Sunapee seeks bids for Eastman Cemetery erosion control project

Sunapee has put Eastman Cemetery on the market for erosion-control work aimed at stopping soil loss along the northern edge of the burial ground. The project is designed to stabilize disturbed ground, restore vegetation and protect the site, which sits beside a wetland boundary and a hydraulically sensitive area.

The Town of Sunapee Land Use Department posted the invitation to bid on June 12 for the Eastman Cemetery Erosion Control, Loaming & Seeding Project at 490 North Road. The work calls for erosion control measures, slope stabilization, loam placement, native meadow seeding, native steep slope seeding, hydromulching and site restoration, with all labor, materials, equipment, supervision, trucking, watering, maintenance and incidentals included.

The bid schedule moves quickly. Questions are due July 1 at 4 p.m., responses to bidder questions are set to be posted by July 7 at 2 p.m., and bids are due July 10 at 2 p.m. Bid opening follows at 2:15 p.m. the same day. Questions must go to Sam Fortier at CMA Engineers, and completed bids must be sent electronically to Allyson Traeger, the land use administrator, with five hard copies also delivered to Town Hall.

The timing reflects more than routine grounds work. Project documents say the goal is to stabilize disturbed soils along the northern edge of the cemetery and establish long-term vegetative cover, a sign that the town wants a fix suited to the site rather than a short-term patch that could wash out again. The location’s proximity to a wetland boundary makes erosion control and sediment prevention central to the plan.

Eastman carries deep local history. Town records say Old Eastman Cemetery was established in 1802 as a public burying ground, building on a 1798 town vote to appoint a committee to recommend burial-ground sites. In 1801, Sunapee adopted two sites, one north and one south of the Sugar River, now known as Old Eastman and Colby cemeteries.

The cemetery commission has been tracking the site’s needs for some time. Materials from 2025 reference an expansion of Section D and the need for topsoil, grading and seeding at the north edge, showing that the current bid is part of a continuing effort to manage earthwork, preserve the cemetery and keep runoff from carrying damage beyond the property line. Town cemetery records also show Eastman documented in multiple sections, including old, extension and Perkins sections, underscoring the scale of the historic burial ground now being stabilized.