be placed in a separate urn liner or urn vault. If the urn is constructed as an urn vault, the Caretaker has the authority to waive this requirement.
Only the cemetery staff may open and close a grave. In the event neither of the staff are available, the Caretaker may authorize the Contractor to open and close after specifically identifying the site to be opened.
Any disinterment must be in accordance with Washington State Law and will be charged a flat rate of $2500, plus any special equipment or extra manpower needed. Disinterment is subject to conditions under the ground and are at the staff’s sole discretion.
There will be no burials scheduled on the following days: Sunday, Easter, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, or Independence Day.
The Cemetery Staff will not lower a casket or an urn into the grave with family members present, for safety and health reasons.
All cemetery expenses, including grave cost, opening, and closing of the grave, and liner, must be paid not less than three business days prior to any services being performed, unless other arrangements have been made in writing with the cemetery Caretaker.
No monuments or markers are permitted on the grave until the cemetery expenses are paid in full.
All Funerals must be complete and all family, friends, guests, and other attendees departed from the cemetery no later than 3:30pm to allow the cemetery staff necessary time to close the grave site and do cemetery clean up before cemetery closing time.
A family member must meet with cemetery staff personnel a minimum of 3 working days prior (example: for a funeral to take place on Friday the family must visit the cemetery no later than Tuesday) to any event to verify the site and to allow cemetery personnel necessary time to prepare the site for the event.
Either upright monuments or ground level markers are allowed on the grave, once cemetery expenses have been paid.
TRANSFER OF GRAVES
Recently there has been some confusion as to the private sale of cemetery plots, While Maple leaf Cemetery does not broker private grave sales, we do require that the buyer and seller submit the required paperwork to make the sale legal in island County. To facilitate this process, we have instituted the following guidelines:
· Every sale of plots must be accompanied by a Transfer Form, available at the Cemetery office during business hours.
· The sale must be completed at least seven (7) business days prior to any planned service, to allow for processing the required forms.
· The sale of a plot is subject to verification by cemetery staff, to ensure that the plot is suitable for use and location verified.
· Payment is required three (3) business days before services, to allow for site preparation and equipment placement.
CARE AND DECORATION OF GRAVES
A cemetery plot owner’s rights are contractual and subject to the ordinary rules of contract law. In nearly all jurisdictions, one who purchases and has conveyed to him/her a plot in a public cemetery does not acquire the fee to the soil. He/she acquires only a right of burial therein which has been variously designated as an easement or as a license or privilege. Ebenezer Baptist Church, Inc. v. White, 513 So. 2d 1011 (Ala. 1987).
Put simply, this means you do not own the land or have ownership rights of any type to any land. Instead, you have an easement or license to use the land for the purpose of keeping your loved one’s remains there.
No glass containers are allowed in the cemetery for flower or plant holders.
Employees will sweep the cemetery grounds quarterly (February, May, August, November 1st) removing trash, debris, and nonconforming items. This is to facilitate maintenance of the grounds, mowing, and preserving the attractiveness of the grounds. Examples of items that will be removed are:
Glass
Metal posts or hangers
Dead, rotted, or out of season flowers, real or artificial
Trash or inappropriate items
Rulings on decorations are available from the Caretaker and Staff during business hours.
All structures that rise above the surface of the ground, whether monuments, markers, or flower holding devices must have a four-inch cement or granite border level to the ground. Grave markers that are flush to the ground do not require a border. Flowers and vases must be placed in holders that have a ground level four-inch border of cement or granite around them.
When flowers are deemed unsightly, they may be picked up and disposed of along with their containers by the staff. If the container is a permanent part of the flower holder or marker, it will be left; however, the flowers will still be discarded. Plastic flowers are allowed under the same rules.
To prevent grave spaces from becoming too cluttered and the grass from growing out of control amidst that clutter, and to enable cemetery personnel access to the grave space for maintenance such as mowing or weed eating, only one item is allowed per grave and it must fit on the headstone, not on the grass.
Maple Leaf Cemetery is not responsible for any damage to monuments, markers, or other devices caused by time, war, acts of God, or vandalism. Maple Leaf Cemetery is only responsible for damage caused by the cemetery staff or contracted personnel.
6. No monuments, markers, or other devices, including their attached border/s may exceed the width of an individual grave or thirty-six inches, whichever is less, unless specifically authorized in writing. In the event multiple adjacent graves are purchased by a family, a monument or marker may span those graves as long as the monument or marker does not exceed the thirty-six inch (or the width of the grave, whichever is less) times the number of adjacent graves involved.
A maximum of two markers are allowed on a cremation grave. A maximum of three markers are allowed on a full burial grave.
No fences plantings, hedges, or other enclosures of any kind will be permitted on or around any graves or family plots.
Pets must be always kept on a leash and pet owners are responsible to clean up and remove any pet defecation from the cemetery properties.
OPERATIONAL:
The Caretaker has the right and responsibility to interpret and enforce all policies and procedures.
The Caretaker is the overseer of all Cemetery Deeds, Transfers, grave sales and any attendant paper and computer records required.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to operate wheeled mowing equipment.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to trim or prune shrubs and/or trees within the cemetery.
Only employees of Maple Leaf Cemetery are to plant flowers, shrubs, or trees. No flowers, shrubs, or trees are to be planted on individual graves.
Within Maple Leaf Cemetery there are two designations of graves, a full burial grave and a cremation burial grave. On a full burial grave the following will be allowed: the burial of one human remains in a casket with liner, or the one human remains in a casket with liner and up to two cremated remains with liners, or up to three cremated remains with liners with no human casketed remains. On a cremation grave, burial of up to two cremated remains with liners are allowed.
All caskets interred in Maple Leaf Cemetery must be placed in a cement burial liner, or a burial vault. Green burials are now offered by arrangement with the Caretaker.
All urns interred in Maple Leaf Cemetery must be placed in a separate urn liner or urn vault. If the urn is constructed as an urn vault, the Caretaker has the authority to waive this requirement.
Only the cemetery staff may open and close a grave. In the event neither of the staff are available, the Caretaker may authorize the Contractor to open and close after specifically identifying the site to be opened.
Any disinterment must be in accordance with Washington State Law and will be charged opening and closing costs.
There will be no burials scheduled on the following days: Sunday, Easter, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, or Independence Day.
All cemetery expenses, including grave cost, opening and closing of the grave, and liner, must be paid not less than three business days prior to any services being performed, unless other arrangements have been made in writing with the cemetery Caretaker.
No monuments or markers are permitted on the grave until the cemetery expenses are paid in full.
All Funerals must be complete and all family, friends, guests, and other attendees departed from the cemetery no later than 3:30pm to allow the cemetery staff necessary time to close the grave site and do cemetery clean up before cemetery closing time.
A family member must meet with cemetery staff personnel a minimum of 3 working days prior (example: for a funeral to take place on Friday the family must visit the cemetery no later than Tuesday) to any event to verify the site and to allow cemetery personnel necessary time to prepare the site for the event.
Either upright monuments or ground level markers are allowed on the grave, once cemetery expenses have been paid.
TRANSFER OF GRAVES
Recently there has been some confusion as to the private sale of cemetery plots, While Maple leaf Cemetery does not broker private grave sales, we do require that the buyer and seller submit the required paperwork to make the sale legal in island County. To facilitate this process, we have instituted the following guidelines:
· Every sale of plots must be accompanied by a Transfer Form, available at the Cemetery office during business hours.
· The sale must be completed at least seven (7) business days prior to any planned service, to allow for processing the required forms.
· The sale of a plot is subject to verification by cemetery staff, to ensure that the plot is suitable for use and location verified.
· Payment is required three (3) business days before services, to allow for site preparation and equipment placement.
CARE AND DECORATION OF GRAVES
A cemetery plot owner’s rights are contractual and subject to the ordinary rules of contract law. In nearly all jurisdictions, one who purchases and has conveyed to him/her a plot in a public cemetery does not acquire the fee to the soil. He/she acquires only a right of burial therein which has been variously designated as an easement or as a license or privilege. Ebenezer Baptist Church, Inc. v. White, 513 So. 2d 1011 (Ala. 1987).
Put simply, this means you do not own the land or have ownership rights of any type to any particular land. Instead, you have an easement or license to use the land for the purpose of keeping your loved one’s remains there.
No glass containers are allowed in the cemetery for flower or plant holders.
Employees will sweep the cemetery grounds quarterly (February, May, August, November 1st) removing trash, debris, and nonconforming items. This is to facilitate maintenance of the grounds, mowing, and preserving the attractiveness of the grounds. Examples of items that will be removed are:
Glass
Metal posts or hangers
Dead, rotted, or out of season flowers, real or artificial
Trash or inappropriate items
Rulings on decorations are available from the Caretaker and Staff during business hours.
All structures that rise above the surface of the ground, whether monuments, markers, or flower holding devices must have a four-inch cement or granite border level to the ground. Grave markers that are flush to the ground do not require a border. Flowers and vases must be placed in holders that have a ground level four-inch border of cement or granite around them.
When flowers are deemed unsightly, they may be picked up and disposed of along with their containers by the staff. If the container is a permanent part of the flower holder or marker, it will be left; however, the flowers will still be discarded. Plastic flowers are allowed under the same rules.
To prevent grave spaces from becoming too cluttered and the grass from growing out of control amidst that clutter, and to enable cemetery personnel access to the grave space for maintenance such as mowing or weed eating, only one item is allowed per grave and it must fit on the headstone, not on the grass.
Maple Leaf Cemetery is not responsible for any damage to monuments, markers, or other devices caused by time, war, acts of God, or vandalism. Maple Leaf Cemetery is only responsible for damage caused by the cemetery staff or contracted personnel.
No monuments, markers, or other devices, including their attached border/s may exceed the width of an individual grave or thirty-six inches, whichever is less, unless specifically authorized in writing. In the event multiple adjacent graves are purchased by a family, a monument or marker may span those graves as long as the monument or marker does not exceed the thirty-six inch (or the width of the grave, whichever is less) times the number of adjacent graves involved.
A maximum of two markers are allowed on a cremation grave. A maximum of three markers are allowed on a full burial grave.
No fences, plantings, hedges, or other enclosures of any kind will be permitted on or around any graves or family plots.
Pets must be kept on a leash at all times and pet owners are responsible to clean up and remove any pet defecation from the cemetery properties.