Sterling Cemetery Company

Rules and Regulations

Hard copies available at the Cemetery Office.

RULES AND REGULATIONS apply to both cemeteries except as noted

 CEMETERY - Section 01

 No statement of any cemetery representative contrary to these Rules and Regulations shall bind the Company.

 No burial of any-kind may be made in the cemetery without the authorization of the Superintendent.

 No gravesite (sites) sold by the Sterling Cemetery Company (the “Company”) may be used for any purpose except the burial of a human being. Should a site holder die without a will or any known next of kin, the site(s) shall revert to the Company.

 Sites for interments shall be laid off, numbered and sold at such prices as are designated from time to time by the Board of Directors.

 Upon the sale of a Site, the purchaser shall be given a copy of the Rules and Regulations in effect at the time of the sale. Purchaser shall sign an acknowledgment of receipt of the Rules and Regulations. The Rules and Regulations may be amended at any time by the Board of Directors. 

 The Superintendent shall notify the Treasurer of all sales including all pertinent information and payment.

 The Superintendent will assist any Site owner locate and mark the corners of his/her Site; however, the location of any and all individual internments shall be the total responsibility and at the direction of the Site owner or his/her family.

 All gravesite(s) must be paid for in full on the date of purchase. No site may be opened until it has been paid for in full.

 The Superintendent will decide if weather conditions have caused the grounds to be too wet or soft to allow for the opening of a grave or installation of a memorial. In case of snow, the cemetery road will be plowed for interments unless conditions are deemed unsafe.

 The maximum speed limit is 15 miles per hour, 10 mph when passing pedestrians. Pedestrians shall have the right of way at all times. Old Sterling cemetery speed limit is 9 miles per hour.

  BURIALS - Section 02

 A forty-eight-hour notice is required for all requests to mark graves. Staff must approve all burials.  Next day burials are NOT guaranteed.

 All site(s) sold after January 1, 1983, shall include perpetual care.

 Except as specifically allowed in these Rules and Regulations, no material of any kind shall be placed around the site or placed or planted on the grass, nor shall any material be allowed to lie on the grass that would injure or destroy it. No edgings shall be placed around site(s).

 In order to secure a proper landscaping development, all plantings are subject to the written permission of the Board of Directors and any planting made without such permission may be removed or altered. No trees, shrubbery or living plants may be planted on any site.  Sites sold prior to June 1, 1994 are excluded from this Rule.  Plants may still be removed from any site if deemed inappropriate or interfere with maintenance.

 No object may be placed on a gravesite except for vases, baskets of flowers, wreaths, or small items of mementos, which may be placed only on the first 18 inches of the site, at the primary monument end. (See Rule 03, Section 03) All items must be within the boundaries of the site. The Company shall have the authority to remove all floral designs, flowers, vases, plants or herbage of any kind when they do not conform to the standards maintained. Holiday decorations will be removed by Company staff after a reasonable amount of time, usually 2 to 6 weeks depending on the holiday.

 During mowing season, April through October, no items shall be placed on the ground except holidays.  Items will only be left for a week.

 One Shepherd Hook with no more than two hooks and no higher than 60” (5 feet) above level is allowed. Old Sterling cemetery: no shepherd hooks are allowed.

 Glass containers are prohibited.

 No alcohol or tobacco may be brought into the Cemetery at anytime.

 No more than 12 bodies may be buried in one Lot (which is 20 feet by 20 feet), except for baby sites. The dimensions of an adult site are 40 inches wide by 10 feet long. The dimensions of a baby site are 40 inches wide by 5 feet long.

 The earth in all Sites may not be elevated (grave mounds will not be allowed) and must be level with the surrounding ground. Graves will be seeded as soon as possible after burial and reseeded if need be due to weather conditions.

 The cemetery Company cannot be held responsible for acts of vandalism or theft by the general public and does not assume responsibility for anything of value placed upon the grave.

 Graves dug therein must be within the outer lines of the Owners Site and no adult grave shall be less than four and one half feet deep.

No double casket interments will be permitted. Two crematory remains or one casket and one crematory may be placed on one full site but only one grave marker may be used for the two. This must be placed as directed by Rules. One crematory remains will be permitted on a half site.

A liner or vault is required for every burial. No “green” funerals are allowed. Additionally, the Superintendent may require a vault if deemed appropriate.

 No easement or right of interment is granted to any Site owner in any road, drive, alley or walk within the cemetery. Such road, drive, alley or walk may be used as a means of access to the cemetery or buildings only so long as the Company devotes it to that purpose.

 Site owners shall not sell or alienate a grave Site(s) to another person without the prior, consent of the Company. Once sold, the seller is responsible for notifying the Company in writing including full information on the new owner and specifying the Section, Lot and Site(s).

No sign indicating that a Site or vault is “For Sale” will be permitted on the cemetery grounds.

No flowers or decorative objects of any kind are allowed on the columbarium.

 MONUMENTS - Section 03

 The expense of setting and the upkeep of monuments shall be paid by the owner of the Site. The work for which the cemetery Company is responsible shall consist of mowing, care of the roads, walkways and trees that extend beyond boundaries, the refilling and leveling of graves as needed, the removal of dead flowers and the reseeding of graves, plus the general watch care over the property as a whole.

 A permanent Monument or marker is required on sites once used for burial.

Monuments must be placed on the west end of the burial site. (Left end of site when facing West Church Road) The Superintendent or his designee shall mark the location for the construction of the Monument foundation by the monument company.

Southeast sections 11 through 15 are excluded from this rule.  

Sections numbered 100 and up will only have flush markers.

Old Sterling cemetery: Sections 2 - 8 markers shall be placed at the east end of the site. Sections 1 and 9 markers shall be placed at the west end of the site.

 Only one upright memorial may be placed on any one burial site. A second marker (referred to as a footstone) may also be placed there as long as it is flush with the ground. No ledger boards or full stone coverings over the grave site.

Flush markers do not require a concrete foundation but they are to be placed on a 4" bed of gravel and the marker must be at least 4” thick granite to help prevent breakage.

 All single monuments and markers must be erected on proper foundations, no more than 36" in width and with a level bottom, inside the boundary lines of the Site.

 All double monuments and markers placed on 80” x 120” sites must have a base to be and no more than 72" in width and with a level bottom.

The cemetery Company reserves the right to prohibit the erection of any monument, vault, mausoleum or marker that, in the judgment of the Board of Directors, is considered inappropriate either in material, design, message or workmanship, or that is aesthetically incompatible with surrounding or adjacent Sites.

 If any monument, effigy, structure, enclosure or inscription is placed upon any Site which is determined by the Board of Directors, in its discretion, to be detrimental, improper or offensive, the Board of Directors may direct that the monument, effigy, structure or inscription shall be removed at once. The company reserves the right to remove any broken or unsightly monument after having notified the owner by Certified mail.

 All Memorials are the property of the individual purchaser. The Cemetery is not responsible for the upkeep of any memorial. All expenses incurred to keep memorials from becoming unsightly through weather, vandalism, general deterioration or any other cause is the full responsibility of the owner. The Cemetery will only act when memorial becomes a danger to persons or property or interferes with maintenance operations within the cemetery.

The purchaser of a memorial is responsible for the accuracy of all inscriptions.

 The cemetery is not responsible for any error that may be made by an Outside Vendor regarding accurate placement of a memorial or the names on a memorial in relationship to the placement of the burials.

 All material removed from the grave and footer is to be removed and placed in an area as directed by the Superintendent. No dirt is to be spread out on the ground other than a 3" to 4"inch border of dirt surrounding the memorial or grave.

The Cemetery will not be responsible for any memorials that do not meet the required specifications, rules and regulations and is therefore rejected for installation.

No vehicle or machinery shall be brought into the cemetery which will damage roads, avenues or the land in any manner whatsoever. No truck larger than two (2½) and one half tons will be allowed on Cemetery roads.

INFANT MEMORIAL SPECIFICATIONS

 Upright Monuments - Single Size Infant Memorials - Single burial site (40" X 60"').

An upright monument may only be placed at the head of the site, site A.  Only a flush mount monument may be placed on site B, the lower half of the 40” x 120” site.  The foundation and monument must be no more than 36" in width with a level bottom.

 Flush Marker - No more than 36" Wide X 14" Deep with a sawed level bottom with a minimum of 4” gravel foundation. Flush markers must be at least 4” thick to help prevent breakage.

 Upright – Site A           Flush – Site B

 GRANITE BENCHES

 Granite benches are permitted only if they are installed on a foundation in the space reserved for a monument. Benches will be considered a monument and will be subject to all rules applying to monuments.

CONTRACTORS - Section 04

Opening of burial sites, lowering of the casket, construction and installation of monuments must be performed by a commercial entity, licensed, bonded and insured to perform such work.

The Cemetery reserves the right to exclude from the Cemetery any Funeral Home, Memorial Vendor or service provider who fails to comply with the rules and regulations or who have misrepresented their services. Site owners are encouraged to consult with cemetery representatives in advance of arranging for a monument.

When opening a grave, every effort shall be made by the owner’s contractor to save the best soil and sod for the surface cover when refilling. Reasonable effort shall be made to compact the soil giving special attention to the four corners.

Vendors and their employees will not be permitted to work in the cemetery on weekends, Holidays or any other time other than during regular business hours Monday through Friday without the consent of the Superintendent.

No work will be done while a grave side service is in progress.

 Vendors must comply with all of the General Rules and Regulations of Cemetery including the following.

       Provide the Treasurer each year, an Indemnification Agreement to the cemetery.

        Proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance.

       Automobile Liability Insurance covering owned, non-owned, borrowed and hired vehicles, in the amount of at least $1,000,000.00 combined single limit for each occurrence of bodily injury or damage. 

      Comprehensive General Liability Insurance covering premises, operation, contractual liability, product and completed operations in the amount of $1,000,000.00 combined single limit for each occurrence of bodily Injury or property damage.

 All Vendors are to leave the site and adjacent graves clean and in good condition. No tools or equipment, such as Wheelbarrows, are to be cleaned upon the cemetery grounds.

 Any damage to Cemetery grounds, memorials (including wheel marks and tire tracks) will be brought to the attention of the Superintendent. Ground repairs are to be made on the spot by the person causing the damage.

 Vendors shall be responsible for corrections to foundations for monuments and memorials due to settling or improper installation for a period of ten (10) years from the date of installation.

 Grave sites and memorial footers shall not be left open for more than three business days to reduce the chance of accidents.