Cemetery board passes away… Now what?
RICHMOND – The Richmond Cemetery Board disbanded, and a board member dropped off records and possibly responsibility for the cemetery at the Ray County Commission office, Presiding Commissioner Bob King said April 30.
“(They) said it was our cemetery and walked out,” King said.
The commission has been trying to determine what to do with the property since being given the records in early March.
Statutes may be in conflict, with one perhaps suggesting a vacated cemetery becomes a county responsibility and another suggesting the cemetery is a city responsibility, based on discussion at the commission meeting. Commissioners said the cemetery is within the Richmond city limits.
The cemetery on West Main Street comes with a bank account.
“There is $10,000 left in the account,” King said.
Mowing fees alone would wipe that money out after about a year, he said.
Cemetery records are not complete, King said. Spaces where burials could take place must first be checked to make sure a casket is…