NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Cemetery Commission indicated it had no issues with the addition of so-called "green" burials at Southview Cemetery and referred the matter to the mayor's office. 

 

The decision came after a discussion on last Friday with representatives from the Cemetery Department and input from Nicholas Flynn of Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Homes.

 

"The city has been approached about green burials, a true interest in having them happen," said Rosemari Dickinson, of the Cemetery Department. "And at this time we haven't done any. So we talked about it, and thought it had to come before you, to give the advice to administration, and in reviewing it and deciding if it's something that you want to support."

 

Paul Markland, of the Department of Public Works, picked out a spot near the Weber Mausoleum that could used for green burial lots. 

 

"It's kind of pie-shaped, more or less. It's at a higher elevation, you're probably 150 feet above the pond," he said, referring to the pond in the northwest corner of cemetery near the equipment building. 

 

"I don't know the exact number how many we can get in there yet, I'm going to guess 25 to 30."

 

Dickinson said the draft policy presented would allow someone who already owns a lot to have a green burial in one. 

 

"We would suggest that they can do that," she said. "It just would be the type of vault that they would use."  

 

She referred to Flynn, who said most cemeteries on the East Coast require a container or vault, which is "kind of against a green burial."

 

"However, at many Jewish cemeteries, which are basically green burials — no embalming, a pine box," he said. "For example, Congregation Beth Israel owns its own cemetery Clarksburg, and there's no vaults being used there, in the Jewish cemeteries in Pittsfield, South County."

 

Flynn said he would assume that going into an existing lot, they would use an open-bottom vault. The top and the sides would remain as guides to the grave diggers. 

 

It would be up to the city to determine if that would be needed in the green burial section.

 

Commissioner Edward Marino asked if they would soil samples or were they concerns about wetlands. Markland said the burial lot was high enough and that it was "pretty rare" to hit water in the rest of the cemetery. 

 

Marino also asked about the expansion of Southview behind the skating rink. 

 

"We would like to adopt the fact that we would do green burials there, because we don't currently do that, and this would be your recommendation to say to administration that you'd be willing to approve green burials, and then from there, we could work on locations," said Dickinson.

 

She said she assumed someone wishing to have a green burial, who did not already have a lot, would have to buy one in the new section.

 

All the burials in the city used to be green years ago, Marino noted. "I mean, we've done work in Blackinton and Hill Side Cemetery restoring stones, and you can walk along the ground just sinks out."

 

Flynn said the use of cement vaults came into fashion during his grandfather's time in the 1940s.

 

It was noted that other communities including Pittsfield, Dalton, Lee and Great Barrington allow for green burials. 

 

"Personally, I have no objections doing it at all," said Commissioner Lawrence Burdick. Marino made a motion to support, which was unanimous with Chair Lily Marceau.