Specifications include, but are not limited to: Opening and Closing of Graves. The Contractor shall provide the City with services required to properly excavate and backfill graves at the Cemetery. These services shall include, but not limited to, the following: A. Grave Opening. The Contractor shall, upon receipt of a work order provided by the Cemetery Office by facsimile, schedule the excavation of the requested grave. The work order shall advise the Contractor of the schedule for the interment service, location of the property, the type of grave to be excavated and any special requirements. If requested, the City shall assist the Contractor in locating the burial lot. Grave Specifications All graves shall be fully opened and prepared for use no less than two (2) hours or more than three (3) prior to the scheduled interment service. Graves shall be excavated to the following minimum dimensions: 1. Adult Single Depth Grave: Without a Vault - Eight (8) feet long by thirty-two (32) inches wide by five (5) feet deep; With a Vault - Eight (8) feet long by thirty-eight (38) inches wide by five (5) feet deep; 2. Adult Double Depth Grave: Without a Vault - Eight (8) feet long by thirty-two (32) inches wide by eight and one half (8.5) feet deep; With a Vault - Eight (8) feet long by thirty-eight (38) inches wide by eight and one half (8.5) feet deep; 3. Infant Grave: Three (3) feet long by two (2) feet wide by three (3) feet deep; and 4. Cremains Grave: One (1) foot long by one (1) foot wide by thirty (30) inches deep. All excavated material shall be placed in a trailer or wagon of sufficient capacity to minimize spillage and temporally removed from the gravesite. Any material dropped from the excavator bucket or spilled from the trailer or wagon shall be promptly removed and the gravesite cleaned. The equipment used to excavate the grave, trailer with excavated material and all hand tools shall be removed from the gravesite and temporarily stored at a distant location to avoid interference with the interment service. Any open grave, unattended for any length of time, must be properly marked, barricaded or covered in a manner satisfactory to the City Administrator (or designated representative). Under no circumstance shall men and/or equipment remain at the gravesite while the bereaved are in attendance unless so authorized by the representative of the funeral home in attendance. B. Grave Closure. All graves shall be backfilled and compacted as soon as possible following conclusion of the interment service. However, closure may not begin until the last of the bereaved has departed the cemetery and the contractor has set aside any flowers or other items left by the bereaved at the gravesite and appropriately protected them from damage of any kind until the grave has been properly backfilled and seeded. Furthermore, closure must be completed within one (1) hour following completion of the service unless a variance has been authorized by the representative of the funeral home in attendance. The Contractor shall compact the backfill in stages to minimize the possibility of future grave settlement. Compaction substantially decreases the subsequent movement of the backfill and infiltration of water. The following procedure shall be used whether or not the coffin is placed in a burial vault prior to interment: The backfill shall be placed and compacted in at least four (4) layers from which all stones, rocks or other materials larger than one (1) inch in largest dimension have been removed. The bottom 3 layers may be constructed using excavated material, if otherwise suitable. The top layer shall be approximately four (4) inches thick and constructed of topsoil suitable for the development of turf. The first layer shall be placed to just cover the top of the casket and fill the void between the casket and the wall of the excavation. Care must be taken that this void be completely filled and compacted evenly by tamping with an appropriate sized rod as the backfill is placed. The addition of water may assist in achieving an even distribution of sand or similarly grained soils. Recognizing that the ultimate degree of compaction achievable is dependent on the rigidity of the casket or vault, the Contractor must seek to correlate and maximize compaction accordingly. The next two layers would then be careful placed and compacted individually between the top of the first layer and approximately four (4) inches below the existing ground level. Each layer should be approximately equal in depth and carefully compacted with water added as necessary to improve the results of the compaction effort. Water, if evenly distributed throughout the backfill, will greatly facilitate compaction. Care, however, must be taken to avoid incorporating excessive moisture in clay or an excessively dry backfill of most other soil types. A four (4) inch layer of topsoil shall be placed on top of the third backfill layer and prepared with the addition of any fertilizers or necessary soil amendments as a bed for the establishment of turf. The Contractor shall seed the prepared bed with a seed mixture suitable for the establishment of turf compatible with the surrounding turf. Consideration shall also be given to the time of year, necessary adjustment of irrigation sprinkler(s) and other factors necessary to assure seed generation and growth. 5. All flowers or other items left at the gravesite shall be returned to a position comparable to their original position following completion of grave backfill and turf establishment. Closure will not be considered complete until the flowers or other items left by the bereaved have been restored to their approximate original location. Flowers or other items left at the gravesite shall not be removed by the Contractor for a minimum of seven (7) days following the date of interment. Furthermore, flowers maintained in vases or temporary nameplates or decorations elevated above the ground shall not be removed for a period of forty-five (45) days following interment or placement of a permanent monument, whichever occurs first.
