It will now cost $750 to remove cremated remains, also known as “cremains,” from town owned graveyards, the Select Board authorized at a Tuesday, May 21 meeting. 

The Cemetery Commission proposed the $750 fee after realizing the current rates for disinterment did not distinguish between buried and cremated remains, according to the Commission’s meeting minutes. The current fee listed for disinterment is $1,700. 

Additionally, the Commission wanted to inform the public of the work that had been done at the town cemeteries, according to Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside. 

“Any of you who have been to the cemeteries lately, for any reason, know that there has been a lot of work done in all of our cemeteries,” said Whiteside. 

Whiteside said the town’s municipal maintenance department opened up an additional section of Agawam Cemetery, with enough space for 427 additional graves. It is called “Section C,” and is marked by 15 cherry blossom trees planted during the expansion process. 

Wareham’s three town-owned graveyards — Agawam, Centre and Long Neck — see around 55 burials a year, said Whiteside.