The following terms, which are commonly used throughout the text of this article, are hereby defined as follows:

CEMETERY: A burial park for earth interments, or community mausoleum for vault or crypt interments, a crematory or crematorium and columbarium for cinerary interments, or a combination of one or more thereof.

INTERMENT: The permanent disposition of the remains of a deceased person by cremation and inurnment, entombment or burial.

LOT: Numbered divisions of the municipal cemetery as shown on the record plat, each of which consists of one or more plots.

LOT MARKER: A concrete post or other substantial permanent post used by the city to locate corner of any lot or plot within the municipal cemetery.

MARKER: A memorial flush with the ground.

MEMORIAL: A monument, marker, tablet, headstone, private mausoleum or tomb for family or individual use, tombstone, coping, lot enclosure, urn and crypt and niche place.

MONUMENT: A tombstone or memorial of granite or marble which extends above the surface of the ground.

PLOT: The smallest subdivision of space in a lot, being of sufficient size to accommodate one standard adult burial, approximately four (4) to five feet (5’) in width and either ten (10) to twelve feet (12’) in length. Provided, however, such subdivisions in lots designated for special use burials and interments only (such as babies or ashes) may be of other dimensions.

(Code 1961, 9-7-1; Ord. 3110; Ord. 3535; Code 2023)

The city owns and operates one municipal cemetery, located northeast of the city in section 20, township 20, range 20, Anderson County. The name of this cemetery is the “Garnett municipal cemetery”.

(Code 1961, 9-7-2; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

The City Clerk shall have custody of and keep all of the original, official cemetery records of lots, conveyances and owners and interments in the municipal cemetery and shall keep an official plat of the cemetery in his or her office. The City Clerk shall collect and account for cemetery funds from the sale of lots or receipts from other sources and shall issue all cemetery deeds and permits as authorized by law or ordinance.

(Code 1961, 9-7-3; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

The City Manager shall appoint a cemetery sexton who shall have charge of the cemetery grounds and all operations thereof. The sexton shall, at the expense of the city, maintain the same, including fences, gates, grounds, parking, streets and all other parts thereof in good condition and take such means as may be necessary to protect it from fire and depreciation of any kind. He or she shall cause all persons within the cemetery to observe the rules and regulations pertaining to conduct therein and the care and adornment of cemetery lots. He or she shall open or cause to be opened any grave upon a permit therefor from the City Clerk, close all graves, and keep a good and adequate record of all cemetery lots and make such reports and keep such records as may be required.

(Code 1961, 9-7-4; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

All lots sold shall be subject to these rules and regulations and those hereafter adopted, and the certificate of title shall so state. No lots shall be used for any purpose other than the interment of human remains or the placing of appropriate memorials to deceased human beings. Interment of the remains of, or the placing of any memorial to, any person other than the owner of the lot or a member of the owner’s immediate family shall be permitted only after written consent of the owner, owners or authorized agent has been filed with the sexton. In the cases where the owner is a minor, the guardian or authorized agent shall give such consent upon proof of authority to act. No mortgage or other encumbrance shall be given on any lot and any purported mortgage or encumbrance shall be void ab initio.

(Code 1961, 9-7-5; Ord. 3535; Code 2023)

The purchase of a lot shall be evidenced by the issuance of a cemetery certificate describing the lot and stating the purchase price. Upon the presentation to the City Clerk of the purchase money, such certificate shall be issued to the purchaser, signed by the mayor and attested by the City Clerk under the seal of the city. Such certificate shall convey the estate and such record of lot ownership and may be filed with the Anderson County register of deeds. No lot or lots shall be used as a burial place until the full purchase price has been paid and the purchaser shall have received a receipt therefor.

(Code 1961, 9-7-6; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

For the purpose of preventing profiteering in dealing in cemetery lots, it is hereby declared to be unlawful for any person to sell, offer to sell or otherwise dispose of any burial lot or lots in the municipal cemetery to any person except the record owner’s surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, parents, grandparents, brother, sister, uncle or aunt without first offering said burial lot or lots to the city at the same price at which price said lot or lots were first acquired from the city. The city shall have thirty (30) days to accept such offer with payment for such lot or lots.

(Code 1961, 9-7-7; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

The purchase price for lots and plots in the municipal cemetery shall be as follows:

(Code 1961, 9-7-8; Ord. 3820; Code 2023; Ord. 4254)

There is hereby authorized and established a regular perpetual care fund, to be known as the cemetery trust fund. The city is authorized to accept funds from individuals to be placed in this trust fund to be used for the upkeep of burial lots. Such money is to be invested in securities and the income therefrom shall be applied to the perpetual care and upkeep of such lots as the owners/contributors may direct; or otherwise shall be applied to the perpetual care of all lots or pieces of ground sold for interments in the municipal cemetery.

(Code 1961, 9-7-2; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

Block 2, lots 9 and 10 in the fourth addition are hereby designated for the exclusive use of cinerary interments or the placement of memorials alone. As the needs of the Garnett municipal cemetery change and taking into account then current burial or interment practices, the City Manager is hereby authorized to designate further areas exclusively for cinerary interments, the placement of memorials alone or for any other particular burial practice, when to do so would extend the life of the cemetery by making more efficient the use of land area.

(Code 1961, 9-7-10; Ord. 3535; Code 2023)

The charges for opening and closing graves and related cemetery services shall be as follows:

 

(Code 1961, 9-7-11; Ord. 3820; Code 2023; Ord. 4254)

All funeral directors who have charge of interments in the municipal cemetery shall be responsible for collecting and paying over to the city such interment charges as may be made by the Governing Body unless such funeral directors state, in writing, to the City Clerk at least twenty-four (24) hours before time of interment that they will not be responsible for such interment charges. All interment charges shall be paid in advance before a grave is opened.

(Code 1961, 9-7-12; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

(a)   Monuments and markers may be placed on any lot in the municipal cemetery, subject to the permit requirements of subsection (a). The design, specifications, and location of monuments and markers shall be subject to approval of the sexton. No marker or monument shall be placed nearer than four inches (4”) to a lot line and no more than one individual memorial shall be placed at any one plot. All markers and monuments shall be placed so that the inscription thereon may be read from the nearest path or road. Family monuments shall be placed at the front or west end of the lot and the individual monument or marker shall be placed at the back or east end of the lot. All family monuments and headstones must be placed upon a four inch (4”) concrete base and the top of the base shall be level with the ground and shall be at least four inches (4”) wider than the stone. Other than family monuments or individual monuments, any marker placed on a lot shall be flush with the ground. Monuments and markers shall not be set by the city but shall be set under the supervision of the sexton and upon issuance of the permit required in subsection (B) of this section. Monuments and stones with a distance of thirty-six inches (36”) or less between them shall be placed on one continuous (solid) footing (base). Temporary grave markers are allowed in the municipal cemetery for a period not to exceed six (6) months.

(b)   No markers or monuments shall be set until a permit shall be issued by the city. Such permit shall be issued by the City Manager or his delegate during regular business hours and shall be applied for on a form supplied by the city. The fee for such permit shall be ten dollars ($10.00). It shall be unlawful to set any marker or monument within the municipal cemetery until such permit shall have been issued and violations of this section shall be punishable in the municipal court as misdemeanor ordinance violations.

(Code 1961, 9-7-13; Ord. 3199; Code 2023)

The city shall provide at no cost to the lot owner or owners regular care of all lots and to attend each plot with equal care. Regular care shall include the maintenance of a responsible stand of grass, raking and cleaning, filling settled graves and reasonable and common attention to any planting thereon which are in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the municipal cemetery.

(Code 1961, 9-7-14; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

The City Clerk shall receive and deposit in the general operating fund of the city all monies derived from the sale of lots in the municipal cemetery and any service charges, with the same to be disbursed only after appropriation duly made and warrants therefor duly issued.

(Code 1961, 9-7-15; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

(a)   Injuring Or Destruction Of Cemetery: No person shall mar or injure or destroy any trees, grass, shrubbery, walks, streets, monuments or other property in or about the cemetery grounds or break open any gates or fences around or in the same.

(b)   Vehicular Traffic: All vehicular traffic shall travel only upon the paved or graveled roadways. All traffic ordinances of the city shall apply, except the maximum speed limit shall be fifteen (15) miles per hour.

(c)   Flowers: The placing of cut flowers or plastic flowers over individual graves shall be permitted; however, the city shall not be responsible for the care of such flowers or the containers that they are placed in. Further, the city shall remove, without notice or liability to the owner or owners thereof, all artificial and cut flowers when their appearance becomes unsightly or not in harmony with the overall appearance of the cemetery.

(d)   Decor Around Plot: No fence or curb of any kind around any lot or plot shall be permitted. Nor shall any ornament or embellishment or loose material such as landscape rock be used which in the opinion of the sexton intensifies or impedes maintenance operations or which renders such operations more dangerous to city personnel.

(e)   Hedges And Other Plantings: Hedges and other plantings may be located on cemetery lots, but they shall not be allowed to grow in excess of as height of three feet (3’) or a width of two feet (2’).

(f)   Removal: Should any items or plantings violate the provisions of subsections (d) and (e), or become unsightly or in any other manner not in harmony with the overall appearance of the cemetery, the city may remove the offending material, or trim any plantings to the stated tolerances without notice or liability to the owner or owners thereof.

(g)   Plantings Which Violate Rules: The city shall have no obligation to provide regular care to any lot or piece of ground in the municipal cemetery upon which items or plantings exist which violate the rules and regulations of the cemetery.

(h)   No Firearms: No person or persons shall enter or be upon the ground of the municipal cemetery with firearms of any description in their possession; provided, that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to law enforcement officers, to members of the armed forces of the United States in the discharge of their duties or firing squads of veteran’s organizations.

(i)    Permission Required: No person shall move or attempt to move any remains interred in the municipal cemetery without first applying to the City Clerk for permission to do so.

(j)    Grave Depth: Except as provided in this subsection, all burials in the municipal cemetery shall be made in graves excavated to a depth of at least five feet (5’). Exceptions may be made in cases of graves of decedents the age twelve (12) months and under and for ashes, in which two (2) cases such graves may be excavated to a depth such that the entirety of the burial container (box, vault or urn) shall be at least one foot (1’) under the final surface grade; provided, interments may be made in lawfully constructed mausoleums or columbaria by special permit of the City Manager.

(k)   No Elevated Mounds: No elevated mounds shall be built over graves, and no lots shall be filled above the grade established by the city.

(l)    Burial Box Or Container: No interment shall be permitted unless:

(1)   The interment is made into a suitable burial box or other container constructed of a material other than wood and designed to withstand the ordinary stresses of burial without caving in, collapsing, sagging, or breaking so as to provide adequate horizontal and lateral support to the surface and to adjacent graves as may be opened in the future. For purposes of this regulation, a two (2) piece, reinforced concrete box shall be considered the minimum enclosure meeting this requirement.

(2)   The interment, in the case of cinerary interment, is into an urn made from plastic, marble, brass, aluminum or some similar type of material of sufficient strength and design to withstand the ordinary stresses of burial without caving in, collapsing, sagging, or breaking so as to provide adequate horizontal and lateral support to the surface and to adjacent graves as may be opened in the future. Neither wooden nor cardboard containers of any kind, and no plastic or paper bag shall be permitted.

(m)  Burial Per Grave: Only one standard burial will be allowed per grave. No more than two (2) baby burials will be allowed per grave and no more than four (4) ashes interments will be allowed per grave space; provided, however, in any part of the Garnett municipal cemetery designated and platted for cinerary interments only, no more than two (2) ashes interments will be allowed per grave. In case of multiple burials/interments (2 babies or 4 ashes, for example) in a single grave space or plot, only one headstone will be permitted.

(n)   Ashes Not To Be Scattered: In no event shall ashes of cremated human remains be scattered on any part of the Garnett municipal cemetery property.

(Code 1961, 9-7-17; Ord. 3535; Code 2023)

(a)   Any person desiring to reopen any grave in the municipal cemetery to disinter or remove either a body or ashes therefrom (exhumation) shall first obtain a permit from the City Clerk. Such person shall submit an application on forms provided by the city and pay the deposit required in this article and in addition shall comply with any applicable law, rule or regulation of the state of Kansas applicable thereto. The application shall set forth all necessary information to permit the City Clerk to issue such permit including, but not limited to, the number of the lot, block and addition on which said grave is situated, the name of the person buried or interred, the time of such burial or interment and the place where such body or ashes is to be reburied, reinterred or other disposition made.

(b)   The fee for reopening a grave and removing a body therefrom shall be equal to the actual cost to the city for the work done plus an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of such actual cost. In no case shall the fee be less than the minimum specified for such service elsewhere in this article. The applicant for such permit shall pay a deposit at the time of application to the City Clerk equal to twice the regular burial or interment fee to secure payment of the disinterment fee.

(c)   The reopening of such grave and removal of such body or ashes shall be under the supervision of the City Manager, who upon completion of the work, shall communicate to the City Clerk information sufficient to permit the City Clerk to determine the actual fee due under this section. In the event such fee is less than the deposit paid at the time of application, the City Clerk shall in due course refund the difference to the applicant and permit holder. In the event such actual fee shall be in excess of the deposit, the City Clerk shall forthwith issue a statement to the applicant and permit holder who shall be liable for the payment of such additional amount.

(d)   When the applicant proposes a reburial or reinternment in another lot in the Garnett municipal cemetery, a service charge shall be paid in the amount required for an original interment, in addition to the disinterment permit fees required in this section.

(e)   An order of any judge of the district court for the exhumation of the body or ashes of a deceased person shall be a sufficient application for a permit hereunder, and in such case no deposit shall be required, but the cost of such exhumation shall be a claim against the Anderson County Commissioners as provided by law.

(Code 1961, 9-7-17; Ord. 3535; Code 2023)

The city shall not be financially responsible for any damage to lots and structures or objects thereon or for flowers or articles removed from any lot or grave.

(Code 1961, 9-7-18; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in as provided in the general penalty sections of this code.

(Code 1961, 9-7-19; Ord. 3110; Code 2023)