Angered and frustrated over the operation of a private Lawrence cemetery, relatives of loved ones buried there unloaded their emotions on city and state officials Sunday.

“We are sick of Memorial Park Cemetery treating our loved ones like nothing,” said Loma Gregg, who nearly four years ago buried her daughter in the East Lawrence cemetery at 1517 E. 15th St.

About 170 people gathered in Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s auditorium for the meeting, and for most of two hours one person after another stood up to recount allegations of shoddy cemetery management that included poor maintenance, damaged grave markers left unrepaired, and even mismarked graves and burials in the wrong places.

Listening to the complaints were representatives from the Kansas Secretary of State and the Kansas Attorney General offices as well as Lawrence City Manager Mike Wildgen, Mayor Boog Highberger and Commissioners Mike Amyx and David Schauner.

“Please return respect to our family members,” a tearful Tammy Barta, whose grandparents are buried in Memorial Park, told them. “Do whatever you have to do.”

The state offices have been investigating complaints about the cemetery, which is owned by Mike Graham & Associates, of Houston. Currently, investigators from the Secretary of State’s Office are auditing the cemetery’s financial records, said Kathy Sachs, a representative of the office.

If the audit turns up evidence of violations in bookkeeping or how funds have been handled under Kansas law, that information will be turned over to the attorney general for further action. That action could include taking the operation away from the owner and turning it over to the city, said Bryan Brown, deputy attorney general in the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division.

Sachs said she didn’t know how much longer it would take to finish the audit, nor could she discuss details about it, but added, “I think we will get something done.”

City officials aren’t sure they really want to manage and maintain the cemetery. Wildgen warned that there may be litigation involved. “It’s not as simple as saying ‘we’ll take it over,'” he said.

Brown agreed. “I don’t think Mike Graham is just going to give up the cemetery,” he said.

Nevertheless, city commissioners said they would discuss possible actions concerning the cemetery at a future meeting. A date for that meeting will probably be set when commissioners have their regular session Tuesday night, Highberger said.

Expressing concerns

Despite the allegations of poor maintenance, the cemetery doesn’t meet the state’s definition of an abandoned cemetery, Brown said. He urged people with burials in the cemetery to seek action in small claims court or to consider hiring lawyers to sue the owner.

Meanwhile, the city will enforce environmental laws at the cemetery, Wildgen said. Some residents said they were upset because the city hadn’t taken action concerning trash and what appeared to be junked vehicles next to the office building.

The meeting was called by Nina Bair because she didn’t think city and state officials understood concerns area residents had about the cemetery. She said she was pleased with the turnout. “We needed to have this,” she said.

Joyce Webb, who also attended the meeting, agreed. “We showed there is a lot of support in the community to get something done.”

Gregg said that on the Memorial Day holiday she would sit at her daughter’s grave in Memorial Park and collect written complaints from anyone who wants to give one to her. She will see that copies are then given to City Hall and the attorney general. She said she will put up a balloon to let people know where she is that morning from 8 a.m. to noon.

Bair said representatives for the cemetery were invited to attend the meeting, but no one appeared.

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