§ 296 — Abandonment of cemeteries

§ 296. Abandonment of cemeteries. Upon a verified petition presented\nto a judge of a court of record by any supervisor of any town in this\nstate, the judge to whom said verified petition is presented shall make\nan order to show cause, returnable before him at a time and place within\nthe county in not less than twenty days from the date of presentation of\nsaid petition, why the remains of any deceased person buried in potter's\nfield, or in any neglected or abandoned cemeteries in which no deceased\nperson shall have been interred within twenty years, should not be\nremoved to and reinterred in a properly kept incorporated cemetery in\nthe same town or in a town or city adjoining the town in which the\nremains of each deceased person or persons are buried, and to fix the\namount of expenses for such removal and reinterment, and the order to\nshow cause shall provide for its publication in a newspaper, to be\ndesignated in the order, which is published nearest to the cemetery from\nwhich the removal is to be made, once in each week for two successive\nweeks. The verified petition presented to the judge shall show that the\npetitioner is a supervisor of the town in which said cemetery is located\nand (1) the name of the deceased person or persons whose remains are\nsought to be removed, if known; (2) the name and location of the\ncemetery in which he is interred and from which removal is asked to be\nmade; (3) the name and location of the incorporated cemetery to which\nthe remains are desired to be removed and reinterred; (4) the facts\nshowing the reasons for such removal. Upon the return day of the order\nto show cause and at the time and place fixed in said order, upon filing\nproof of publication of the order to show cause with the judge, if no\nobjection is made thereto, he shall make an order directing the removal\nof the remains of said deceased person or persons to the cemetery\ndesignated in the petition within the town or city or within a town\nadjoining the town or city in which the remains are then buried and\nshall specify in the order the amount of the expenses of such removal,\nwhich expenses of removal and reinterment, including the expense of the\nproceeding under this section, shall be a charge upon the town in which\nthe cemetery is situated from which the removal is made and such\nexpenses shall be a town charge and audited by the town board and paid\nin the same manner as other town charges. On and after the removal and\nreinterment of the remains of any deceased person or persons, the\nexpenses for annual care of the grave in the cemetery to which the\nremoval is made shall be annually provided by the town in which the\nremains were originally buried at a rate not to exceed twenty dollars\nper grave, and shall be paid annually to the incorporated cemetery\nassociation to which the remains of each deceased person may be removed\nor reinterred. Any town owning a lot or lots in a cemetery maintained by\nan incorporated cemetery association in which the remains of deceased\npersons have been or may be buried pursuant to this section, however,\nmay pay such association an amount sufficient to provide perpetual care\ntherefor. The petition and order shall be filed in the county clerk's\noffice of the county in which the remains of the deceased person were\noriginally interred, and the service of a certified copy of the final\norder upon the cemetery association shall be made prior to any removal.\nAny relative of the deceased person or the officer of any cemetery\nassociation in which the remains of the deceased person were originally\ninterred may oppose the granting of said order and the judge shall\nsummarily hear the statement of the parties and make such order as the\njustice and equity of the application shall require. Any headstone or\nmonument which marks the grave of the deceased person shall be removed\nand reset at the grave in the cemetery in which the removal is permitted\nto be made and in each case the final order shall provide the amount of\nthe expenses of such removals and reinterment and resetting of the\nheadstone or monument, including the expenses of the proceedings under\nthis section; except that where provision is otherwise made for the\npurchase or erection of a new headstone, monument or marker at the grave\nin the cemetery to which such removal is permitted, such old headstone\nor monument need not be so removed and reset, in which case such final\norder shall not provide for the expense of resetting. The order shall\ndesignate the person or persons having charge of the removals and\nreinterments. Upon completion of the removal, reinterment and resetting\nof the headstones or monuments, the person or persons having charge of\nthe same shall make a verified report of the removal, reinterment and\nresetting of the headstone or monument and file the report in the\nclerk's office of the proper county.\n After said bodies shall have been removed and reinterred in the manner\nprescribed by said order, said lands in which such deceased persons were\noriginally interred shall be available for and subject to such uses for\ntown purposes as the town board of such town may determine and may be\nconveyed or otherwise disposed of in the same manner as other town\nlands.\n