County crews, consultants deployed to tidy Tulare cemeteries; trustees hear status update

Tulare County staff and outside consultants presented an update on cemetery operations and recent maintenance work, telling trustees that county crews completed an intensive maintenance push and that consultants have been hired to review operations and recommend improvements.

County crews: County maintenance staff spent approximately two weeks working at the district's two cemetery locations. County staff reported deploying nine park maintenance employees for roughly eight hours a day over two weeks; the crews performed mowing, trimming, weeding, light irrigation work and herbicide spraying near headstones. County staff and members of the public said the visual improvements were substantial but stressed the need for regular maintenance to sustain those gains.

Consultants and oversight: The county has engaged two cemetery experts to review operations. Dan Brown, a cemetery and special-district manager with experience in multiple California districts and statewide cemetery associations, introduced himself and said he will assist with operational review. Cindy Summers, a former Visalia Public Cemetery manager who helped uncover historical embezzlement in her previous role and who now manages Atascadero Public Cemetery, will assist in evaluating operations, training trustees and staff, and helping to implement best practices.

Headstone variance: Staff updated trustees on a headstone variance request from a family after an installation-size error. District staff said the monument company corrected the headstone and the family withdrew the variance request after the correction; no formal variance action was required.

Next steps: Trustees asked staff and consultants to develop written policies and forms for variance requests and other recurring processes. The board also discussed staffing: staff said two temporary grounds positions may be converted to full-time roles to reduce reliance on temp services. County staff emphasized that spraying and tree maintenance would be key to ongoing upkeep, and public commenters suggested the district consider organized community participation under appropriate liability controls.

Trustees thanked county crews and the consultants. The district will incorporate consultants' findings and audit results into a longer-term operations plan to be shared with the board.