Marblehead to re-advertise bids for cemetery repair project

MARBLEHEAD – Plans to repair gravesites at Old Burial Hill, Marblehead’s historic 17th Century graveyard, have hit a snag.Selectmen have voted to reject both previous bids on the work and the town is scheduled to re-advertise for bids on the $22,000 project Thursday.”One bidder was unqualified and the other was higher than our budget,” Town Planner Becky Curran, who is acting as project coordinator, explained Monday. “So we changed the specifications a little and added some more alternates, to see if we can get a price within our range.”Old Burial Hill is the town’s oldest burial ground and is rich in local history. The graveyard’s first burial was recorded in 1681 and many of the town’s Revolutionary War soldiers are among the nearly 1,000 Marbleheaders buried there.Of the 991 grave markers, 20 percent – 198 – need some form of repair. Consultants last year identified 37 markers that urgently need repair, 42 more whose need was described as “less urgent” and 119 that need some lesser repairs. There are also 22 missing gravestones.Curran has said the damage was caused by “years of neglect combined with our harsh climate.” She helped to compile a preservation master plan for the graveyard which includes photos of each grave marker.Marblehead’s Shattuck Fund will provide $11,000 for the restoration project to match an $11,000 grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Project Fund.The state grant carries a June 30 deadline, but Curran said Monday the project is still on time, since no work was scheduled for the winter months.”We’re expecting a spring start, probably March,” Curran said. “The work is expected to take one-and-a-half to two months.”The state grant also requires the town to institute a regular maintenance plan.