Board members of the Louisville Cemetery Association attended a meeting where they discussed plans to reopen the cemetery and pursue an expansion.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two board members of the Louisville Cemetery Association (LCA), including Clark Cox, joined a community meeting via Zoom following frustrations over grounds maintenance and communication with families.
The Louisville Cemetery Improvement Association (LCIA), a group formed to advocate for proper upkeep of the property, hosted the meeting Saturday, with Cox serving as a key guest. The group noted that Cox had met with them separately last month.
Councilwoman Josie Raymond, who represents the district where the cemetery is located, also attended. The cemetery sits just south of the intersection of Eastern Parkway, Poplar Level Road and Goss Avenue.
“This community approach to solving challenges like this has been really inspiring to watch,” Raymond said. “The District 10 Metro Council office stands ready to work in partnership with you all whether it’s a cleanup effort, whether it’s accountability measures, whatever it takes.”
Raymond said she has also been speaking with fellow council members who are facing similar cemetery-related concerns in their districts.
In December, LCIA held a meeting where families with loved ones buried at the cemetery and nearby business owners voiced concerns about maintenance. Several attendees said they had taken it upon themselves to cut grass and care for burial plots.
Cox told WHAS11 in December that on-site staff had been let go and that operations would resume smoothly with new staff the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
That timeline was delayed. On Saturday, Cox said full operations are now expected to resume by Tax Day, April 15.
“We apologize for the problems we may have caused you and your families,” Cox said. “We have no intention on walking away from our obligations. That’s not how we do business…We have not shut down the cemetery for good. We have a responsibility and we know that that responsibility is.”
Cox also addressed financial concerns, explaining that a Perpetual Care account was established in 2001. He said the account contains sufficient funds to maintain the cemetery once it reaches capacity.
“We’re in the process of raising additional funds to carry on operations, but we still have money in the bank,” Cox said. “We’re also looking for expansion of the cemetery because we’re pretty close to being full.”
He told attendees that they are considering two to three potential sites to expand beyond the approximately 40-acre property they currently own.
Cox outlined a plan for the next 30, 60 and 90 days. Within 30 days, he said they expect to secure coordinated funding.
“It’s been up and down. Banks have gotten real conservative, so that creates a problem,” Cox said.
He added that they hope to finalize funding in the coming days and assemble a crew to clean up the cemetery. The association is also searching for a new sexton to oversee the property. Within 60 days, they plan to reopen fully and make burial records accessible.
Cox said they also aim to work with monument companies within about a week to install pending orders.
Within 90 days, Cox expects they will have determined where the cemetery’s expansion will take place.
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