The cemetery lots, or any part of any lot, in the City Cemetery shall be conveyed by certificate signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the City Clerk, under seal of the City, specifying that the purchaser to whom the same is issued is the owner of the lot, lots or part of lot described therein by number, as laid down on the plat of the cemetery, for the purpose of interment, under the regulations of the Mayor and City Council, as provided by law. Should the owner or owners of any lot or lots in the cemeteries of the City desire to transfer the same to another, he, she or they shall first execute a certificate therefor to the City and deliver the same to the City Clerk, who will in turn execute to the purchaser of such lot or lots a certificate of such purchase under the seal of the City, signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the City Clerk, conveying the estate which by law is intended to be conveyed for the sole purpose of interment. A transfer fee as approved by the City Council shall be paid to the City Clerk by such purchaser for the issuance of the new certificate. No transfer of any kind of any lot or lots shall be recognized by the City for any purpose if done or attempted to be done in any manner other than provided herein.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
The City Clerk shall be responsible for the keeping of all records pertaining to the cemetery. The records shall include, but not be limited to, accurate and up‑to‑date plats showing the ownership of all cemetery lots and the names and dates of interment of all persons buried therein. The City Clerk shall keep an accurate record of all funds received from the collection of taxes levied for the care and maintenance of the cemetery and all funds received from the sale of cemetery lots. The City Clerk shall make payment out of any funds held for cemetery purposes only after approval by the Governing Body and such payments shall be in the same manner as other obligations of the City are paid. The City Clerk shall attest the signature of the Mayor on all conveyances of cemetery lots to purchasers thereof in the same manner as any other conveyance of real property by the City.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
(a) Sale to Residents and to Non‑Residents with Family Buried in the Cemetery Effective January 1, 2010. The sale price of each full size grave lot in the City Cemetery sold by the City is as approved by the City Council. The sale price of each half size grave lot in all sections of the City Cemetery is as approved by the City Council.
(b) Sale to Non‑residents Who do not Have Family Buried in the Cemetery Effective January 1, 2010. The sale of each full size grave lot in the City Cemetery sold by the City is as approved by the City Council. The sale price of each half size grave lot in all sections of the City Cemetery is as approved by the City Council.
(c) The Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to repurchase grave lots at prices approved by the City Council.
(Ord. 1938, Sec. 1, Ord. 2020, Sec. 1, Ord. 2042, Ord. 2261)
All money received from the sale of lots, parts of lots, or graves in the City Cemetery, or by assessments or taxation for the benefit of and to be used upon the cemetery shall be paid over to the City treasury of the City and the same shall be kept by him or her in a separate fund in the general fund, and such fund shall be used for the improvement, care, protection, maintenance and up‑keep of the cemetery.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
(a) The Opening and Closing Fees for the City of Bonner Springs shall be as approved by the City Council for the following sizes:
(1) Full Size Graves Monday through Friday before 2:00 p.m.
(2) Full Size Graves Monday through Friday after 2:00 p.m. or on Saturday
(3) Half Size Graves Monday through Friday before 2:00 p.m.
(4) Half Size Graves Monday through Friday after 2:00 p.m. or on Saturday
(5) Burial of Ashes Monday through Friday before 2:00 p.m.
(6) Burial of Ashes Monday through Friday after 2:00 p.m. or on Saturday
(b) No graves will be opened or closed on Sunday or any legal holiday.
(Ord. 1938; Ord. 2020; Ord. 2146; Ord. 2351; Code 2014)
(a) There shall be no burial permitted without a grave opening permit secure from the City Clerk. No grave opening permit shall be issued until the purchase price thereof has been paid to the City Clerk. Lots and portions thereof shall be sold for the purpose of human interments only. Interment in lots, or part of lots, shall be restricted to members of the family and relations of the owner. No interment shall be made on Sundays and legal holidays.
(b) Exhumation. Any person desiring to re‑open any grave in the City Cemetery or any crypt space in the mausoleum or to exhume or remove the body therefrom or for any other purpose, shall first obtain a permit from the City Clerk.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
(a) Cemetery Hours; Unlawful Entrance; Operation of Vehicles. Except as otherwise authorized by the sexton it shall be unlawful for any person or person 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. Entrance to the City Cemetery after hours may be obtained from the sexton.
(b) Speed of vehicles. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive a vehicle in the cemetery faster than ten (10) miles per hour.
(c) Vehicles; Operation; Parking. 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 the purpose of making deliveries in connection with cemetery work or other lawful purpose.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
Any person desiring to set a monument, headstone and stepping stones shall first get a written permit from the City Clerk, which shall be delivered to the cemetery sexton before any work is commenced thereon. The City shall receive a fee as approved by the City Council for each such permit.
(Ord. 1618; Ord. 2042)
(a) Shrubs, bushes, flower or plants are not permitted. If owners of graves or residents wish to donate funds to the City, they may do so and the City will plant such plants, flowers, shrubs or flowers in landscaped areas of the Cemetery as determined by the City.
(b) Care. The cemetery sexton shall have the right to trim, prune and/or remove all trees and shrubbery as is necessary.
(c) Temporary Display of Plants, Flowers & Artificial Arrangements – The City of Bonner Springs assumes no responsibility for plants, flower arrangements or any other items. No glass containers are permitted. Winter decorations are permitted to be placed between November 1 and March 1, but must be removed by March 2. If not removed, the City will remove all winter decorations including wreaths, fall and winter holiday decorations, seasonal holiday items, or those with evergreen, balsam, pine, red berries, and/or pinecones, and decorations that are not in vases on headstones or otherwise placed in compliance with these regulations. All flowers and decorations set out for Memorial Day that are not in vases on headstones or otherwise placed in compliance with these regulations shall be removed and discarded by the sexton the seventh day after Memorial Day.
(d) Hanging plants and other decorations may be displayed on “shepherd hooks” or similar device placed directly next to (touching) or attached to the monument or headstone but shall not interfere with maintenance or be made of glass. Shepherd hooks shall be dark brown or black, made of heavy metal, not to be more than five (5) feet in height from ground level, shall only have two (2) hooks each with a maximum length of 15 inches, shall be perpendicular to the ground and fully upright at all times and items displayed on them shall be not less than three (3) feet above the ground. One shepherd hook permitted for each full size grave and one for each one‑half size (baby) grave.
(e) Items placed on a grave prior to the placement of a monument or headstone will be permitted for a period not to exceed six (6) months following the date of burial or until the monument or headstone is in place, whichever is sooner. If not removed by that time, the City will remove all items.
(f) The City will remove any items that do not comply with regulations or are found to interfere with maintenance.
(g) Permitted decorations shall not include containers of cereal malt or alcoholic beverage, any obscene items or words, weapons of any type or any illegal substances or paraphernalia.
(Ord. 1575; Ord. 2042; Ord. 2196; Ord. 2217; Ord. 2362; Ord 2399)
(a) The face of all markers, monuments and headstones within the City Cemetery shall be set true and square and shall be set at least six (6) inches in from the line of the lot where placed, not exceed the width of the grave or exceed two (2) feet in length. All monuments and markers shall be of granite, marble or granite and marble composition of approved standard quality or brass. All monuments shall be erected and located in accordance with the administrative regulations. Ground mausoleums shall not be allowed after April 20, 2000 except for those adjacent to existing mausoleums installed before April 20, 2000. Headstones in Sections N, O, P, Q & R, as replatted in the Second Replat of the Bonner Springs Cemetery, shall be restricted to ground level headstones. Ground level headstones shall be level with the ground.
(b) Stepping stones shall not be permitted unless the stone is made of the material required for monuments and headstones and used in place of a monument or headstone, with an appropriate foundation and a permit obtained for its installation and shall not exceed the length and placement requirements in Subsection (a).
(c) Permanent Vases above ground are permitted only when attached to or made a part of the monument or headstone.
(d) In ground vases will not be permitted after October 25, 2007, the effective date of the ordinance amendment.
(e) Benches are permitted when made a part of the monument and constructed of the same material required for a monument or headstone and as provided in Section 13‑210 and 13‑211. Benches integrated with the monument or headstone shall only be installed at the head of the grave and cannot exceed the dimensions in Subsection (a).
(f) No walkways, boxes, fences, edging material, mulch material, gravel, chairs, settees, structures or other materials or items of any kind shall be permitted.
(g) Any item placed on a grave in violation of Subsections (a) through (f) shall be removed by the City.
(h) Care & Maintenance of Headstones, Monuments, Benches & Stepping Stones Used in Place of a Headstone or Monument ‑ The owner will be responsible for maintenance with the exception of damage caused by the City or where owners cannot be located and the damage to the stone is a safety or maintenance issue.
(i) Markers at the foot of a grave are only permitted for:
(1) VA approved military stones placed flush with the ground
(2) Cremains burials placed within the grave area shall measure no more than twenty‑four inches by eighteen inches and shall be flush with the ground.
(Ord. 1891; Ord. 1938; Ord. 2042; Ord. 2196; Ord. 2211)
Foundations and footings for monuments within the City Cemetery shall be constructed to a depth of at least one and one‑half feet for monuments up to three (3) feet tall and a minimum depth of two (2) feet for monuments over three (3) feet tall, and shall be constructed of a mixture of one part of cement to two and one‑half parts of sand and three and one‑half parts of rock.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
The foot of all graves within the City Cemetery shall be located at least six (6) inches from the line of the grave lot.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
All caskets shall be enclosed in a vault, which shall be constructed of concrete or metal. It is the responsibility of the funeral home to arrange with a vault company for the vault to be at the cemetery for a scheduled burial.
(Ord. 1891, Sec. 2)
It shall be unlawful for any person to enclose any lot in the City Cemetery in any manner whatsoever.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously injure, mar, deface, destroy or remove without permission, any headstone, monument, marker or decoration on any cemetery lot, or to disturb or molest any grave. Except this does not apply to the cemetery sexton or anyone authorized by the sexton, in the performance of maintenance duties.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
It shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of any rubbish, trash or waste materials or debris of any kind in the cemetery, other than in containers provided for such purposes.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
(a) Vaults. Vaults used in the children’s section of the City Cemetery shall be no larger than 23 inches by 54 inches or no larger than a Number 20 vault.
(b) Cost of plots. The cost of a plot in the children’s section of the City Cemetery shall be one‑half the cost of an adult plot.
(c) Fee for opening. The cost of opening any children’s vault shall be one‑half the like charge of opening an adult grave.
(d) Size of Monument. The size of a child monument shall be between 16‑18 inches wide.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1; Ord. 1891, Sec. 3)
The City Cemetery and all burial and cemetery grounds of the City shall be under the charge and control of a sexton who shall be appointed by the City Manager.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
(a) The sexton shall have charge of the care, upkeep and maintenance of the City Cemetery and all work in connection therewith.
(b) The sexton shall locate all lots and graves when requested by any person.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
The City Manager shall promulgate suitable and proper rules and regulations for the operation and government of the cemeteries consistent with ordinances and regulations of the City. All such rules and regulations shall be published by printing or in pamphlet form and filed in the office of the City Clerk.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
This City reserves the right to amend any cemetery regulation established for the government and care of the municipal cemetery, and may at any time establish other and more suitable regulations therefor as the condition of the cemetery may require from time to time. The City further reserves the right to adopt and promulgate additional rules and regulations for the use, care and adornment of such other cemetery grounds as may hereafter be acquired. The City may insert restrictive covenants in cemetery deeds, which covenants shall be binding on the matters therein stated and shall be for the purpose of obtaining uniformity in size and height of markers and in the general usage of the lots.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
The provisions of this code and of all ordinances now in force or which may hereafter be passed relating to municipal violations in the City limits shall, insofar as the same are applicable, be in full force and effect in the Bonner Springs cemetery. Any violation of any law of the City in the Bonner Springs cemetery shall be punishable before the Municipal Judge of the City.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of Chapter 12, Article 4 of the City Code shall be deemed guilty of a public offense and subject to the general penalty provisions of Section 1‑116 of the code.
(Ord. 1575, Sec. 1)
Pursuant to the authority of Charter Ordinance No. 29, Law Enforcement, the City Clerk, Deputy City Clerk or any other City Employee as designated in writing by the City Manager shall have the authority to issue notices to appear for violations of this ordinance.
(Ord. 2353)