By Sterling McGinn
Issues at Forest Home Cemetery in Newberry was the main topic of the August 26 meeting of the McMillan Township Board, which resulted in the formation of a cemetery management committee to address recent problems and to manage the operations.
“I have reached out to the Michigan Township Association for information on cemetery management,” said board treasurer Charles “Buzz” Medelis. “One thing is that the clerk’s only legal responsibility is to keep records—the entire board makes the decisions.”
Forest Home Cemetery was established in 1887 and is owned and managed by McMillan Township.
The board voted unanimously that evening to appoint Trustee Ted Nutkins and Medelis to serve as the cemetery management committee.
Issues in the day-to-day operations have come to the attention of the public and members of the township board.
One big issue is that the cemetery garage is being used for car body work, resulting in the township truck and loader, normally stored in the garage, being kept outside for weeks.
This was being done by the cemetery foreman. “What bothers me is that he hired someone to do this body work, and he came in on the weekends and used the building,” said Trustee Ted Nutkins.
This situation can lead to insurance and liability issues.
Cemetery workers have stored personal items, like a boat, have been stored in cemetery buildings, and the board wants them removed from the property.
Nutkins is also concerned about the hours being kept by the three employees that work there. Citing that they are keeping timecards showing 8-hour workdays, Nutkins says that there has been no one there past 1 p.m. on Fridays for the last eight weeks. That’s fraud, he feels.
“How long have they been stealing from us?” asked trustee Tom Rahilly.
The board could not answer that question.
To combat the issues with timecards, the township plans to purchase a time clock to be placed in the township offices at the Community Building.
Additionally, the expanded portion of the cemetery has not been cleared.
The board voted in the spring of 2021 to begin expanding the southern end of the complex, which contained approximately 29 to 30 acres of undeveloped land. The board hired Kevin Brow and Son Excavating to complete the project, but decided to not clear the entire area.
With part of the land cleared, roads in were laid and fencing was installed, but the board hasn’t yet hired a surveyor to measure and map out plots for purchase.
One of those new roads is about 18 feet away from its intended path and was placed on ground previously plotted.
Though the expanded cemetery area isn’t plotted for burials, the cemetery foreman recently buried his late wife in an area that was both unplotted and unpurchased. Trustees said that grave will likely need to be moved into a platted area.
Medelis said the township will create a work order, similar to the Village of Newberry, for residents to fill out to request work done in the cemetery.
Medelis and Nutkins plan to begin their committee work this week.
