City of Bolivar, MO Chapter 250 Greenwood Cemetery

Section 250.010 Regulations For Operation Of Greenwood Cemetery.

[R.O. 2009 § 250.010; R.O. 2007 § 260.020; Ord. No. 96-1, 2-8-1996; Res. No. 2004-1A, 6-11-2004; Res. No. 2006-7, 7-13-2006; Ord. No. 2673, 12-14-2006; Ord. No. 2693, 2-8-2007; Ord. No. 2838 § I, 1-8-2009; Ord. No. 2897 § I, 11-12-2009; Ord. No. 2926 § 1, 4-8-2010; Ord. No. 3029 §§ I – VII, 3-15-2012]

A. Definitions. For the purposes of these amended regulations, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

BURIAL SPACE

One (1) or more than one (1) plot, grave, mausoleum, crypt, lawn, surface lawn crypt, niche or space used or intended for the interment of the human dead.

COLUMBARIUM

A building or structure for the interment of cremated human remains.

CREMATION SPACE or BABY SPACE

An area within a lot that is no more than one-half (1/2) of the size (in square footage) of a "burial space" that is five (5) feet by ten (10) feet.

LOT

An area containing two (2) or more burial spaces and designated by a number on the plat of Greenwood Cemetery.

SECTION

An area consisting of two (2) or more lots and designated on the plat of Greenwood Cemetery by a number.

B. The City shall maintain a complete plat of the cemetery on file at City Hall and/or at the cemetery, together with a current list of names of owners of all burial easements and the names of the persons buried in the cemetery. The City shall file with the office of the Record of Deeds all information and at the times required by State law.

C. The following regulations shall govern burials within the cemetery.

1. No person shall cause a grave to be opened for purposes of burial, unless a grave opening permit shall have first been obtained from the Sexton or his/her designee.

2. No more than one (1) body shall be buried in a grave space; provided, however, an exception may be made as not to prevent the burial of a small child or infant in the same space or spaces as the child's parents.

3. No body shall be buried unless contained in a properly closed, protective or non-protective casket.

a. All caskets required by Subsection (C)(3) shall, prior to burial, be placed within a concrete box or concrete, metal or fiberglass burial vault except the following:

(1) Cremation remains;

(2) The remains of infants, twenty-four (24) inches or less in height; and

(3) Those decedents holding religious beliefs that oppose burial of bodily remains in a concrete box and/or burial vault. The burden of proving the applicability of the religious exception shall be upon the proponents of the exception and shall be provided to the cemetery Sexton in the form of sworn affidavits of the decedent's minister, copies of Constitution bylaws or other governing instruments of established religious orders of which the decedent was a member of similar documentary evidence establishing the right to asset this exception.

b. Under no circumstances shall the City of Bolivar be obligated to purchase or acquire a concrete box or burial vault for a decedent, and any person asserting financial inability to purchase such a box or a vault, but who nevertheless wishes for a decedent to be buried in Greenwood Cemetery, must make arrangements for cremation of the decedent prior to burial.

4. No person shall cause the remains of a cremation to be buried in or spread on a burial space, unless a cremation permit shall have first been obtained from the Sexton or, in his/her absence, from the Mayor of the City.

5. No more than two (2) cremated remains shall be buried or spread on any one (1) grave space.

6. No burial nor cremation permit shall be issued except to the owner of a burial easement or the owner's authorized designee, agent or successor.

7. No person shall cause a grave to be opened for the purposes of burial unless a grave opening permit shall have first been obtained from the Sexton, or in his/her absence, from the Mayor of the City. No permit shall be issued except to the owner of a lot or the owner's authorized agent or successor. No person shall cause the remains of a cremation to be placed, spread or buried within a grave site unless a cremation permit shall have first been obtained from the Sexton or, in his/her absence, from the Mayor of the City. No permit shall be issued for placing cremation remains on or within a grave site except to the owner of a lot or the owner's authorized agent or successor. A fee shall be paid to the City of Bolivar in advance for the issuance of a grave opening permit in an amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section. In addition, a fee shall be paid to the City of Bolivar in advance of the issuance of the permit allowing the placing, spreading or burial of cremation remains; and the fee shall be in an amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section. No permit for a Sunday burial shall be issued after Noon on Saturday.

8. No permit for Sunday burial or cremation shall be issued after 12:00 Noon on Saturday.

9. No person shall cause to be planted any live plant or tree without the prior approval of the cemetery Sexton and as a condition to approval, the person proposing to place plants or trees within the cemetery property shall agree such plants or trees shall become the property of the City.

10. Nothing but human remains shall be buried or, in the case of cremated remains, spread in Greenwood Cemetery.

11. In addition to any other fees and costs provided for in this Section, the City may assess fees and costs as follows:

a. A grave jackhammer fee shall be paid to the City of Bolivar in an amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section; and if required by the City, such fees shall be paid in advance of the issuance of a grave opening permit.

D. No section lot, burial space or grave shall be fenced.

E. There shall be but one (1) ground flower per grave, except between the period of two (2) weeks prior to Memorial Day and June 15 in each year. Flowers or other decorations placed on tombstones shall not be restricted. In order for a family to save any decorations placed on a grave, the decoration should be removed prior to the posted removal date. However, the City/cemetery reserves the right to remove all flowers, wreaths or other decorations from lots as soon as they become unsightly or when performing grounds cleanup (removed at the discretion of cemetery personnel).

[Ord. No. 3753, 7-26-2022]

F. No tombstone, grave marker, monument, bench or other type of permanent memorial and non- mausoleum shall be erected, placed or installed on any lot or lots or on any burial space or spaces, unless a permit for such erection, placement or installation has first been obtained from the cemetery Sexton or, in his/her absence, from the Mayor of the City or his/her designee. It shall be the duty of the Sexton to prepare an application showing the type and location of the proposed tombstone, grave marker, monument, bench or other type of memorial containing such information as is reasonably necessary to show compliances with the requirements of these regulations. The following rules and regulations shall govern installation and maintenance of tombstones and grave markers, monuments, benches or other permanent memorials.

1. All headstones shall be placed on a concrete foundation with a minimum of an eighteen (18) inch depth.

2. Small footstones shall be placed on a concrete foundation with a twelve (12) inch depth.

3. All monuments, benches or other types of memorial serving a similar purpose shall be placed upon a concrete foundation that has a depth at least equal of its height.

4. The Sexton may require greater foundation depths if, due to the size of the proposed stone, monument or bench, soil type or other circumstances, safety required greater foundation depth.

5. The foundation of all gravestones and grave markers shall have a minimum of a four-inch apron, except that the Sexton may waive the requirement for the four-inch apron if existing stones on the lot do not have such an apron; and appearance of the lot would be adversely affected by the deviation from existing markers.

6. If there is more than one (1) marker on a grave space, only one (1) such marker may be above ground.

7. In the case of a lot or partial lot containing two (2), four (4), six (6) or eight (8) burial spaces under common family ownership and an above ground family marker is substantially centered in any direction on such lot or partial lots, no further above ground monuments shall be permitted on any such burial spaces.

8. The repair and maintenance of tombstones, grave markers, etc., are the responsibility of the family. If, however, the family is unavailable, the City will provide for necessary repairs.

9. All above ground mausoleums should have a four (4) inch apron or such lesser apron as is necessary to abut a new mausoleum to an existing mausoleum. All mausoleum apron installations must be performed by a monument company, and all installation work must be completed within ninety (90) days of the date of internment.

10. All above ground vaults shall be subject to prior approval of the Cemetery Committee, hereinafter established, as to location, type of construction and security measures.

G. No person under the age of sixteen (16) years should enter the cemetery unaccompanied by an adult, except solely for the purpose of visitation.

H. Burial easements shall be sold in even numbers of grave spaces and the cost for each two (2) grave spaces acquired shall be the amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section. Burial easements for single grave spaces may be sold from selected lots only and the cost for each grave space acquired shall be the amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section.

I. The City shall issue a burial easement to all persons that shall acquire burial spaces in the cemetery. Each easement shall be in recordable form, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk. The Mayor and City Clerk are authorized to issue burial easements upon compliance by the purchaser with these regulations; or as may otherwise be authorized by the Board of Aldermen. No burial easement, whether hereinbefore or hereafter purchased, shall be transferred from any third party without prior notification to the City; and the payment of a transfer fee to defer the cost of maintaining accurate and current ownership records in an amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section. Any transfer hereafter made without the consent of the City shall be null and void. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to testate or intestate succession, in which event transfers of ownership shall be evidenced by a Finding and Decree of Succession and Distribution; or similar order of a court of proper jurisdiction; or other proof of lawful succession under the laws of the State of Missouri. In case of doubt, the opinion of the City Attorney as to the legality of a claimed ownership by succession shall be obtained, and shall control the right of burial in a grave space unless and until determined in some manner to the contrary by a court of competent jurisdiction.

J. The City shall issue permanent use rights to niches in the columbarium for the deposit of ashes of those persons who have been cremated in exchange for payment in the amounts as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section, plus the actual costs of sandblasting name and dates.

K. Disinterment — Application.

1. Any person wishing a body to be disinterred from Greenwood Cemetery for any reason shall complete an application therefor in a form approved by the cemetery Sexton. Such application, together with a fee to pay costs of the City relating to the investigation of the application and other associated costs, shall be delivered to the Sexton of the cemetery. The fee described by this Section shall be in an amount as established by the then current "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" as adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Subsection (L) of this Section. No fee shall be due if the application is made by a Law Enforcement Officer of the State of Missouri or any political subdivision thereof acting pursuant to court order. If the body is to be reburied in Greenwood Cemetery following disinterment, the burial fee then in effect shall also be due upon filing of the application for disinterment.

2. Other than Law Enforcement Officers acting under court order, the following persons shall have priority to request disinterment. If any person is living with a higher priority than the person or persons making the application, such request shall be denied unless:

a. All persons having a higher priority shall give written and acknowledged consent to the disinterment; or

b. An order of a court of competent subject matter and personal jurisdiction shall have approved such disinterment.

c. The priorities for applications shall be as follows:

(1) Surviving spouse and children of the decedent that are not also children of the surviving spouse.

(2) Surviving spouse, if there are no children of the decedent or the decedent has surviving children that are also children of the surviving spouse.

(3) Surviving children of the children, if there is no surviving spouse.

(4) Lineal descendants of the decedent, if there is no surviving spouse or children.

(5) Parents of the decedent, if there is no surviving spouse, children or lineal descendants.

(6) Brothers and sisters of the decedent, if there is no surviving spouse, children, lineal descendants or parents.

(7) Descendants of brothers and sisters, if there is no surviving spouse, children, lineal descendant, parents or brothers and sisters.

If there is more than one (1) person having priority to request disinterment, the application shall obtain the written and acknowledged consent of at least seventy-five percent (75%) (including the applicant) of those persons having equal priority to request the disinterment, unless made by persons in Class A, in which event, all such persons that are "sui juris" and whose whereabouts are known must either make application or consent in writing.

Any application made that does no comply with the above priorities and rules shall be denied unless and until authority for disinterment shall be granted by a court of competent subject matter and personal jurisdiction.

3. All disinterments shall be performed by, or under the direction of, a licensed funeral director in the State of Missouri and a company that regularly sells, sets and removes vaults, both of whom shall comply with all applicable laws or regulations of the State of Missouri, whether now in effect under Chapter 194, RSMo., or which may hereafter be enacted or adopted. The person operating excavation machinery must be experienced in burials and must be approved by the cemetery Sexton. In addition, the person making the disinterment must assure that the vault or casket remains sealed during the process, must enter into an agreement with the City to restore the ground to ground level upon completion of the disinterment (or the reburial, if the body is to be reburied in the same grave) and must have entered into an agreement with the applicant relating to responsibility for damage to gravestones.

4. Disinterments shall be approved if application therefor is made for one (1) of the following reasons:

a. Reinterment in another cemetery;

b. Reinterment in another grave in Greenwood Cemetery.

c. Pathological examination to determine cause of death by a Missouri pathologist with reburial to occur in the same grave space.

An application for disinterment for any other reasons will be denied unless approved by the final order of a court of competent subject matter and personal jurisdiction.

L. Greenwood Cemetery Cost And Fee Schedule. The Sexton of the Greenwood Cemetery will establish a "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" which shall be adopted by the Sexton and approved by the Board of Aldermen from time to time, and which shall be based upon the City's cost for materials, labor and machinery, including benefits, overhead and depreciation consistent with the market price for such costs in the private sector for like services. The "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" will be readily available for inspection by the public during the City and cemetery regular business hours. The cemetery costs and fees currently in effect as adopted by the Board of Aldermen will be void upon the adoption and approval of a new "Greenwood Cemetery Cost and Fee Schedule" by the Sexton and the Board of Aldermen as now provided for in this Section.