Mound City Code 240.00
Section 240 – MUNICIPAL CEMETERY
240.01 Establishment of Cemetery. A public cemetery has been established and is continued upon land owned by the City of Mound in the County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, and described as follows:
Commencing at the intersection of the West line of Government Lot No. 5, Section 22, Township 117, Range 24 with the North line of County Road 110; thence North 545 feet; thence East 468 feet; thence South to the North line of said County Road; thence Westerly along the North line of said County Road to the beginning.
A plat of the cemetery has been placed on file in the office of the City Clerk and is hereby adopted as the official plat of the cemetery that shall be designated the "Mound Cemetery". No persons shall lay out or establish any cemetery or use any lot or land within the City for the burial of the dead except in the Mound Union Cemetery or other tract of land duly designated by Ordinance of the City as a cemetery.
240.05 Definitions.
Subd. 1. The terms "Lot", "Plot", or "Burial Place" shall be used interchangeably and shall apply with like effect to one or more than one adjoining grave.
Subd. 2. The term "Interment" shall mean the permanent disposition of the remains of the deceased person by entombment or burial.
Subd. 3. The term "Memorial" shall include a monument, tombstone, marker, tablet or headstone for family or individual use.
Subd. 4. The terms "Approved Outside Container" shall mean a burial vault of material, construction and design approved by the City Manager.
240.10 Use of Lots. No lots shall be used for any purpose other than the burial of human remains and the placing of appropriate memorials.
240.15 Purchase Payments Options. Upon payment in full of the purchase price of the lot, the cemetery will issue a deed conveying the lot executed by the Mayor and the Manager, and the deed shall be recorded in the records of the City. An interim receipt may be issued at that time which may be exchanged for the completed deed that will be ready for delivery within 30 days. Lots may be purchased on a deferred payment contract. Such contract shall be signed by the Purchaser and approved by the City Manager. This contract shall stipulate the amount paid and the terms for payment of the balance. Deferred payments shall bear interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of execution of the contract. Before a burial is permitted, an amount equal to the actual space used plus the interment and disinterment charges must be paid. No memorial may be installed on the lots purchased on deferred payments until the full purchase price has been paid.
240.20 Sole Ownership. No lots will be sold in joint ownership or common ownership. The title must stand in one name, but where two or more persons join in paying for a lot, their respective interests and rights may be protected by placing the lot in trust; said trust conveys the lot to the cemetery to be held as a place of burial for the persons specified in the trust agreement. No lot may be placed in trust until the full purchase price has been paid.
240.25 Subdivision Prohibited, Transfer, Resale, Reassignment Restricted. No lots shall be subdivided by the owner. No transfer, resale, reassignment, or other disposition may be made by a lot owner of any interest in his/her lot except by will under the governing laws of the State of Minnesota without securing the written consent of the City Manager, and the City reserves the first option to repurchase the lot or fractional lot at the original sale price. No lot will be permitted to be resold, disposed of, or otherwise used until the purchase price and all unpaid charges, including charges for permanent or special care have been paid in full.
240.30 Conditions of Sale. The instrument of conveyance and this Section 240, Rules and Regulations, and any amendments thereto constitute the sole agreement between the cemetery and the lot owner. The statement of any employee or agent, unless confirmed in writing by the cemetery, shall not be binding. Lot owners are granted only the right of interment in their lots.
240.35 Right to Establish and Revise Cemetery Rights-of-Way and Utilities Retained. No easement nor right of interment is granted to any plot owner in any road, drive, or alley, or walk within the cemetery, but such road, drive, alley or walk may be used as a means of access to the cemetery as long as the cemetery devotes it to that purpose. The right to enlarge, reduce, replat, or change the boundaries or grading of the cemetery or of a section or sections from time to time, including the right to modify or change the locations of or remove or re-grade roads, drives, or walks, or any part thereof, is hereby reserved. The right to lay, maintain, and operate or alter or change pipe lines for sprinkling systems, drainage, etc. is also expressly reserved, as well as is the right to use cemetery property not sold to individual plot owners for cemetery purposes, including interment of the dead, or for anything necessarily incidental or convenient thereto. The cemetery reserves to itself and to those lawfully entitled thereto, the perpetual right of ingress, egress over the lots for the passing to and from other lots. Only the lot owner and his/her relatives shall be permitted on the cemetery lot. Any other person shall be considered as a trespasser, and the cemetery shall owe no duty to the trespasser to keep the property or any memorial or structure thereon in a reasonable safe condition.
240.40 Owner's Mailing Address. It is the duty of the lot owner to notify the cemetery of any change in his/her post office address.
240.45 Right to Correct Errors Retained. The cemetery reserves and shall have a right to correct any errors that may be made by it, either in making interments, disinterments, or removals, or in the description, transfer or conveyance of any interment property, either by cancelling such conveyance and substituting and conferring in lieu thereof, other interment property of equal value in similar location as far as possible, or as may be selected by the cemetery or by returning the amount of money paid on account of such purchase. In the event such error shall involve the interment of the remains of any person in such property, the cemetery reserves and shall have the right to remove or transfer such remains so interred to such other property of equal value and similar location as may be substituted and conveyed in lieu thereof.
240.50 Superintendent of Cemetery. The City Manager or his/her designee shall act as Superintendent of the cemetery and he/she shall have control and management of the cemetery and duties as are prescribed by State Law and by the City Council. He/She shall be the Actuary of the cemetery, and shall keep a register of all interments and disinterments, including the name, age, place of birth, residence, marital status, name and address of next relative, cause of death and time of interment, disinterment and reinterment.
240.55 Cemetery Funds. A Cemetery Fund has heretofore been established and is continued. All money received from the sale of lots and other services shall be paid to the City Manager, who shall give a proper receipt therefor. No deed to any cemetery lot shall be issued nor shall any services be performed until payment to the City Manager of the cost thereof shall be made. All money received from the sale of lots and for the performance of services shall be placed in the Cemetery Fund. Such Fund shall be used for maintenance and improvements and for no other purpose. The City Treasurer shall keep an account of all receipts and disbursements of money belonging to the Cemetery Fund and shall pay money out of the Fund only on orders signed by the City Manager. Such order shall specify that the money shall be paid from the Cemetery Fund.
240.60 Establishment of Rules and Regulations. The City Council shall from time to time adopt by resolution, appropriate rules and regulations governing the rights and duties of visitors, lot owners, and of cemetery personnel. The City personnel shall effect compliance with said rules, but violations of any such rules adopted by resolution shall not constitute a misdemeanor.
240.65 Burial Permits. Prior to any interment in the Mound Cemetery, a burial permit shall be obtained from the Manager or his/her designee. This application for burial permit shall be accompanied by a death certificate and statement showing the name, age, and last residence of the deceased, the date, place, and cause of death, the intended place of burial and such other information as required by the State Board of Health. No permit for burial shall be issued until the application and death certificate have been properly completed and presented. The interment permit shall be obtained from the City Manager after the burial permit has been obtained. The body of a deceased person shall not be brought into the City of Mound for burial unless accompanied by a death certificate and permit for removal issued by the City Health Officer in the district wherein the death occurred.
240.70 Regulation of Interments.
Subd. 1. No Interment other than that of an immediate relative or heir of the lot owner may be made in any lot without the written consent of the lot owner.
Subd. 2. All orders for interments in lots must be signed by the owner of the lot or his/her legal representative. However, when this is impossible because such person is absent from the immediate area, permission may be communicated to the City by telephone or other electronic media.
Subd. 3. Lot owners shall not allow interments in their lots in return for a remuneration of any kind.
Subd. 4. No interment of two or more bodies shall be made in one grave except in the case of mother and child or two infants buried in one casket, and except that where cremation has taken place, the ashes of either the husband or wife or a child may be interred so that any two of said persons may be interred in the same grave lot or the remains or one spouse and the ashes of the other spouse may be located on one grave lot.
Subd. 5. When an interment is to be made in the lot, the location of such interment shall be designated by the lot owner. Should the lot owner fail or neglect to make such designation, the cemetery reserves the right to make the interment in a location designated by the Superintendent.
Subd. 6. The Superintendent and his/her employees or his/her designees at the cemetery are the only persons who will be permitted to open graves except when the Coroner directs a disinterment.
Subd. 7. In order to maintain a high standard of care and to eliminate sunken graves, it is required that all burials must be made in approved outside containers. All such containers must be made and installed as to meet specifications established by the cemetery.
Subd. 8. All charges for interment and/or services in connection therewith shall be paid to the cemetery before interment, and the cemetery will issue a receipt for these charges upon request.
Subd. 9. No interment may be made in the cemetery unless all laws, ordinances, rules and regulations have been complied with and the purchase price of the lot to be used has been paid.
Subd. 10. Interment in a single grave area must be made in regular order. No choice of location is permissible in single grave sections nor can single graves be purchased or reserved in advance of need. However, single graves may be procured in preferred locations by the purchase of one grave in a two-grave lot. These may be purchased in advance of need. Purchasers of single graves or preferred single graves will be given the location card but no deed will be issued therefor.
Subd. 11. All interments must be made at the time and in a manner upon the charges fixed by the cemetery.
Subd. 12. The cemetery will not be responsible for any order given by telephone or for any mistake occurring from the want of precise and proper instruction as to the particular space, size of grave, and location in a plot where interment is desired. The cemetery will be in no way liable for any delay in the interment of a body when a protest to the interment has been made or where the rules and regulations have not been complied with and reserves the right under such circumstances to delay burial until the full rights have been determined. All protests on interments shall be filed in the cemetery office.
Subd. 13. The cemetery will not be liable for the identity of the person to be interred.
240.75 Opening of Graves and Disinterment.
Subd. 1. Written permission of the lot owner and the next of kin of the decedent shall be filed with the cemetery office, a permit from the City Manager or his/her designee shall be secured and submitted, and the required fees paid before a grave may be opened. These actions shall be completed two days in advance of disinterment.
Subd. 2. Disinterments may be made in order to place the body in a larger or better lot in the cemetery after there has been an exchange or purchase of lots for that purpose. However, the body may not be removed from the cemetery without the permission of the City Health Officer. A removal contrary to the expressed or implied wish of the original lot owner is forbidden.
Subd. 3. All removals must be made by the Superintendent, his/her employees, or his/her designees after the proper permits have been filed and the required fees paid and a receipt issued.
Subd. 4. When the Coroner directs the disinterment for the purpose of holding an inquest and has filed with the cemetery his/her signed authorization to release the body to himself/herself and his/her lawful agents, the disinterment may be made. In such cases, the disinterment must be made by the Coroner or his/her lawful agents. No cemetery personnel will assist the Coroner or his/her agents in such disinterment.
Subd. 5. The cemetery assumes no liability for damage to any casket or outside container in making a removal. When, in the opinion of the Superintendent, a new outside container is needed at the time of removal, it must be provided for by the person arranging for the removal.
240.80 Maintenance and Care.
Subd. 1. The general care of the cemetery includes the cutting and sprinkling of the grass at reasonable intervals, the raking and cleaning of the grounds, and the pruning of shrubs and trees that may be placed by the cemetery, meaning and intending the general preservation of the lots and grounds, walks, roadways, boundaries and structures, to the end that said grounds shall remain and be reasonably cared for as cemetery grounds forever. The general care shall in no case mean the maintenance, repair or replacement of any memorial, structure placed or erected upon lots; nor the doing of any special or unusual work in the cemetery, including work caused by poor soil; nor does it mean the reconstruction of any marble, granite, bronze or concrete work on any lot, or any portion or portions thereof in the cemetery, caused by the elements, an act of God, common enemy, thieves, vandals, strikers, malicious mischief makers, explosions, unavoidable accidents, invasions, insurrections, riots, or by the order of any military or civil authority, whether the damage be direct or collateral, other than as herein provided.
Subd. 2. Lot owners desiring additional care of their lots may arrange for such care with the cemetery office, which shall give an estimate of the cost of the work desired. This may be provided for by annual payments made by the lot owner.
Subd. 3. Planting on Lots. Planting of flowers, flower beds, small plants, shrubs or trees will not be permitted, but the cemetery will provide general beautification of the area which will result in a more orderly arrangement and will harmonize with the general plan. Flower vases and potted plants are not permitted. However, cut flowers are permitted, and lot owners may install bouquet holders which are recessed in the ground and which can be inverted when empty. The cemetery reserves the right to revise and remove any and all shrubbery and trees as it deems necessary, without the obligation of replacement in kind or amount in order to maintain the harmonious design of the cemetery.
240.85 Memorials.
Subd. 1. Lot owners may provide for the erection of proper memorial work in the space designated by the Superintendent. No memorial may be placed until the price of the space used for burial and all burial fees have been paid.
Subd. 2. All markers placed shall be of bronze or natural stone. Limestone, sandstone, or other material which will not assure relative permanency shall not be used. All stone shall be first grade clear stone for memorial purposes, shall be free from sap or other impurities which will cause rust stain, etc.; that it will not chip or crack; and agree that should such faults develop within five years from day of setting, the memorial will be replaced, without cost to the cemetery or the lot owner. No artificial stone of any description is allowed. Bronze content shall be not less than 85% copper and not more than 5% lead, 10% zinc, 5% tin, all case from virgin material, average thickness of 3/16 inch to 1/4 inch.
Subd. 3. Raised lettering and carving shall not be less than 3/16 inch raised, incised lettering may be used, but no skinned carving will be allowed. All markers must be in one piece and set level with the ground.
Subd. 4. The markers installed on single graves and lots may not exceed the following base sizes:
(a) Children's single grave sections - 24" x 12"
(b) Adult's single grave sections - 30" x 15"
(c) In lot sections - 30" by 15" unless stone markers embracing two adjoining graves are used. Double markers may not exceed 48: x 15" except when double markers are used, no marker shall bear more than one inscription unless more than one body was interred in the grave, as in the case of twin infants, or the mother and infant. Markers shall not be less than 6" in height.
Subd. 5. Marker Foundations. All foundations must be of sufficient depth as to support the marker.
Subd. 6. Marker Placement. All markers shall be placed parallel to and two (2) inches from the lot line nearest the roadway or pathway perpendicular to the subject graves. Where two separate and opposite roadways or pathways are equal distance from said lot, the Council will, by resolution, designate the lot end for marker placement.
Subd. 7. Markers conforming hereto may be used throughout the cemetery. Monuments, tombstones, tablets or headstones shall not be used except in that part of the cemetery described as lying within the limits of the City of Minnetrista.
240.90 Prohibited Acts. The following acts are prohibited within the cemetery, and the commitment of such acts within the cemetery shall constitute a misdemeanor:
Subd. 1. Discharge of firearms or possession of firearms within the cemetery grounds except a military escort accompanying a veteran's funeral or attending memorial service.
Subd. 2. Picking of flowers, wild or cultivated, breaking or injuring of any tree, shrub or plat, or writing upon, defacing or injuring any memorial, fence or other structure within the cemetery grounds.
Subd. 3. Making of any excavation without the consent of the Superintendent.
Subd. 4. The obstruction of avenues, roads, walks, or alleys.
Subd. 5. Walking upon or across lots or lawns unless it is necessary to do so to gain access to one's own lot or grave.
Subd. 6. Motor cars and vehicles travelling in excess of 15 miles per hour.
Subd. 7. Failure of a vehicle meeting a funeral procession to stop until the procession passes.
Subd. 8. Passing by a vehicle of a funeral procession going in the same direction.
Subd. 9. Parking of a vehicle with the engine running.
Subd. 10. Failure to set the emergency brake of a parked vehicle.
Subd. 11. Driving of the motor vehicle or bicycle off the established roadway.
Subd. 12. Disturbing the quiet of the cemetery by noise or improper conduct of any kind.
Subd. 13. Allowing any animal within the cemetery.
Subd. 14. Loitering or idling within or upon the cemetery grounds at any time, and being in or upon the cemetery grounds without written permission of the cemetery superintendent during the hours when the cemetery is closed.
Subd. 15. Depositing of rubbish or trash upon the drives, paths, or any part of the grounds except the deposit of such into receptacles provided and designated for that purpose.
Subd. 16. Violation of any provision of Section 240.
240.95 Permanent Care and Improvement Fund.
Subd. 1. A permanent care and improvement fund is established as a separate fund for the use in maintaining, caring for, and improving the cemetery and cemetery lots in the City cemetery, designated as the Mound Union Cemetery. All funds received for deposit to the credit of this fund shall be kept, managed, and administered as provided by Minnesota Statutes 306.41 to 306.54 and this Section 240.
Subd. 2. The owner of any lot in the Mound Cemetery desiring permanent care for such lot, or any person desiring to make a gift or donation for permanent care of any lot or lots, for the care and beautifying of the cemetery, may secure such care without further expense by paying to the City the amount shown on the schedule filed with the City Manager. All future purchases of lots or graves shall have included in their purchase price the cost of compulsory perpetual care.
Subd. 3. Subject to any disposition otherwise authorized by Minnesota Statutes 306.44, all sums credited to the permanent care and improvement fund shall be paid quarterly to the County Treasurer. At the time such payment is made, a statement shall be filed with the County Auditor setting forth:
(a) The amount received from each lot owner, or the amount of each gift or donation for permanent care and maintenance.
(b) The name of the lot owner and the name of the donor of each gift.
Subd. 4. Subject to any disposition otherwise authorized by Minnesota Statutes 306.43, all income received by the City from the cemetery fund shall be used solely for the purpose of defraying the cost of caring for, maintaining and improving the cemetery lots, for which permanent care has been provided. Any income so received in excess of amount necessary to pay for the care of beautifying the lot or any income not spent in any year for this purpose shall be repaid to the County Treasurer for redeposit in the County Cemetery Fund.
Subd. 5. Each year a report shall be filed with the County Auditor showing in detail how the income received by the City from the cemetery fund during the preceding calendar year has been expended.