Changes on the way for Bellevue Cemetery

Visitors to Bellevue Cemetery may have to reconsider their decorative choices to commemorate loved ones this year if a new series of proposed regulations are approved by the City Council.

Council President Carol Blood, a member of the cemetery committee, outlined some of the new proposed revisions in a cemetery report at the Aug. 23 council meeting.

Among the proposed revisions: a permit process for headstone installation to include a two-year warranty clause and potential penalties for rule violations, the prohibition of shepherd hooks, free-standing flower holders, concrete benches at individual gravesites and other decorations, as well as specifications on headstone collars, flags, veterans markers and flower niches.

“We’ve got a lot of problems with people putting things on graves and doing things that are making it difficult for the staff to do their job,” said Mary Stroud, a cemetery committee member. “We are basically trying to write out the do’s and don’t’s of what people can do.”

Blood said: “The purpose of these changes is not to punish nor harass any Bellevue citizen. These amendments and changes will help to bring our policies in line with other cemeteries of our size, and make it easier for staff to maintain the property effectively.

“When we talk about respecting the dead, we are also talking about respecting the living. These changes will make the cemetery a safer and more beautiful place for people to come and remember their loved ones,” she said.

The cemetery, located on Franklin Street about one mile north of Mission Ave., has received criticism from area residents and veterans groups in recent years for the appearance of the grounds and headstones.

Formed in 2007 to address these concerns, the cemetery committee has helped to initiate improvements in the fencing, lighting and restoration of the monuments on cemetery grounds. Over the last year, the committee, made up of Blood, Stroud, Allen Holley and Bill Swick, has worked with the City of Bellevue to address continued maintenance, safety and aesthetic concerns.

In addition to the changes in permissible decorations, the committee has also proposed to install information boxes and gravesite location signage on the grounds, make updates to the cemetery website and city website and to revamp the method currently used to identify grave sites of historical significance.

The cemetery committee will further refine the proposals at its Sept. 2 meeting and a final draft of the revisions is anticipated to be before the city council at its Sept. 13 meeting.

Also at the committee’s Sept. 2 meeting is the founding of the Bellevue Cemetery Foundation. Blood said the sole purpose of the 501c3 organization would be to provide financial assistance for projects pertaining to the maintenance, upkeep and enhancements of the cemetery which the city may not be able to provide within its budget. Because of its historical value, she added that grant money may be able to be used for projects.

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