Walnut Hills Cemetery needs a new caretaker — but no one wants the job.
The town has been advertising the position since August and hasn’t received a single application. At an open house for the South Brookline property Wednesday, only one person visited the home.
The caretaker of the 150-year-old public cemetery would live in the single-family house at 96 Grove St. The house, with two bedrooms, a living and dining room and updated kitchen, can house up to two people. They would be required to spend about 14 hours a week performing tasks such as opening and closing the main entrance gates at dawn and dusk, maintaining grounds surrounding the house and conducting sweeps of the property before opening and closing.
This isn’t a regular job, though. There isn’t a yearly salary or hourly wage. Instead, the caretaker receives a discount on rent. They’d be required to pay a minimum of $1,600 per month, plus water, heat, electric and utilities costs — and those of the attached cemetery office building, which is used by the Parks and Open Space Division and cemetery trustees.
Because the caretaker would live in town property, they sign a three-year caretaker’s agreement rather than a lease — and the job application is actually a bid.
Charlie Simmons, Brookline’s public buildings director, said the caretaker position isn’t a traditional paid job because the math for the work and rent “doesn’t work out.”
Town bids are usually used when the town needs contractor work done. The town posts a bid describing the job and takes proposals from people and businesses, choosing the best and often cheapest option.
In this case, caretaker applicants would submit the amount of rent they wish to pay for occupying the home, with a minimum of $1,600.
While the request for proposals calls for applicants with at least five years’ professional experience and says a bachelor’s degree is preferred, Parks and Open Space Director Milee Pradhan said that’s really only intended to weed out younger, inexperienced and noncommittal applicants. It would be beneficial, though, if an applicant had experience in security or monitoring, Pradhan said.
The former caretaker, Bill McDermott, was a retired Brookline police officer. McDermott lived at Walnut Hills Cemetery and worked as caretaker from March 2012 until last spring. He paid about $1,500 a month for occupancy.
The town has already lapped one bid cycle for the position, from August to September, and received zero bids. The second cycle will close Oct. 23.
Rick Saville, chief procurement officer for the town, said he suspects the lack of bids could be due to the daunting paperwork involved.
To submit a proposal , one must send in one envelope containing a one-page price proposal. A second envelope includes a use proposal, resume and the proposal signature form.
With regular town requests for proposals — like when the town is looking for a company to provide electrical work, for instance — the lowest price usually wins out. This, however, is different.
Should the town receive more than one proposal, the procurement, building and parks and open spaces departments would consider each proposal in terms of financial needs, background and ability, Simmons said.
Department heads said they find it unlikely to need to review multiple proposals, though. When former caretaker McDermott was hired more than two decades ago, his was the only bid.
“I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping that it gets a bid this time around,” Pradhan said.
As the town awaits a replacement, should one come, cemetery part- and full-time staff will continue to complete routine maintenance on the property as well as the caretaker’s minimal responsibilities.
Randolph Meiklejohn, chair of the Trustees of Walnut Hills Cemetery, said while he isn’t concerned about the lack of proposals, he hopes the town will find a caretaker.
“It’s just nice to have someone to say hello to when you come into the cemetery,” he said.