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Blog Entry 61 of 80 Grave Concerns: Inside Grand View Memorial Park

News you can use regarding Grand View Memorial Park, Glendale, CA's oldest cemetery, which has been closed for regular business since June 13, 2006, due to legal and financial problems. Lisa Burks also runs the website GrandViewMemorialPark.info.

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Trees, communication issues keep Grand View locked

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Contributed by: Lisa Burks on 7/1/2007

Today is Sunday, July 1, which would traditionally mark another city of Glendale-sponsored limited visitation at Grand View Memorial Park on the first and third Sundays of each month.

Funds were approved last Tuesday by the City Council to continue the twice monthly dates for the new fiscal year that starts today, but things remain in a holding pattern until the hazardous tree situation, namely dead branches falling from deadly heights, can be sorted out.

As the Los Angeles Daily News' Eugene Tong reports on his blog, East of the 5:

" Mike Grant, the city attorney working on the case told me this morning it all depends on how long it takes to remove the dead trees and other hazards from the cemetery.

First step, the city has to secure a court order from the trial judge to permit the maintenance they want to do, and that won't happen until at least July 9, when the next hearing in the civil case against the cemetery owners takes place. Meanwhile, city crews have to assess how to remove the hazards while staying within budget."

In the meantime, some readers have asked me why the water isn't being turned on, which would take care of the arid conditions which are causing the trees to die. What seems like a no-brainer is actually a slippery slope, according to City Manager Jim Starbird's comments at last week's council meeting.

Starbird pointed out that the saving grace of the dry grass is that it is not growing, otherwise the grass and weeds could be three feet tall had it been watered. Watered grass grows, he noted, which creates a need to mow which creates an expectation of other maintenance of the grounds, which at this point are still under a court-issued evidence preservation order.

Also, there is a leak or leaks somewhere in the water lines at Grand View, which city crews have not been able to pinpoint. Starbird said the city runs a liability risk of potential property damage to the privately owned cemetery if the water were to be turned on and the damaged line broke further.

Then there is the issue of past water bill monies still due, mounting into the thousands of dollars, which needs to be settled from funds that are currently tied up in litigation.

Speaking of money, there seems to be some confusion about who wants to use the interest still being generated from the endowment fund to pay for the public to have access to the cemetery while the class action civil lawsuit drags on, and how.
As reported here last month, Tom Trimble, brother of the late Marsha Howard and executor of her estate which includes 51 percent ownership of Grand View, sent a letter to the city in response to its inquiry to access the interest funds to offset its ongoing costs, with his recommendations on how to independently open the grounds to the public seven days a week using funds and other resources generated by the cemetery.

At the council meeting, Starbird acknowledged receipt of the letter (calling it an e-mail) and characterized it as Trimble refusing to allow the city to access the endowment fund interest unless the city took responsibility for opening Grand View on a daily basis.

Trimble, who was not able to attend the council meeting due to health reasons, reacted to the news via telephone from his Oceano, Calif., home with shock and disappointment over the misinterpretation of his game plan.

"That wasn't what I proposed. My idea was to relieve the city of the responsibility of opening the cemetery, including manpower and monies," said Trimble.

"I never heard back from anyone regarding my letter so what was said at the meeting is news to me," said Trimble, who said that in the time since he sent the letter has also found resources to cut the grass if it were watered.

A request I made to the city last week to see the e-mail in question, in order to compare it to a letter Trimble showed me, has not been responded to yet.

Below is the verbatim text of the letter, supplied by Trimble, that Trimble said he faxed to the city. From what I can see (judge for yourself) it does not imply that he is holding funds ransom for a city-sponsored seven day a week schedule.

Instead, the plan relies on the new owners of Kiefer & Eyerick Mortuary (previously owned by Howard and sold recently to Crawford Mortuary in Northridge) to open and close the gates, which Trimble said they have made a verbal agreement with him to do.

So far, there has been no public reaction, positive or negative, to Trimble's plan or to the city's approval of additional funds, made by the cemetery's 49 percent co-owner, Moshe Goldsman.

Trimble and his fiance, Betty Haskell, told me yesterday that to-date they had not heard back from the city, Judge Anthony J. Mohr or even their own attorney who they were told had a meeting with the city on the matter. Because Trimble's plan would require a court approval, they said their next step would be to address the court at the next status hearing on July 9.

June 4, 2007
Copies sent by Fax

Re: Grandview Cemetery; Estate of Marsha L. Howard.

Dear Gentlemen:

It has been brought to my attention that the City of Glendale would like to speak with Charles Wetmore, Trustee for the Endowment Care Funds of Grand View Cemetery. With the intent to use these funds in this account to offset the costs of the public limited Sunday visitations in Grand View Cemetery.

Since my sister's untimely death it has been my intent to reopen Grand View for visitation only on a full-time basis. Seven days a week, eight hours per day.

My proposal has been to use only the acquired interest of the endowment care funds and the monthly rent from the Church building located on the North corner of the cemetery grounds. These combined funds could possible cover the costs of insurance and water at the cemetery.

The new owners of Kiefer & Eyerick Mortuary could resume their prepaid lease of the office at Grandview. Open and close the entrance gates to the grounds seven days a week for visitation only.

The publics best interest has been ignored much longer than appreciated. In the interest of the public any proposal less than "full time" visitations are unacceptable to me at this time.

Thomas E. Trimble
Execrator for the Estate of Marsha L. Howard

Cc:
Honorable Anthony J, Mhor
Los Angeles Superior Court

John F. Weitkamp Esq.
Weitkamp & Weitkamp

Michael R. Grant
Senior Asst Attorney
City of Glendale

Brent Crawford
Crawford Mortuary

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