Chapter 12 · Public Property

Article 2. Hesston Cemetery

Sections 12-201 to 12-232 · 32 sections

12-201 Cemetery established.

There is hereby established a city cemetery to be known as the “Hesston City Cemetery.”

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-202 Supervision and control; park supervisor.

The general care and supervision of the grounds of the cemetery shall be under the charge and control of the park supervisor.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-203 Same; duties.

The park supervisor shall have charge of the care, upkeep and maintenance of the city cemetery and all work in connection therewith. The park supervisor shall see that all regulations in connection with the enclosure of lots and grave spaces and adornment of the cemetery are observed.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-204 Burial permit required; registrar of vital statistics; park supervisor.

No burial or entombment shall be made without a permit therefor issued by the city clerk as local registrar of vital statistics as provided by law. The park supervisor or other person in charge of the cemetery shall not inter or permit the interment of any dead body unless accompanied by a permit as required by law.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-205 Same; duplicate copy.

The city clerk shall maintain a duplicate copy of all burial permits issued.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-206 Contents of burial permit; park supervisor.

(a)No grave shall be opened or dug unless a burial permit has first been applied for by the owner of the lot or his or her duly authorized agent or representative or the funeral director or the person in charge of interment. The permit shall contain the following information over the signature of the person applying for the permit:

(1)Name of lot owner or owners;

(2)Legal description of the lot and grave space in which burial is to be made;

(3)Name of person to be buried;

(4)Hour of burial;

(5)Name of funeral director (if such);

(6)Size and kind of box or vault;

(7)Signature of applicant for permit.

(b)The city clerk shall, upon the approval of the applicant’s statement and upon assurance of the payment of all fees and charges fixed for such burial permit and grave opening, issue a permit giving the above information permitting burial.

(c)No grave shall be opened in any lot or space until the park supervisor shall have the permit herein required. All persons shall be liable to the city for any charges or fees required for opening any grave or making any interment when any work or interment preparations shall be commenced without a permit or without assurance of payment of the fees or charges required therefor.

(d)The park supervisor, at the time of making a return of the burial permit to the city clerk shall, over his or her signature make a full statement of the work thereunder and the charges therefor and shall describe by measurements or drawing with measurements the exact location of the grave on the lot.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-207 Opening charges.

(a)The charge for opening a grave, entombment or interment of cremations, which shall include the closing thereof, shall be established by the city clerk annually.

(b)The fees shall be increased by 50 percent if the closing of a grave, cremains interment or entombment occurs on Saturday or a legal holiday observed by the city. There shall be no Sunday closings.

(c)All fees collected for opening and closing graves, entombments and interments shall be credited to the general fund.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-208 Location and depth of graves.

(a)Each grave shall be opened by or under the supervision of the park supervisor and shall be located entirely upon one burial space as shown on the plat of the cemetery. Graves shall be not less than the following depths:

(1)For a child under 10 years of age - four and one-half feet;

(2)For an adult - six feet.

(b)No double burials will be allowed, that is, two burials in one grave, except when the bodies can be placed in one ordinary outside receptacle. Two urns containing cremated remains may be placed in a single lot provided that any additional headstone or marker is placed at ground level.

(Ord. 120-2005-002, Sec. 1; Code 2007)

12-209 Interment of human bodies only; regulations.

Only human bodies and the cremated remains of human bodies shall be interred in the cemetery. All bodies or cremated remains interred in the cemetery shall be enclosed in a metal, fiberglass, stone or cement burial vault or container.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-210 Perpetual care fund.

The perpetual care fund will be administered as provided by K.S.A. 17 1311 and K.S.A. 17 1312.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-211 Reopening graves; disinterment; application; permits.

(a)Any person or persons desiring to reopen any grave in the cemetery to disinter or remove any body therefrom, or for any other purpose, shall first obtain a disinterment permit from the state department of health and environment, and second, a permit from the city clerk to be issued upon proper application and the payment of the opening charge required by section 12-207.

(b)The application shall give the number of the lot and block on which the grave is situated, the name of the person buried therein, the time of such burial and the place where such body is to be reburied, if it is to be reburied, and the reason therefor. The application shall be signed by a member of the family or when there is no family, by the next of kin desiring to reopen the grave and upon the approval thereof, a permit shall be issued. The permit shall contain the information disclosed in the application and shall be issued over the signature of the city clerk and under the seal of the city and shall authorize the reopening of the grave as described by the application.

(c)The park supervisor shall, upon receipt of the permit, reopen the grave and remove the body therefrom. Upon completion of the work, and the reinterment if there shall be one, he or she shall make a return of the permit to the city clerk.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-212 Cemetery lots; city clerk’s duties.

The city clerk shall keep a record of all sales of lots in the cemetery in a book containing a list of lots and blocks in the cemetery, the value of each lot or crypt space, the name of the purchaser, a description of the location of the lot and the date of purchase. He or she shall issue all certificates of purchase as provided in this article and not less than monthly, deposit all monies received with the city treasurer. The city clerk shall keep an accurate account of the funds in his or her charge.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-213 Same; conveyances.

Cemetery lots shall be conveyed by certificates signed by the mayor and countersigned by the city clerk under the seal of the city, specifying that the purchaser to whom the same is issued is the owner of the lot described therein, by number, as laid down upon on the map or plat, for the purpose of interment of human bodies; and the certificate shall vest in the purchasers, his or her heirs or assigns, a right in fee simple to the lot, for the sole purpose of interment of human bodies, under the regulations of the city; and the certificate shall be entitled to be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county without further acknowledgment; and such description of lots shall be deemed and recognized as a sufficient description thereof.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-214 Same; limit on number; repurchase by city; transfers.

No person shall own more than one cemetery lot at any one time. The city clerk shall have the authority to repurchase from any person holding a certificate of purchase, the unused portion of any cemetery lot, paying therefor an amount in proportion to the original sale price of the entire lot as the unused portion bears to the whole. No person owning a lot or part of a lot in the cemetery shall convey, transfer or devise the same to any other party or person without the written consent of the city first obtained, and any such conveyance or devices without such written consent shall be void and of no effect.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-215 Planting and upkeep.

(a)All plantings within the cemetery shall be under the supervision of the park supervisor.

(b)All persons wishing to plant trees, flowers, or shrubs must first secure the permission of the park supervisor. Plantings shall be of a type or variety and in such location as authorized by the park supervisor. The cemetery committee shall maintain a list of approved types or varieties of trees, flowers and shrubs which will be permitted to be planted on the cemetery.

(c)The park supervisor shall have the right to trim and/or remove all trees and shrubbery planted or to be planted in the cemetery.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-216 Monuments and marker; permit required.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to place, construct or set any grave marker or monument, or the foundation therefor, in the cemetery without first having obtained a foundation permit therefor from the city clerk, and having such foundation approved by the park supervisor before any monument or marker or other structure is placed thereon. The charge for such permit, which shall be paid for before being issued, shall be $10.00 for any stone.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-217 Same; foundations.

All foundations for monuments and markers must be four inches longer and four inches wider than the base of the monument or marker and shall be constructed of concrete in the mixture of one part of Portland cement to four parts of good, clean, sharp river sand, thoroughly mixed in a mortar box of sufficient size to insure proper mixing. The concrete shall be poured in a pit not less than 36 inches in depth up to grade and made perfectly level on top. All foundation work shall be done when the ground is free from frost and not during freezing weather.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-218 Same; specifications.

(a)All monuments and markers shall be set inside the lot line and true to the line, also level and plumb, and if not so placed, the park supervisor shall have power to have such stones and work changed so as to conform to this regulation, and the cost and expense thereof shall be charged to and collected from the person erecting the work.

(b)No headstones shall be more than one foot in height, unless such stone shall be at least six inches in thickness and only one marker shall be placed at any one grave. No other stone except granite or marble will be permitted for markers.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-219 Same; park supervisor.

All foundations, headstones and markers shall be set under the supervision of the park supervisor or his or her authorized representative.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-220 Unloading of monuments; protection of lots.

All materials and monuments must be unloaded from the nearest street or alley and the lots properly planked and protected from all injury. All dirt and refuse of the job shall be immediately removed from the lot and the cemetery by the parties erecting any structure or memorial.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-221 Work suspended during burial services.

Workers shall suspend labor if in the immediate vicinity of an interment until the conclusion of the service.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-222 Above-ground mausoleums and vaults.

(a)Above-ground mausoleums and vaults may be erected in the municipal cemetery if they are not higher than 48 inches aboveground level, have a width of not more than seven feet, a length of not more than nine feet and shall be erected not less than six feet on all sides from the edge of the lot upon which it is built. The materials used and construction of the same must conform to all laws of the State of Kansas governing the erection of mausoleums and vaults.

(b)Monument dealers or any person desiring to erect a mausoleum or vault above-ground must first submit to the city clerk specifications showing the size of the mausoleum or vault and the plan and materials to be used in construction the base upon which the mausoleum or vault is to be placed, together with the location of the same, and no work shall be done until the construction of the same is authorized in writing by the city clerk.

(c)Other above-ground mausoleums and vaults may be erected with the consent of the governing body.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-223 Public offenses generally.

All laws of the city relating to and defining public offenses in the city shall, insofar as the same shall be applicable, be in full force and effect in the cemetery.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-224 Cemetery hours; unlawful entrance.

(a)It shall be unlawful for any person or persons (other than duly authorized officers or employees of the city) to enter into or be upon the cemetery grounds of the city during the time between one hour after sunset and the hour of sunrise of any day, or for any person to enter or leave the grounds other than by the established and open entrances or gateways thereto.

(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to enter or be upon the cemetery grounds of the city when the gates or entrances thereto are closed, locked or blocked without first obtaining the permission of the park supervisor or his or her authorized representative in charge of the cemetery.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-225 Firearms; unlawful use; exceptions.

It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge any firearms or fireworks or have the same in possession while in the cemetery. This section shall not apply to military personnel or members of veterans organizations or to authorized persons while participating in memorial services or military funerals nor to law enforcement officers.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-226 Speed of vehicles.

It shall be unlawful for any person to drive any vehicle in the cemetery faster than 10 miles per hour.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-227 Vehicles; operation; parking.

(a)It shall be unlawful to drive or move any vehicle within the cemetery except over a roadway open for vehicular traffic or to obstruct any path or driveway within the cemetery open to vehicular traffic. No person shall use the cemetery grounds or any driveway therein as a public thoroughfare nor drive any vehicle through the grounds except for purpose of making deliveries in connection with cemetery work or other lawful purpose.

(b)It shall be the duty of the park supervisor and his or her assistants to direct all vehicular traffic and the park supervisor is authorized to direct the parking or standing of all vehicles in the cemetery and it shall be unlawful for any person to disobey or disregard the directions of the park supervisor relating to the movement or standing of all vehicles within the cemetery.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-228 Animals prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person to allow or permit any animal to run at-large within the cemetery. All persons entering the cemetery with dogs must keep the dogs on leash or confined to their automobile.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-229 Rubbish; debris.

It shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of any rubbish, trash or waste materials or debris of any kind in the city cemetery. It shall be permissible to accumulate any refuse resulting from the doing of any authorized work in the cemetery but the same together with all derricks, tools, and materials shall be removed immediately upon completion of such work and the ground shall be left in as good a condition as possible.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-230 Property damage.

Subject to the rules and regulations therefor established by ordinance, it shall be unlawful for any person to remove, molest, injure, mar, deface, throw down or destroy any headstone, monuments, marker, tomb, vault, or mausoleum or decoration on any cemetery lot in the cemetery, or to open, disturb or molest any grave or place of burial therein.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-231 Trees; shrubs; flowers.

It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person to cut down, injure, break or destroy any trees, shrubs or other plants growing in the cemetery, or to pick, pluck or cut any flowers or decorative plants except as authorized by the cemetery rules.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)

12-232 Enclosing lots, mounding graves prohibited.

(a)Any fence, hedge, coping, curbing, or other means of enclosure of a lot is prohibited.

(b)The permanent mounding of a grave more than four inches above the surrounding grade line is prohibited.

(Ord. 120-1924-001; Code 1990)