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Resident urges county action after complaints about Monroe Memorial Park cemetery maintenance
Summary
A woman told the Board of Supervisors that Monroe Memorial Park Cemetery is overgrown and that promised perpetual care has not been provided; the board agreed to send a letter to the cemetery ownership and pursue possible secretary-of-state action to address dissolved ownership.
Sonia McKenzie Davis told the Harrison County Board of Supervisors the plot for her 20-year-old son at Monroe Memorial Park Cemetery has been left in poor condition despite an understanding that perpetual care was included when she purchased the plot. She described broken grave markers and overgrown grounds and said repeated calls to the cemetery's ownership went unanswered.
"It is a pain no parent should have to experience after already enduring the heartbreak of loss," Davis said, reading a prepared statement and requesting the board's help holding the owners accountable and restoring care and dignity to the grounds.
Board members said they had received similar complaints and would attempt a coordinated response. A county official said the cemetery's owning company appears to have been dissolved with the state secretary of state; the board discussed writing a letter to the cemetery owner(s) and potentially asking the secretary of state to consider declaring a mandate or other oversight action if appropriate.
A motion was made and seconded to prepare an order and related documents for submission to the secretary of state and to send a unified letter from the county. The chair said the board would take care of the action for the resident.
Board members and staff cautioned that options are limited when ownership is dissolved but said they would send a letter to the owners, coordinate with the city and other officials, and investigate the secretary-of-state process for dissolved entities.
