SUNNYSIDE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION BYLAWS:
(Updated 06/01/2023)
MEMBERSHIP:
Each lot owner is a member of this association and is entitled to one vote at any meeting regardless of how many graves he or she owns. If accompanied by a spouse or one other representative, they may both vote. If more than two people represent the lot, they must decide among themselves as to which two will cast the votes.
OFFICERS:
The officers of this association shall consist of five trustees who shall serve for a term of three years. No one shall be elected or appointed a Trustee who is not a lot owner or representative thereof. In case of any vacancy prior to the expiration of the term of such Trustee, the board of Trustees may appoint a member of the association to fill the unexpired term. The Trustees shall meet within 30 days following the annual meeting to elect from their number a President, a Vice President and a Secretary/Treasurer.
MEETINGS:
The association shall hold its annual meeting on the first Saturday of May at 9:30a.m. at the Lannon Village Hall. In the event of any changes in the time or place of the annual meeting, the Secretary will send written notice to all members whose addresses are known. It is the responsibility of members to inform the Secretary of any change of their address. At this time, the Trustees shall be elected and the transaction of any other necessary business will take place. Special meetings may be called for the transaction of necessary business by the President. A majority of members present at any meeting shall be sufficient to transact business. Trustees shall meet prior to and following the annual meeting each year and upon special call by the President at any time occasion may arise.
SEXTON:
The Trustees shall at their earliest convenience enter into a contract with a competent person to act as sexton during the ensuing year. The duties of the sexton shall be embodied in this contract and a salary of work furnished.
SALARIES:
The Secretary/Treasurer shall receive in compensation for their duties a sum determined by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees shall receive a sum determined by the Association for each attendance at Trustee meetings. This amount may be reviewed by the members at any annual meeting.
RULES FOR LOT OWNERS AND MONUMENT DEALERS:
Lots must be paid in full upon burial. No burial shall be made on any grave that has not been paid for in full. One grave may fit a maximum of one casket and two cremations OR no casket and up to 4 cremations, space permitting.
For a $250.00 down payment, a lot will be reserved for a period of six months without interest charges. At the end of the six months; however, unless full payment is received, a 30 day notice will be sent and at 6 months the reservation will be canceled and the down payment will be returned at 75% of what was paid in for a 25% service charge.
No monument will be permitted on any lot until such a lot has been paid for in full.
If any member wishes to dispose of any unused grave sites, they must be returned to the Association. Upon returning unused graves, the Association will keep 25% of purchase price of graves for a service charge and the remaining 75% of purchase price will be returned.
Raising graves above the level of surrounding land or building mounds on graves is strictly prohibited.
All lot owners must stay within the bounds of their lots with monuments and plantings. Parameters of a grave property is from the back edge of the headston to the foot end where the next headstone would be. Each grave is 4 feet wide. The Sexton is to supervise installation of all stones and trees.
New graves require at least 8 months to settle; therefore, seeding or sodding are not advised for that period of time. Due to lack of water in the cemetery, graves will not be seeded or sodded until October. If families wish to seed or sod graves sooner, they will be responsible to keep them watered.
Dogs are not permitted to roam in the cemetery.
No person is allowed to plant trees without permission from a cemetery official and in an approved location.
All trees and shrubs planted on a lot must be kept trimmed so as to not encroach upon adjoining lots or they will be ordered to be removed by the Board of Trustees.
Planting of flowers, decorations, etc. is limited to two feet in front of the monument, if the area is exceeded, the Board will take appropriate maintenance measures. The remainder of the grave is to be grass covered.
If a member wishes to plant flowers or place pots on their graves, they are expected to maintain them by removing weeds and trimming grass around them.
Due to their interference with mowing and grave digging equipment, benches, other than monument benches, will not be allowed. Existing benches not in line with headstones or in disrepair will be removed.
No Shepherd's Hooks will be allowed to be placed on any cemetery Lot. Current Shepherd's Hooks must be removed by Lot Owner/Representative. Cemetery Staff will remove all Shepherd's Hooks and other Lot decorations that are old, worn, broken, hazardous or out of season, at their discretion.
All winter decorations, old artificial flowers and flags will be removed from graves as soon after April 1 as possible. Any items members wish to save must be taken away before April 1.
All artificial flowers or decorations that fade, fall apart or become unattached from the gravesite, will be removed.
All rubbish must be placed in receptacles or taken to the dumpster at the back corner of the cemetery.
Balloon releases are not allowed.
Do-it-yourself monument installations are not allowed. Permanent homemade or wooden grave markers are not allowed; the deceased person’s name must be displayed on a monument.
All monument foundations must be set flush with the ground so as to let the lawn mower pass over them. All foundations must have a 4 to 5 inch wash on all sides of the stone.
No cremations may be buried by family members unless a cemetery official is present to verify the location of the burial and to secure the name, age, and date of death of the deceased. The same grave opening fee will be charged regardless of whether the cemetery or the family does the burial due to record keeping purposes.
Should cremations arise which are not covered by these provisions, the Trustees of the Association are empowered to use their discretion in the matter.
REMOVAL A BOARD MEMBER:
A board member may be removed by a simple majority vote of the board members. There must be a minimum of 3 board members in order to vote. There must be a valid reason for removal, most notably for misconduct. This would include but is not limited to: lying to the Board or willfully withholding information from the Board which would be detrimental to the cemetery’s operation, theft of cemetery intellectual, financial or physical property, willful actions which damage the physical property or reputation of the cemetery, misuse of cemetery funds such as false or inflated expenses. The board member’s removal would be permanent.
PERPETUAL CARE FUND:
A Perpetual Care Fund will be maintained, to the extent as required by law, by the SELLER, for the care of the cemetery. 15% of the OWNER’S lot sale price will be deposited into this Perpetual Care Fund by the SELLER, as directed by Wisconsin State Statutes.
This agreement shall be effective upon execution of this document by both parties. The validity, construction and enforcement of this Agreement are governed by the laws of Wisconsin. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto. All prior agreements whether oral or written are null and void. This Agreement may be modified only in writing, signed by both SELLER and OWNER.
The SELLER has prepared this purchase agreement in reliance upon information and materials obtained by the SELLER and/or provided to the SELLER by the OWNER. The OWNER understands and agrees that the documents may contain errors, the SELLER shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in the documents. If errors are present in said documents, the errors do not nullify or void the purchase Agreement.
In Witness Whereof, the parties hereto cause this Agreement to be executed themselves or by their duly authorized representatives on the dates set forth on the first page and specify the Agreement to be effective on the date this Agreement is executed. Additionally, by said execution, OWNER affirms to having read the terms set forth in this document and agrees with the terms and agrees to abide by all Bylaws put in place by Sunnyside Cemetery Association.