In addressing recent issues at city maintained cemeteries, and namely Louisville Memorial Cemetery, Jody Fulton, the Cemetery Director, stated that the City is not trying to inconvenience anyone, and family members of deceased loved ones are not trying to inconvenience city workers.
Fulton was addressing the issue of flowers and other remembrances placed at grave sites, and recently night lights and others items that have been left at graves, which causes problems for the maintenance personnel, who have to stop and move these items as they mow and weed eat, and then try to replace them.
Fulton said it takes two-and-a-half days to maintain the 35-acre cemetery without having to move items, and moving things can add as much as two days to the time frame, and his crew is trying to do the job as efficiently as possible.
He added that the ideal thing would be to contact individuals and have them remove items from graves, but with the number of graves in the cemetery that is just not feasible. According to City Ordinance 383, the Cemetery Ordinance, the only items which can be placed at a grave are flowers, and those must be at the head of the marker, not on the grave itself.
A copy of the Cemetery Ordinance is available at City Hall, and can also be seen at the City's website at www.cityoflouisvillems.com. Under DEPARTMENTS/SERVICES, click on Cemetery. There will be a link to the Cemetery Ordinance on that page.
There is also a link on the City of Louisville smartphone app, which can be downloaded from the app store or Google Play by searching for 'City of Louisville, MS'. In the app, click on 'Weblinks', then on 'Ordinances'.
Sections 5 & 6 of Ordinance 383, which deal with these issues, are seen below:
Section 5: That all trees, shrubbery, or flowers in said cemeteries shall remain the property of the cemetery and cannot be removed without written consent of the officials of the cemetery, and no laborers or gardeners, except employees of said cemetery, shall be allowed or permitted within the grounds, without a special permit from the officials of said cemetery. All shrubs, trees, and flowers shall be planted under the direction and with the approval of the officials of the cemetery and no flowers, shrubs and trees shall be planted on an individual lot. No mounds on graves shall be permitted and no enclosures of graves or lots with stones or other material other than the natural sod of the remainder of the cemetery will be permitted.
Section 6: That there is reserved the right to remove any vases, jars or other receptacle when same have served their purpose and becomes deteriorated or unsightly as determined by the officials of said cemeteries.
