[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019[1]]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
CEMETERY LOT
Any parcel of ground in the City Cemetery or Memorial Gardens Cemetery that is set aside for burials, and includes, full lots, half lots, and single grave lots.
CHILD
A person who died prior to the twelfth anniversary of his or her birthday.
CITY
The City of Louisiana.
FOOTSTONE MARKER
A memorial stone or marker placed at the foot area of a grave.
FULL LOT
Ten (10) platted burial spaces in the Riverview Cemetery.
HALF LOT
Five (5) platted burial spaces in the Riverview Cemetery.
HEADSTONE MARKER
The main memorial marker placed at the head of a grave site. Headstone markers may be flat, angled or upright.
INFANT GRAVE
A grave dug to accommodate a casket of less than four (4) feet in length and width.
MARKER
A burial marker, grave marker, tombstone, headstone, footstone, gravestone or other memorial identifying the occupant of a particular grave that may include such data as the name of the individual, date and place of birth, date and place of death.
SINGLE GRAVE LOT
A platted space for burial of one (1) person.
UPRIGHT MARKER
Shall be any marker that protrudes more than one (1) inch above ground level.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Chapter 135, containing Sections 135.010 through 135.170, was repealed 12-17-2019 by Ord. No. 24-2019.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The entire care, custody and management of all physical property of the City cemeteries is hereby placed in the charge of the City Administrator under direction of the Mayor and City Council.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The City Sexton shall be under the orders and directions of the City Administrator in taking care of the cemeteries, and it shall be his/her duty to keep the cemeteries in such order and repair as may be ordered. At the discretion of the City Administrator and/or Mayor the City Sexton may have other duties within the City.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Individuals desiring to purchase lots may do so at the Treasurer's office at the City of Louisiana.
B. 
No lot shall be used for any other purpose than for the burial of the human dead.
C. 
Only one (1) body, with the exception of a pregnant woman and her fetus, may be placed in a single grave plot. However, one (1) cremated remains may be placed in the same grave with a body once an additional fee (as outlined in the fee schedule) is paid to the City Treasurer.
D. 
Cremated remains of no more than six (6) persons may be placed in a single grave once an additional fee per cremated remains (as outlined in the fee schedule) is paid to the City Treasurer.
E. 
The City reserves the right to make modifications in the boundaries, sections, drives, walks, grading, pipelines or any part of a cemetery from time to time. The City also has the right to use cemetery property which is not sold to individual lot owners for cemetery purposes.
F. 
The City shall, at all times, have a perpetual right of ingress and egress over lots for the purpose of passing to and from other lots, and other cemetery business including but not limited to maintenance of the cemetery grounds.
G. 
Descriptions of lots for the purpose of deeds and record keeping will be in accordance with the plat of the cemetery which is kept on file by the Sexton and the City Treasurer.
H. 
It is the responsibility of the deed holder to notify the City Treasurer of any change in address.
I. 
The City does not assume the responsibility for grave openings. Arrangements will be made by the Funeral Director with a private contractor and the fee for the grave opening will be paid by the Funeral Director or the Deed holder(s). The City reserves the right to refuse a private contractor for the purpose of grave openings. All private contractors must have a City merchant license before any grave openings may be done.
J. 
No person owning a lot in the City cemeteries shall be permitted to grade or fill his/her lots above the natural elevation of the lots adjoining his/hers, nor to fill or grade the same in any manner that will injure the appearance, usefulness or value of the adjoining lots. All work shall be preapproved by the City Sexton.
K. 
The general care of the cemetery shall be performed by the City or its agents and includes the cutting of the grass, the raking and cleaning of the grounds, and the pruning of shrubs and trees that may be placed by the City. The City may remove trees or shrubs that are deemed unsafe, dying or diseased, or hazardous, in its sole discretion.
L. 
Any deed purchased, and all lots or graves related to these deeds, shall be subject to the provisions in this Chapter, which may be amended from time to time by the City.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
The City disclaims all responsibility for loss or damage, of any kind or nature, caused by matters beyond its control, including, without losses or damages caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasions, insurrections, riots, or order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral, other than as herein provided.
B. 
The City shall, under no circumstances, assume liability for the maintenance, repair or replacement of any memorial, tomb, or mausoleum placed or erected upon lots; or the doing of any special or unusual work in a cemetery. The City shall, further, not reconstruct any marble or granite work on any section or lot, or any portions thereof in the cemetery, in the event of damages caused by vandals, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasions, insurrections, riots, or by the order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
No Discrimination. The City shall not discriminate in the sale, location or availability of cemetery lots which shall be available on a "first come, first serve" basis. The City, however, reserves the right to sell lots in the sections of the cemetery that are currently open and available for purchase.
B. 
A person desiring to purchase a plot in any City cemetery shall be referred to the Cemetery Sexton who shall provide price information and assist the public by answering questions.
C. 
The cemetery lots shall be conveyed by deeds, signed by the Mayor, countersigned by the 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 numbers, as laid down upon the Official Map or plat cemetery made by the City, for the purpose of interment and such deed shall vest in the purchaser, his/her heirs or assignees, a right in fee simple to such lots, for the sole purpose of interment under the regulations of the City Council. The City Council may limit the number of lots owned by the same person at the same time and may prescribe rules for enclosing, adoring and erecting monuments, tombstones and ornaments on cemetery lots and prohibit any improper adornment thereof, but no religious test shall be made to the ownership of the lots or the burials had therein or for the ornamentation of graves and lots of such.
D. 
Warranty Deeds/Payment In Full. Grave sites in the Riverview Cemetery or Memorial Gardens shall be conveyed to a purchaser by a warranty deed, identified by section, row, block and lot, for the purpose of the burial of human remains only. Every purchaser of a lot shall be required to complete appropriate paperwork with the City Sexton and the City Treasurer and pay the City for the cost of the grave site. Such warranty deeds shall be entitled to be recorded in the office of Recorder of Deeds of the proper County without further acknowledgment and such description of lots shall be deemed and recognized as sufficient description thereof. Deeds may be delivered to a purchaser only upon full payment of the purchase price, which must be paid prior to interment.
E. 
Cost. The cost of a cemetery plot shall be as set forth in the fee schedule set by resolution by the City Council. The purchaser shall also be required to pay the cost to the City for filing the cemetery deed with the County Clerk's office. The City may periodically alter the foregoing fees to accommodate increased costs and needed reserve funds for cemetery maintenance and acquisition. The City and the County Clerk's office reserve the right to change the above referenced fees at any time at their discretion.
F. 
Lots in the City cemeteries may be transferred for the interment of paupers by the Mayor, upon finding a clear and present need to intern a deceased pauper in the City cemetery. The Mayor is hereby authorized to command City employees to transfer an appropriate plot for such burial purposes in the same manner as if the City had been fully compensated for such cemetery plot. The Mayor is authorized to conduct such financial investigation as the Mayor deems appropriate to ascertain whether or not a deceased person is a pauper. In any instance where the Mayor shall transfer a plot under this Subsection, the Mayor or City Administrator shall thereafter report the transfer and the basis therefor to the City Council.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Any transfer of one (1) or more burial spaces from an original purchaser to a qualified assignee (his/her heirs) shall be recorded with the City Treasurer and Sexton upon receiving appropriate documents showing relationship and proper ownership rights.
B. 
A fee set by the City in the fee schedule shall be paid to the City Treasurer for the purpose of paperwork and a new deed issued to the heirs.
C. 
The heirs of the original purchases shall also be required to pay the cost to the City for filing the cemetery deed with the County Clerk's office.
D. 
The City may periodically alter the foregoing fees to accommodate increased costs.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
A lot or grave may be sold or transferred by the original owner or his/her heirs to another person, however, the sale, transfer or assignment of any lot or grave in the City cemeteries by any owner or purchaser shall not be binding upon the City until:
1. 
Any person wishing to sell or transfer a deed must submit a notarized letter, in writing, to the City. If a grave is being transferred or assigned by someone other than the original owner(s) or their children, at least two (2) family members must confirm the transfer or assignment, in writing, to the City and identify their relationship to the original owner.
2. 
The sale or transfer is recorded with the City of Louisiana and a new Cemetery Deed is issued by the City of Louisiana to the purchaser.
3. 
A transfer fee, as set out in the fee schedule, is paid to the City of Louisiana for the recording of such sale or transfer.
4. 
No reconveyances shall be approved within the first five (5) years after the original purchase of the lots, without Council approval.
5. 
The City, at its sole discretion, is not obligated to honor an assignment or transfer if the ownership is in question.
6. 
The City will not at any time repurchase a lot or grave back from the current owners on record.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Burial of human remains must be in a casket and/or vault.
B. 
The grave for the burial of a single person on a cemetery lot must be dug at least four and one-half (4.5) feet deep. The cremated remains of a second individual may be buried above the original vault according to the rules for a cremated remains burial.
C. 
The grave for a child, must be dug at least three (3) feet deep.
D. 
Cremated remains are to be buried in an approved container and the grave dug at least two (2) feet deep. Scattering of ashes in the City cemeteries is prohibited.
E. 
In all the interments, the top of the vault or container shall be at least twelve (12) inches below the surface of the ground.
F. 
The cremated remains of one (1) person may be interred on the same single grave lot containing the remains of a single person, provided it does not interfere with the existing interment and all the applicable registration fees are paid for the interment of the cremated remains.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
All markers shall be placed in the center of the grave site so that they shall be in the line with other markers of the same type.
B. 
Markers must be made of a permanent material.
C. 
Headstone markers must be placed by a professional marker installer. Each marker shall be placed on a permanent foundation with a concrete apron of a minimum width of four (4) inches outside the edge of the respective marker.
D. 
The raised portion of any headstone marker including foundation and apron must be at least six (6) inches minimum from either side of a single grave lot. An upright headstone marker must be at least four (4) inches high from the top surface of the foundation. A flat headstone marker must be no more than one (1) inch above ground level at any point. The front to back thickness of the raised portion of any headstone marker including the base must be sixteen (16) inches or less.
E. 
When a headstone marker serves two (2) or more single grave lots, a single headstone marker may be located centered on the two (2) single grave lots and be no more than five (5) feet wide and sixteen (16) inches thick.
F. 
All headstone markers on a single grave lot are to have a concrete foundation at least fourteen (14) inches deep. Foundations for headstone markers that are centered over two (2) single grave lots are to have concrete foundations at least eighteen (18) inches deep. The foundation is to be level with the ground or if on sloping grades, the foundation is to be level with the ground on the uphill side. The foundation is to be sufficiently wide to support the headstone marker but the width may not be more than twenty-four (24) inches wide.
G. 
No more than one (1) footstone marker is allowed on a single grave lot. Footstone markers are to be no more than one (1) inch higher than the plane of the ground at any point. The east edge of the footstone marker is to be located on a line thirty (30) inches from the foot of the single grave lot. Individual footstone markers may be no larger than twenty (20) inches wide and thirty-two (32) inches long including the visible part of the foundation.
H. 
Veterans' memorial plaques may also be placed on the grave site.
I. 
Grave markers placed in the Louisiana Memorial Gardens Cemetery shall be restricted to flat markers.
J. 
If any marker headstone or footstone marker or its inscription is determined by the City to be offensive, the City may issue an order to deny placement of the offending item or to remove it if it has already been placed. The person wishing to place the offending marker may appeal the decision in writing to the City Council within fourteen (14) days of notice of the decision. If the City Council does not sustain the appeal, the City Prosecutor shall file information with the Municipal Court to determine if there is a violation of the Ordinance. If a violation is found by the Municipal Judge, the City may require the offensive item to be replaced or altered at the owner or installer's expense. Should the owner or installer not comply, the City may remove the item.
K. 
Temporary markers are allowed up to a maximum of one (1) year after which they may be removed by the City without notice.
L. 
If any memorial marker or structure shall fall into a state of dilapidation or decay, or shall be determined by the City to be offensive or in any way injurious to the appearance of the City Cemetery, and no adequate provisions have been made by the owner for repair and preservation of such structure, the City shall have the right to remove the structure and to inter any body contained therein in the earth upon the lot on which such structure was located, maintaining such lot thereafter in good and similar condition as done with other lots in the City cemeteries.
M. 
The City may straighten, reset or mend monuments, foot markers, jardinieres or other items as required, but it is the primary responsibility of the property owner or their next of kin to maintain said items.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Only small vases with cut or artificial flowers are to be placed on any grave and all must be removed when they become unsightly. There shall not be any holes dug around grave markers nor any jars or cans set in ground above grave markers.
B. 
There is to be no planting of any trees, shrubbery, vines or flowers on any grave.
C. 
There is to be no gravel or sand placed around grave markers, and if so placed, will be removed.
D. 
No fences, stakes, curbs, corner markers, or rails shall be allowed, whether of material or living substance, to mark individual lots or graves.
E. 
Flags as decorations are permitted only on Memorial Day and Veterans Day between sunup and sundown. (To leave flags out overnight is improper.)
F. 
Should any existing tree or shrub on or near any lot become dangerous, unsightly or annoying to the adjacent lot or ways, the cemetery employees may remove such plant.
G. 
Boxes, baskets, shells, emblems, toys, crockery, glassware or other such objects will not be permitted upon any grave, and if so placed, it will be removed.
H. 
Cemetery Renewal Days.
1. 
Grave decorations, including but not limited to potted flowers, plants, summer wreaths or baskets which are left upon or about graves at the City cemetery shall, on designated cemetery renewal days, become the property of the City, and City workers shall remove and dispose of all decorations and flowers on or as soon as practicable after said "cemetery renewal days." Cemetery renewal days shall be the second Monday of both January and July. The Cemetery Department shall cause a reminder notice of "cemetery renewal days" to be published in a local media resource.
2. 
Grave decorations consisting in part or in whole of live plants or flowers may be removed and disposed of by City workers whenever such live plants or flowers show obvious signs of decomposition. Nothing in this Subsection shall prevent persons who previously decorated graves from removing such decorations prior to removal by City workers.
3. 
The cemeteries reserve the right to remove all flowers, potted plants, summer wreaths or baskets of flowers when they become withered or for any other reasons without notice or compensation, and the cemetery employees are ordered to make such removals when, in their judgment, it is to the best interest of the cemeteries.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Any vault, coffin or like apparatus, which houses the deceased located in any cemetery under the control of the City of Louisiana, shall not be moved, disturbed or relocated unless:
1. 
A written request has been received by the Cemetery Sexton, approved by the City Administrator and City Attorney. The estimated costs of moving a vault, coffin or like apparatus, which houses the deceased, shall be paid before work commences. When the work is complete, actual costs will be adjusted against the payment. The City shall also have on file a signed notarized waiver of liability from the applicant before any action will be taken to move such vault, coffin or like apparatus which houses the deceased.
2. 
Directed by a court order or City Council.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
A. 
Visiting Hours. Every City cemetery shall be open to visitors between sunrise and sunset.
B. 
No person may hunt or trap any animal in the cemetery without the consent of the sexton or City Administrator.
C. 
Persons or picnic parties with refreshments are not allowed in the cemetery.
D. 
No person may mar or deface any monument, stone, sign, or structure in the cemetery nor remove any plant or shrub.
E. 
Removal of any monument, stone, or permanently permitted decoration is prohibited without the consent of the sexton or City Administrator.
F. 
Dogs must be on a leash at all times while on the premises and feces must be bagged and removed from the cemetery by the dog's owner and/or handler.
G. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge firearms or any other loud explosive charges in the City Cemetery. Exceptions may be made to allow for the discharge of firearms as part of the observance of military and/or law enforcement services, and for special memorial services. Said discharge of firearms to be conducted by organizations, with recognized knowledge of firearms use, such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Affairs.
H. 
There shall be no driving over the graves or upon the lawns under any pretense whatsoever except for normal maintenance and operation of the cemetery.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
There is hereby created the Perpetual Care Trust Fund for the Riverview Cemetery of Louisiana, Missouri. The City is appointed trustee of such fund, and the trustee shall have all those powers and obligations specified in this Article as well as such other powers and obligations as may be conferred upon the trustee by State law.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The trust fund created by this Article shall consist of any assets which may be donated, given, devised, granted or bequeathed for perpetual care in the Riverview Cemetery from any person, including the City.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The assets in the trust fund created by this Article shall be invested or from time to time reinvested in bonds of the United States Government or the State or may be placed in any bank or savings and loan association authorized to do business in the State so long as the funds so deposited are protected by Federal deposit insurance. The assets also may be invested in any other form authorized by the laws of the State. Any asset coming into the trust fund which is not in such form as to constitute an authorized investment shall, within a reasonable time, be converted into a qualified form of investment.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The Mayor and City Treasurer shall make a written report to the City Council at least annually setting forth the condition of the trust fund created by this Article, the amount of income from the trust fund and the expenditures thereof.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The trustee shall have the authority, by resolution, to establish and from time to time revise a minimum dollar amount for each grave or lot of each size in the Riverview Cemetery to qualify the grave or lot for perpetual care. The trustee shall, however, under such conditions as the trustee may see fit, accept deposits of larger or smaller amounts to the trust fund created by this Article for purposes of perpetual care.
[Ord. No. 24-2019, 12-17-2019]
The income from the trust fund created by this Article shall be expended for the grading, seeding, sodding, mowing or otherwise maintaining, improving or beautifying any qualified grave, lot, stone, monument or mausoleum in the Riverview Cemetery and for the administration of the trust fund. If in any given year the income from the trust fund exceeds the expenses necessary for the purposes specified in this Section, all or any portion of such excess income may, in the discretion of the trustee, be added to the principal of the trust fund or expended for the maintenance and beautification of such cemetery generally.