Bylaws

BYLAWS of ELMWOOD SHERBROOKE Inc.

SHERBROOKE, QUEBEC

Revised 2018

 

Trustees and Personnel

1. No person not a Member shall be eligible for the office of Trustee. 
2. The Trustees shall have power to appoint an Office Manager and an Auditor. Their duties and remuneration shall be determined by the Trustees. Whosoever shall be appointed as the Auditor or Public Accountant for this Corporation must also be a legally qualified accountant.
3. A meeting of the Board of Trustees must be called by the President or Vice-President on the requisition, in writing, of any three of the Trustees. It shall be his or her duty to call a meeting and no such meeting shall be valid unless at least three day’s notice, in writing, shall have been previously sent to the Trustees by mail or email or unless a majority of Trustees shall be present thereat.
4. It will be the duty of the Office Manager to attend all meetings of the Corporation and of the Trustees and keep a faithful record of their doings, and generally to act under the order of the Trustees and of the President.
5. It will be the duty of the Treasurer to lay before the Trustees when required at any meeting, an abstract of the state of the Corporation’s funds and submit to the annual general meeting of the Corporation a financial statement showing the receipts and expenditures during the past year, and a balance sheet showing the liabilities and assets.
6. The Auditor or Public Accountant is required to submit to the Annual General Meeting of the Corporation a financial statement showing the receipts and expenditures during the past year, and a balance sheet showing the liabilities and assets.
7. The Trustees shall have power to appoint a Superintendent of the Cemetery, and such other employees as they may deem necessary for the proper management of the same, and from time to time to fix their duties and remuneration.
8. It shall be the duty of the Trustees to set aside and invest in a separate trust fund, the security and permanency of which shall be safeguarded in every reasonable way, funds which shall be used exclusively for the maintenance of the Cemetery buildings, grounds and driveways. This fund shall be known and designated as the Endowment Fund and the Trustees shall have the right to fix the amount allocated for this purpose. Additionally, owners who wish to provide for embellishment of their lots must deposit with the Corporation an amount determined by the Trustees. These funds shall be kept as a separate trust fund, to be designated as the Embellishment Fund.
9. All records of the Corporation must be stored on an electronic archival retrieval system and back-up copies must be preserved at the conclusion of each day in which such records become altered.
10. These by-laws may be amended at any meeting of the Trustees, but must be sanctioned at the next meeting of the Corporation.

 

Lots and Graves

11. No person will be recognized as owner, or part owner, of a lot unless his or her name appears on the records of the Corporation. In order that the heirs of a lot may have their rights recognized, it is necessary that such persons file in the office of the Corporation full proof of their heirship for the purpose of being recorded on the books of the Corporation.
12. Deeds are to be supplied to the owners for all lot sales. No deed of purchase, however, will be issued until total payment for the lot or lots purchased is received by the Corporation. If the lot is bought on terms, one third of the price must be paid at the time of purchase or security given. If the lot is not totally paid for within three months after the date of purchase, 1.5% per month will be charged as interest on the balance owing. Should there be a request for a burial before the final payment has been received, the Corporation reserves the right to demand the balance of payment prior to the interment.
13. Sale of Burial Rights. The Corporation is under no obligation to purchase burial rights from burial rights holders or persons who have inherited burial rights.
14. Notice of Transfers. To ensure the correctness of records no sale or other transfer of burial rights in any grave, lot or niche shall be binding upon the Corporation until a duly executed transfer has been recorded in the registers of the Corporation, specifying the name and address of the proposed transferee. A fee determined by the Corporation is payable for each such transfer.
15. No mortgage or other encumbrance can be placed on lots. No sale, transfer of assignment of any lot or part of a lot shall be valid without the written consent of the Corporation, the price to be determined by the Corporation.
16. The Trustees have the power to determine the sizes and prices of lots that vary according to location.
17. The location of a grave, within a lot, must be designated by the Superintendent.
18. All lots will be marked with corner markers furnished by the Corporation at the expense of the lot owner.
19. All interments in lots or niches shall be restricted to members of the family unless a request is made for the interment of a person not a member of the family and permission in writing from the lot owner is first received by the Corporation. The lot owner cannot receive remuneration for this permission.
20. The interment of one body and three (3) ashes or the interment of four (4) ashes only is permissible in one grave. Other interments require special authorization from the Board of Trustees. No interment of any body or ashes other than that of a human being will be permitted.
21. No burial of a body or ashes can be made unless the Corporation has received advance notice from either the family or a funeral director, and appropriate arrangements made.
22. A minimum of 48 hours, following receipt of the notice of burial, must be allowed before an interment can take place, unless otherwise permitted by the Superintendent.
23. Disinterment of ashes will proceed under the following conditions: A family member or liquidator of the estate must provide permission in writing to disinter the urn. A copy of the owner’s Will, a list of beneficiaries and written approval of all heirs must be provided. The fee determined by the Trustees must be paid to the Corporation in advance of the disinterment after which a letter authorizing the disinterment will be issued. A family member must be present at the time of the disinterment to view the proceedings and take possession of the urn.

 

Monuments

24. A ‘monument’ is here defined as being any memorial structure, other than a marker, erected upon a lot.
25. The location of all monuments and markers will be subject to the approval of the Superintendent.
26. No monument or grave marker may be erected on any lot until said lot is fully paid for and deed issued.
27. To prevent the excessive and unsightly crowding of monuments, not more than one monument will be allowed on a lot. One monument, occupying a space no larger than 14 inches wide by 32 inches long and having a maximum height of 36 inches is permitted on a ‘two-grave’ lot. A single lot must be marked with a flat marker.
28. Mausoleums are acceptable, subject to the prior approval of the Board of Trustees. Pillows will not be allowed.
29. All monuments shall be set upon cement foundations, at least four feet deep, finished true and level at the proper depth below the surface of ground. In all cases said foundation must be done by the Corporation at the expense of the lot owner.
30. Bridging over existing or future graves for monument foundations is not permitted.
31. Designs, plans and specifications for all markers and monuments must first be submitted to the Superintendent and approved by him before any work on the lot is begun.
32. Monuments and/or markers bearing representations of the deceased are prohibited.
33. The Trustees reserve the right to refuse or prohibit the erection of any structures if for any reason they are objectionable whether as regards size, material or workmanship or if not true to specifications or not in compliance with the rules of the Corporation.
34. Lot owners are responsible for the maintenance and care of all monuments and/or flat markers situated on their lots.
35. Monuments or monument bases must not bear any identification whatsoever as to the identity of the manufacturer.

 

Maintenance and modifications within the cemetery

36. All work of any kind within the grounds of the Cemetery will be under the supervision and approval of the Superintendent.
37. No disinterment will be permitted except when duly authorized as provided by law.
38. Contractors and all workmen, while working in the cemetery, are under the control of the Superintendent.
39. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent to see that all graves that settle below the established level of the lot are filled with earth and either resodded or reseeded as soon as weather conditions will justify.
40. Monument work must be of stone of approved quality or of standard bronze. All inscriptions must be raised or sunken at least 3/16 of an inch from the general surface.
41. The expenses involved in all monument work are the responsibility of the owner. The setting and/or maintenance of a monument shall be completed and all rubbish removed before 5 p.m., except when special permission has been given. Failure to comply with this disposition will result in the material being removed at the expense of the company responsible and/or the owner. When monument work has been completed, the lot and surroundings must be restored to the condition as before work was commenced.
42. No persons other than the employees of the Corporation shall trim, prune, or remove any branches or trees in the cemetery unless engaged for this purpose by the Corporation.
43. The Trustees may authorize the trimming or the moving of any trees, shrubs, bushes or plants from any lot in the Cemetery, whenever in their opinion such trees, shrubs, bushes or plants encroach on or obscure another lot, or detract from the value of the latter, or from the general appearance and beauty of the cemetery. All plantings must be done only by Cemetery staff.
44. Contractors or their employees failing to conform to the rules of the Corporation, or the direction of the Superintendent, will be prohibited from working on the grounds.

 

The Columbarium

45. The name of the columbarium installation will be designated as “Elmwood Cremorial Garden 1987”. 
46. No more than two urns may be deposited in one niche unless permission to deposit additional urns is granted by the Superintendent.
47. The sale of niches will be in accordance with the “Deed of Sale” standard form and conditions.
48. In order to ensure uniformity of lettering etc., any engraving on the Columbarium is to be done by Elmwood Sherbrooke Inc. at the expense of the owner of the niche involved.
49. The price of a niche will be regulated by the Board of Trustees.

 

Miscellaneous regulations

50. Funerals proceedings, while within the grounds, will be under the control of the Superintendent.
51. Strangers must not approach a grave when a funeral is in progress or about to be held
52. Dogs will not be permitted on the grounds of the cemetery.
53. No plants shall be taken up or removed from the cemetery without permission.
54. No children will be permitted in the cemetery unless attended by some responsible person.
55. The Corporation will not be responsible for anything of a movable nature that may be lost, misplaced or broken.
56. No artificial flowers or glass containers are permitted on the grounds of the Cemetery.
57. The provisions and penalties of the law will be strictly enforced in all cases of wanton injury to property, disturbance or disregard of private rights. The Superintendent is directed to enforce the above by-laws and regulations and to exclude from the Cemetery any persons willfully violating the same.