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Resident urges council to revisit Lafayette Cemetery moratorium, cites disturbed graves
Summary
Frank Archuleta told the council that past work at Lafayette Cemetery included graves being disturbed and urged lifting or modifying the moratorium so families who have paid for plots can bury loved ones; he said 150 letters went out but estimated more residents remain affected.
Frank Archuleta told the Lafayette City Council on Dec. 2 that city leaders must address past mistakes at Lafayette Cemetery and reconsider a current moratorium on burials. "It was illegal to dig up babies who were buried," Archuleta said, and urged council members to allow burials where families have purchased plots.
Archuleta described multi-generational family plots in the cemetery and said his relatives are buried there. He told the council that "150 letters went out" to plot owners but said the total number of people who still need burial access could be substantially higher. Archuleta urged council members to "apply moral clarity, common sense, and judgment" and to avoid further penalizing families who paid for plots.
The comment included procedural and historical claims—including a disputed account that records were not kept properly—that were presented without formal response from council in the transcript. No council action on the cemetery moratorium was recorded in the meeting segments provided; Archuleta asked the council to "reconsider" the moratorium and to permit interments where plots remain available.
The meeting record does not include a staff report, ordinance reference, or vote on changes to cemetery policy. Any formal change would require future agenda action, staff recommendations, and, depending on legal constraints, possible coordination with records or burial-rights holders.
