By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The Naples Village Cemetery — which was donated to the town by the famous Goodrich family — lies in the direct view of passers-by. 

It is undoubtedly the most visible town-owned cemetery. That is why the recently formed Naples Cemetery Committee has decided to focus on this graveyard by making upgrades that will improve its aesthetics, according to committee member Kathy Keinath.  

On Monday, she provided the Naples Board of Selectmen with an update on the cemetery improvements during the board’s meeting via Zoom. 

In March, a range of restoration options will be presented to the selectmen, and will likely be part of the town’s proposed 2021-22 budget. 

By the same token, the committee does plan to pair up with the Naples Historical Society to engage in some fund raising for the cemetery projects, Keinath said.   

An ornate wrought iron fence could be replicated for around $18,000 with less pricey materials and volunteer labor, or the town could opt for the Cadillac version, a historically accurate fence constructed by a professional company for about twice the price, Keinath said. 

That item would be purchased by money from fund raising, she said.  

The Naples chairman decided to put the main focus on headstone restoration before considering the fence replacement.  

Another part of the discussion centered on fund raising in a manner that would allow that money to be used specifically for certain cemetery projects.

“It is a story that will unfold as we put together the numbers. Hopefully, I will have that ready for the select-board by March,” Keinath said. 

“I have found 19 cemeteries in the town of Naples. We talked about new signage for all the cemeteries. That is part of what we will be able to get the funds for,” she said. 

She discussed what has already been done at the village cemetery. Q-Team Tree Service removed stumps that were likely to cause damage to headstones. Also, someone from the Maine Old Cemetery Association figured out how many stones need to be reset. So, preliminary work was done this autumn and will resume in the spring, she said. The committee hopes that headstone restoration and planting will start no later than May and be completed by Memorial Day, she said. 

“The fence and the cemetery were donated by the Goodrich family. They are associated with the Goodrich Steamship Lines. So, I see it as very historical,” she said. 

“The sticky part of the restoration” is the black iron fence around the cemetery. She got five quotes to repair the wrought iron fence.

“We are looking at some good ol’ Yankee ingenuity in putting the fence back together,” she said, starting with the least expensive option. 

“I do have volunteers to put the fence back in, to put the posts back up, to thread thinner iron pipes between the posts. I talked with eight welders. They said we can use an epoxy like material for the wrought iron work. It will last the test of time,” she said. 

The finials are what is expensive. Former Museum Curator Merry Watson priced the replacement of five finials at more than $9,000; and now ten need to be replaced. 

“It would not be historically correct, but it would give the appearance [of that] driving by,” she said. 

In order to pay for the project, the committee considered an adopt-a-finalfundraiser, Keinath said.

On the other end of the spectrum, it the most expensive restoration method.  

“We could go for the Cadillac version, and have it taken down and restored by a company that has done cemetery fences in Portland. That would be close to between $25,000 and $30,000. You would end up with an absolutely gorgeous fence,” she said. 

Chairman Jim Grattelo spoke.

“You would agree the headstones are the number one priority,” he said.

Keinath responded, saying, “I wouldn’t mind getting that fence back up.”

Grattelo spoke again.

“I support the fundraising effort, and the select-board earmarking those funds for the cemetery,” Grattelo said.  “We have to be careful for what we do beyond the gravestones and simple maintenance. We do need to bring this before the budget committee.”

Earlier in the conversation, Keinath said that members of the cemetery committee were working with the Historical Society to do fundraising. She asked if after the fundraising events, would the committee be able to access money to re-do the fence?

Naples Town Manager John Hawley addressed that topic. 

“We have to be cautious. It is against the law for us to spend taxpayers’ dollars on private property,” Hawley said. “There are three cemeteries that are public. People purchase plots from the town. The town takes care of the perpetual maintenance. As we looked through these cemeteries, [we noticed] a number of headstones that are busted. I would have to have a legal opinion on if headstones are part of perpetual care.”

“Because it is public property, we want our public property to look decent,” he said.

Then, he said if a municipal entity engaged in fundraising, the donations would go into the general fund. The cemetery committee was formed by the board of selectmen, and therefore is municipal entity. 

However, if the Historical Society did the fundraising, and they gave those to the town and earmarked them for cemetery projects, that would be permissible, he said.