[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
There shall be a public cemetery, to be known as the City Cemetery, consisting of such lands as the Mayor and Board of Aldermen shall from time to time provide.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
The Administration Committee shall have special charge of the cemetery and its appurtenances, and shall supervise and direct all cemetery work and the care and improvement of said cemetery.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
The Street/Cemetery Superintendent shall have general charge of the cemetery and its appurtenances, keep the same clear of all weeds, rubbish, tall grass and other such matters, tending in any way to distract from the beauty of said cemetery. He/she shall dig or have dug under his/her supervision all graves to be prepared for burials in said cemetery, and shall fill or supervise the proper filling of all graves, keep the graves filled, and do such other work as may be directed or ordered by the City Administrator or Administration Committee.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
The Board of Aldermen hereby establishes grave opening and closing fees as defined below:
Workdays
Weekends/Holidays
All graves for full size caskets*
$400.00
$600.00
All others with maximum depth 4 feet
$200.00
$300.00
Columbarium niche burials
$150.00
$250.00
*Fee for all disinterrings
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
A. 
The Board of Aldermen hereby establishes the sales price of graves as follows:
Sales price — all ground graves
$400.00
Columbarium Niche price
$500.00
B. 
Perpetual Care. These prices shall include perpetual care and one-half (1/2) of the price shall go to the Cemetery Trust Fund and one-half (1/2) to the General Fund.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
A. 
The cost of engraving on the columbarium niche will be incurred at the time of the grave opening. The City will be responsible for scheduling the engraving.
Single Engraving
$200.00
2nd Engraving
$200.00
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
The cemetery lots owned by the City shall be conveyed by deed, signed by the Mayor, duly attested by the Clerk of the City, or other officer performing the duties of Clerk, and shall vest in the purchaser, his/her heirs and assigns, a right in fee simple to such lot, for the sole purpose of human interment or human inurnment, pursuant to the regulations of the Board of Aldermen, except that such fee simple right may be revested in the City, pursuant to Section 214.035, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
A. 
Niche Purchasing. A person may pre-buy a columbarium niche, without having a death in the family. A pre-buy will be limited to only one (1) niche per person.
B. 
Ownership, Fees And Payments.
1. 
The owners of niches, or their legal representatives, shall not grant or convey any right of inurnment to anyone, without having first obtained the approval of the City of Higginsville, but it shall be optional with the City of Higginsville to grant or withhold such approval.
2. 
Upon the death of the owner of a niche, title shall pass in accordance with Missouri law. Heirs of the deceased owner may designate among themselves a representative for the niche.
3. 
The current prices for niches and services are available from the City Hall Business Office, located at 1922 Main, Higginsville, Missouri, or on the City of Higginsville website, www.higginsville.org.
4. 
Payment for the niche shall be due at the time of purchase, and a deed will be prepared and issued to the owner. The niche and opening charges must be paid before inurnment.
5. 
Unused niches may only be resold to the City of Higginsville. The amount refunded will be the original purchase price.
C. 
Decorations. No decorations or items of any kind will be allowed to be placed or attached to the surface of the niche. Flowers from the funeral may be placed at the base of the Columbarium, at the time of the funeral, and must be picked up within seven (7) days of the funeral. For Memorial Day, flowers may be placed at the base of the Columbarium, up to one (1) week before Memorial Day, and must be removed within seven (7) days following Memorial Day.
D. 
Inurnment Requirements.
1. 
Only human cremated remains will be allowed. All inurnments shall be under the personal charge of the Street/Cemetery Superintendent or designee.
2. 
The Street/Cemetery Superintendent must be notified at least twenty-four (24) hours before an inurnment is to take place.
3. 
No inurnment shall be made until the Street/Cemetery Superintendent is furnished with a burial permit through the City Hall Business Office and all fees have been paid.
4. 
Sunday or holiday inurnments will require prior approval of the Street/Cemetery Superintendent.
5. 
Niches may be opened by cemetery employees only.
6. 
The container for cremated remains shall be made of material approved by the Street/Cemetery Superintendent (NO CARDBOARD BOXES). The niche interior measures twelve inches by twelve inches by twelve inches (12" x 12" x 12").
7. 
Removal of cremated remains shall be done according to Missouri law.
8. 
Each niche will accommodate up to two (2) urns. It is the family's responsibility to ensure that one (1) or two (2) urns will fit into the niche.
E. 
Engraving.
1. 
Engraved lettering will be centered and uniform. Lettering will include the person's first, middle and last name, date of birth and date of death, along with a marriage date.
2. 
Each faceplate can accommodate two (2) names, with dates of birth and death underneath.
3. 
Additional engravings or adornments must have prior approval of the Street/Cemetery Superintendent.
4. 
The font used will be a font, selected by the Street/Cemetery Superintendent, and engraved by a designated contractor, selected by the City of Higginsville.
5. 
Veterans will be allowed to have the niche face plate marked with a small medallion, offered by the Veteran's marker program. Size allowed will be two inches by one and one-half inches by one-third inch (2" x 1 ½" x 1/3"), and will be affixed to the area unused between the date of birth and date of death dates.
6. 
The engraver will be contacted by the City of Higginsville to complete the engraving, as needed.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
A City Cemetery lot shall be used only for the purpose of human interment or human inumment, and the certificate of sale shall vest in the purchaser, or his or her heirs or assigns, a right in fee simple to such lot, to be used for the purpose aforesaid, subject to the regulations of the Board of Aldermen.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
Certificates of sale of cemetery lots or columbarium niches shall be entitled to be recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Lafayette County, without further acknowledgment, and such description of lots shall be deemed and recognized as sufficient description thereof.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
No certificate of sale of any lot or niche in the City Cemetery shall be delivered to any person until he/she shall have first paid the price of said lot/lots or niche.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
No grave shall be opened or burial made in the City Cemetery, unless a burial permit therefor has been first granted and issued by the Clerk. Application for such permit shall be made to the Clerk, in writing, on a form to be provided by the City. Such application shall state the full name of the person for whose body such permit is desired, the date of birth and the date of death of such person, along with the marriage date for the columbarium niche, if applicable, and the location in said cemetery where the burial is desired to be made by the legal description of the lot and the number of the grave on said lot. Upon such application being filed, the Clerk, if satisfied that such burial should be made at the location specified, shall issue a burial certificate to the applicant.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
The Clerk shall keep a complete and accurate record of all burials made in the City Cemetery. The Clerk shall also provide a suitable book or books, for that purpose, at the expense of the City, and shall record therein the name of every person whose body is buried in said cemetery, with the date of the birth and the date of the death of such person, and showing the exact place of burial of each person by lot number and the number of the grave of such lot. Such record shall be and remain a permanent record of all burials made in said cemetery, and give accurate information of the exact location of burial of each and every body therein interred.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
Hereafter, all burials made in the City Cemetery shall be made in a metal or other approved permanent box.
[Ord. No. 3020, 9-25-2023]
It shall be unlawful for any person to enter upon the premises of the City Cemetery between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 5:00 A.M., unless such person shall first have obtained permission from the Street/Cemetery Superintendent or the Mayor to enter thereon.