The Kenai City Council enacted an ordinance that amends cemetery regulations. The city took over ownership and management of the original cemetery in 1985 and the original section of the Kenai Municipal Cemetery is now 97% occupied/reserved. A new section of the cemetery was recently established to the west of the original cemetery. There currently are two separate parts of the Kenai Municipal Code establishing laws and regulations for the cemetery. As a result, the city determined that locating applicable laws for the cemetery in one municipal code title provides clarity for the public and the city administration.
There were several proposed amendments that were approved, which included the following:
- Open flames or fires of any type are prohibited within the confines of the Cemetery. This includes candles, memorial lanterns, barbeques or any other type of flame or fire
- Plastic or silk flowers and artificial decorations are permitted between May 1 and September 30.
- Markers shall be constructed of materials that will not decay, rot or decompose. Examples are hard stone, concrete or hard metals.
Parks and Recreation Director Brad Walker provided insight on a proposed amendment that would have provided enclosures such as picket fences or establishing a perimeter around an interment site:
“We do not mow over the graves. We string trim around all those. The picket fences, we also have to string trim around. It takes a lot of work and then there’s also quite a few of those that have not been taken care of for a very long time. Currently, it takes about three of our staff members a day-day and a half to complete mowing, string trimming, raking, taking care of general maintenance of the cemetery. We see everything from picket fences to those that are made out of brick, they aren’t picket fence, but it’s like a barrier like a fence. We have livestock fence. We have white picket fence. We have any variation in between. I would say the tallest that we have is four feet and it’s kind of like the wire fence, but its all variations between that.”
The proposed amendment failed on a 4-3 vote.
The ordinance, which was enacted, was postponed from the June 1st meeting.
Click here for more information on Ordinance 3293-2022. Click here for more information on the Kenai Municipal Cemetery.
