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Widower urges Midvale to allow small, maintained plantings after rose removed from gravesite
Summary
A Midvale resident told the council his miniature rose was removed after 21 years; city staff said container plantings that do not root in the ground are allowed but enforcing any exceptions would add maintenance burden to Public Works.
Mike Hall, a Midvale resident whose wife died in 2003, urged the council during a workshop to allow small, well‑maintained plants at gravesites after crews removed a miniature rose that had been at his wife’s marker for two decades. "I would like to see small, well‑maintained, plants that do not grow beyond the marker allowed," he said, and said he received no notice before the removal.
Mayor Dustin Gettel said he sympathized with Hall and called the removal concerning because the plant had been in place for 21 years. Deputy Public Works Director Jerimie Thorne described the rules as maintenance‑focused and said staff will allow plantings placed in containers that do not put roots into the ground. "If they don’t get roots in the ground, the plants will be allowed," Thorne said, adding that unsightly plantings can be removed and that enforcement would fall to Public Works.
Council members expressed differing concerns about exceptions. Council Member Bryant Brown said equipment access and funeral service logistics factored into his hesitation; Council Member Heidi Robinson warned that grandfathering some plantings would create extra enforcement work for staff. Council Member Paul Glover asked whether a plant placed in a container within the headstone space would be permitted; Thorne confirmed it would.
The discussion ended with staff offering to explore options such as planter boxes and to report back; no formal policy change was adopted that night.
