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GREENWOOD CEMETERY

Thief River Falls, Minnesota

Rates and Fees

GENERAL

The City of Thief River Falls controls, manages and operates the area platted as Greenwood Cemetery as set forth herein.

Duties of Cemetery Supervisor

The City Council shall appoint a Cemetery Supervisor who shall prepare and recommend to the Council all rules and regulations for the care, maintenance, management, and operation of the City Cemetery.  When duly adopted by the Council, the Supervisor shall enforce the rules and regulations.  In addition, the Supervisor shall keep a register of all interments, disinterments, and reinterments.

Hours of Operation

The cemetery is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  The cemetery shall be staffed Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, from April 15 – November 15.  For information on cemetery rates, location of grave sites, or other information pertaining to the cemetery, the public may contact the City Administrator.

LOT PURCHASES

  • Persons desiring to purchase lots should visit the Thief River Falls City Hall where the Cemetery Supervisor will aid them in making a selection.  Payments for the same shall be made to the City of Thief River Falls and if deferred payments are desired, this may be arranged.  Price lists are available on the City’s website or at City Hall.

  • Upon full payment of the purchase price of a site, the City Administrator shall issue a Cemetery Deed conveying the lots, said Deed to be executed by the Mayor and City Administrator and recorded in the records of the City.

  • It is the duty of the lot owners* to notify the Cemetery Supervisor of any changes to their address.

  • Notice sent to a lot owner at the last known address on file with the Cemetery Supervisor shall be sufficient and proper notice.

 *Note:  Lot owner means person owning burial rights for such cemetery burial site.

LOT IMPROVEMENTS

  • No person, including lot owners, shall place any objects (i.e., shells, toys, etc.) on lots without permission of the Cemetery Supervisor.

  • No person is permitted to erect fences or hedges on or around any lot.

  • No mound on any lot shall be raised to a height in excess of three inches from the surface of the lot.

  • No artificial flowers are permitted in the cemetery after June 10th in any year.  Lot owners shall remove same by June 10th or the Cemetery Supervisor shall dispose of same.  

  • No planting of trees, shrubs or perennials is allowed on the lots without the express written permission of the Cemetery Supervisor.

  • The City of Thief River Falls reserves the right to remove or alter any tree, shrub, vine or memorabilia which may become unsightly, dangerous, not in keeping with the landscaping of the cemetery or which makes mowing difficult.

  • Transfer of Sites.  No cemetery sites may be sold or otherwise disposed of, except by will or operation of law, without the approval of the City.  The City retains the first option to repurchase a cemetery site at fifty percent (50%) of the current lot price.  The City may use any of its funds for such repurchase and may hold such lot, or again sell and convey the same.

  • Interments.  All interments in sites shall be restricted to members of the immediate family of the site owner unless permission in writing is first received from a site owner, which written permission shall accompany all requests for permits to bury the bodies of persons not members of the immediate family in said site.  Site owners may not allow interment to be made on their sites for remuneration.  Sites may not be subdivided, except that in the case of cremation, two (2) burial urns may be placed on one grave site, or one burial urn may be placed on a grave site where a casket has been placed, nor shall the remains of more than one person be interred in any one site except where in compliance with applicable state statutes.  All excavations shall be made under the direction of the Cemetery Supervisor.  It shall be the responsibility of the site owners and/or Funeral Director handing the said funeral to make all necessary arrangements for excavations.  All interments must be made in accordance with all laws, ordinances, rules and regulations of the City of Thief River Falls, the State of Minnesota, or any other regulatory agency thereof.

  • All burials shall require an outer burial container.  Wood shall not be permitted, but material such as concrete and fiberglass shall be acceptable.

  • Disinterments.  Written permission of the site owner and the next of kin shall be filed with the City Administrator and all laws or regulations of the State of Minnesota or any other agency having jurisdiction over disinterment must be complied with prior to any disinterment within Greenwood Cemetery.   For disinterment to a cemetery other than Greenwood, in addition to the above, the State of Minnesota must be notified in writing to so the change can be made to the death certificate. This provision does not apply when disinterment is ordered by a duly authorized public authority.

PERPETUAL CARE

  • Perpetual care includes cutting grass, raking leaves and watering of lots April 15th to October 15th of each year.  Perpetual care does not include the watering of trees, shrubs or plants in urns or containers.

  • As part of the perpetual care, the City of Thief River Falls shall have the right to remove any tree or shrub upon any lot which has or shall become, by reason of age or other cause, unsightly or detrimental to the lot upon which it is situated or any adjoining lot or avenue.

  • A person purchasing a site shall pay the required sum for perpetual care per site to the City.  The perpetual care funds shall be credited to the Greenwood Cemetery fund; monies earned by the fund shall be used for the maintenance and perpetual care of the site.

  • All income received from the City from the perpetual care fund shall be used solely for the purpose of defraying the cost of caring for, maintaining and improving the cemetery sites.  Any income so received in excess of the amount necessary to pay for the care and beautification of the sites or any income not spent in any year for this purpose shall remain in the perpetual care fund.

MONUMENTS AND GRAVE MARKERS

  • Monuments or markers constructed of any material other than stone or bronze will not be allowed.   No monuments or markers may be constructed of limestone, sandstone, or any artificial material that will not assure relative permanency.

  • All structures, to ensure sufficient support, must have foundations build on solid masonry, of a depth and size deemed proper by the City of Thief River Falls.  The Cemetery Supervisor shall have the power to stop all work not done in conformity to these rules.  Foundations must be set level with the sod and be cut so as to go into the ground not less than four inches or more than eight inches. An apron of at least six (6) inches in width shall be placed around said marker or monument, which shall be made of concrete or granite, which apron shall be level with the surface of the ground, and which shall be affixed to the marker so as to prevent grass, weeds or other vegetation from growing between the marker and apron.

  •  No monument or grave marker shall be in excess of four (4) feet from the base to the top.

  • Monument companies may erect monuments in the cemetery subject to the supervision of the Cemetery Supervisor and in compliance with the City of Thief River Falls Greenwood Cemetery Rules and Regulations.

  • No monument work or other structural material shall be brought into the cemetery on Saturdays, Sundays or any federal holiday without prior notification to the Cemetery Supervisor.  All work must be completed and the dirt and debris entirely removed before quitting of any work.

  • Every monument and marker shall be placed in the space as shown on the cemetery plat or as directed by the City of Thief River Falls.  No monument or marker may be placed unless the City has approved its location and the full purchase price of the site has been paid.

  • The site owner is responsible for any and all damage resulting to the cemetery or other lots during the placement of monuments or markers and during excavation of the gravesite.

  • Contractors and others engaged in such work must notify the City before beginning the same.  All work in the cemetery, of whatever kind, must be carried on subject to the direction and control of the City.  No monument or marker may be placed in the cemetery until authorized by the City.

  • Vaults and mausoleums are not permitted in Greenwood Cemetery except on special permit granted by the City Council.

URNS AND CONTAINERS

  • Any urns or containers that are not utilized for the planting of flowers and/or decorative greenery by July 1st in any year will be removed by the Cemetery Supervisor and held for 30 days.  Following the 30-day period, containers may be disposed of in the manner determined by the City of Thief River Falls.

  • Perpetual care does not include watering and maintenance of plants in urns or containers.  This is the responsibility of the lot owner.  If plants in urns and/or containers are not watered and maintained for a period of 30 days, the Cemetery Supervisor shall dispose of it in the manner determined by the City of Thief River Falls.

  • The City of Thief River Falls will not be liable for any vases, containers, urns and the like that may become misplaced, broken or stolen.

  • Use of shepherd hooks or elevated plant stands is allowed, but management reserves the right to remove such hooks or stands if they become unsightly or interfere with mowing and maintenance of the cemetery.

  • Planting containers shall not be emptied on the grass as it causes damage to mowers and is a potential safety hazard for the mower operator.  Black dirt is provided for your convenience.  Do not bring in dirt or fertilizing material as this may create serious weed problems.

GENERAL RULES AND CONDUCT

  1. Motor vehicles may be driven within the cemetery subject to these conditions:

  1. The speed shall not exceed 5 miles per hour.

  2. The vehicle shall only be driven or parked on marked driveways. No vehicles shall drive off a roadway.

  3. All vehicles shall be equipped with appropriate mufflers so as to reduce noise to a minimum.

  4. No ATV’s or snowmobiles shall be permitted in the cemetery.

  1. No person shall have in his or her possession a firearm or explosive, excepting an on-duty police officer and members of military organizations (i.e., National Guard, American Legion Honor Guard) at funerals and civic functions.

  2. No person may disturb the quiet of the cemetery by noise or improper conduct of any kind.

  3. Children under the age of 15 years must be under the direct supervision of an adult while in the cemetery.

  4. All persons are prohibited from picking any flowers, injuring any tree, plant or shrub, or marring, defacing or removing any monument or stone or any structure within the cemetery.

  5. No person, including lot owners, shall place any objects (i.e., shells, toys, etc.) on lots excepting items permitted (i.e., monuments, grave markers, urns, etc.)

  6. No person is permitted to erect fences or hedges on or around any lot.

  7. No artificial flowers are permitted in the cemetery after June 10th in any year.  Lot owners shall remove artificial flowers/decorations by June 10th or the Cemetery Supervisor shall dispose of same.   Any natural flowers must be removed by September 15th of each year to allow spraying for weeds.

  8. No planting of trees, shrubs or perennials is allowed on the lots without the express written permission of the Cemetery Supervisor.

  9. No person may allow any animal to run at large in the cemetery.

Penalty for Violations: Any person violating any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished in accordance with this Code of Ordinances.