Vienna Village Cemetery Association
Annual meeting
Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 1p.m.
Community Room, Vienna Village Fire Station, Vienna, Maine
Present: Jim Anderberg, President & Sexton; Debbie Byrnes, Vice President & Co-Sexton;
Cynthia Pelliccia, Secretary; Lory Zamboni, Treasurer; Barbara Gilman and Norma Williams, Board of Trustees; Libby Harville and Bob Weingarten, members.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Jim Anderberg called the meeting to order.
Cindy read the minutes of last year’s annual meeting of May 19, 2024. The minutes were accepted by acclamation.
Lory Zamboni will email the Treasurer’s report to Cindy so the particulars can be recorded.
Lory said finances are good. $23,000 has been deposited from the Dorothy Waugh account.
The large amount was to correct errors made by the Bank on previous years deposits.
One of Lory’s duties as Treasurer is the Charter Filing with the State of Maine each year which is required of non-profit organizations. The officers are included in this report. Lory will update the Filing to change the Secretary listing to Cynthia Pelliccia from Debbie Byrnes and the third Trustee from Helen Wilkey to Norma Williams
Bob Weingarten asked whether VVCA is a 501(c)3 non-profit. It appears we are not. Bob told us a non-profit organization must be a 501(c)3 in order for donations to it to be tax deductible. The non-profit also must be a 501(c)3 in order to receive grants. During the meeting, Bob checked the IRS website and State website. He found that VVCA is not listed as a 501(c)3 non-profit. No decision was made to change to a 501(c)3. More info will be needed.
By-laws and Cemetery Ordinances review
Article IV, Section 3: Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall consist of three (3) members who are not officers. The question was what are the duties of the Board of Trustees. There is no clarification in the By-Laws regarding any duties. Discussing the history of the Association, no one remembered the Trustees acting on any issue. No changes were made at this time.
Article V, Section 4a reads “The Treasurer shall be responsible for the sale of any cemetery plot, for issuing a deed and for providing a copy of the “Cemetery Ordinances” to the purchaser. We voted to eliminate Section 4a of Article V and to add that wording to the President’s duties.
Article V, Section 1 will now read “President: The President shall normally preside at all meetings of the Association. The President will be responsible for the sale of any cemetery plot, for issuing a deed and for providing a copy of the “Cemetery Ordinances” to the purchaser.”
Article 6, Section 2. We voted to add email to the sentence which will read “Notice: Members shall be given notice of all meetings of this Association in writing, email or verbally a minimum of one (1) week in advance of said meeting.”
Cemetery Ordinances number 4. We voted to add the word permanent. Sentence 4 will now read: “Permanent grave mounds shall not be allowed.”
Other business:
Plots: Jim told us that he has had a couple of occasions where a buyer only wanted a single plot. The survey only has double plots. There may be unsold single plots that never sell. Perhaps there could be a designated area for single plots. Jim will check with Creston Gaither who did the surveying. If needed, Libby may talk to Randy Oakley about single plots.
Jim asked for assistance in putting US Flags at the cemetery. Cindy volunteered to assist.
Jim said he is all set with flags for this Memorial Day but more will be needed for next year.
Libby Harville said she will check with Jill Sampson about obtaining more flags.
Debbie Byrnes said the large flag on the flagpole at the cemetery is in bad shape and should be replaced. She tried but was unable to use the ropes to get the flag down. A new rope may be needed. Debbie will look into it and ask Darrel Varney for assistance.
There are headstones that need to be repaired. Allan Harville has begun work and Libby will check with Debbie Probert and Allan (Harville) about restoring the damaged stones.
Jim said the shed at the cemetery has a hole in the roof. Libby said she and Allan might be able to provide shingles. Lory will ask Darrel if he can do the repair.
Green cemeteries:
Creating a green cemetery out of the 10+ acres donated by Alan Trask which are across the road from the existing cemetery was discussed at length. Pros and cons were discussed extensively. Even if the decision were made to have a green cemetery, it would be a long-term project that likely would take years. No decision was made and the issue was tabled.
Officers for the next Year:
The vote was unanimous approving the following slate of officers.
Jim Anderberg, President and Sexton; Debbie Byrnes, Vice President and Co-Sexton;
Cynthia Pelliccia, Secretary; Lory Zamboni, Treasurer;
Board of Trustees: Barbara Gilman, Norma Williams and Caitlin Zamboni.
President Jim Anderberg adjourned the meeting approximately 1 ¾ hours after it began.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Pelliccia, Secretary
Addendum/ Additional information re: May 18, 2025 VVCA annual meeting:
As of May 22, 2025
- Jim heard from Jill Sampson regarding the flags. Chris Smith had ordered flags for the grange and for Jim for the Cemetery. Allan Harville was able to take almost 2 boxes for the cemetery.
- While putting up flags for Memorial Day, Jim undid the flagpole rope knot so it can be easily lowered. It appears the rope may not need to be replaced.
- Lory talked with Darrel about the shed roof. Darrel broke his wrist in 3 places. Has to recover.