Kentucky AG's office seeks November plan for upkeep of abandoned Louisville cemeteries

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Attorney General's office will work on developing a plan addressing concerns at three abandoned Louisville cemeteries before a November 1 conference in Jefferson Circuit Court, a top official told a judge Monday.

Eastern, Greenwood and Schardein cemeteries were owned by the Louisville Crematory and Cemeteries Co., which has been defunct since the 1990s. Jefferson County judges have overseen their management since then, handling requests for volunteer maintenance work and reviewing how money from a trust fund is spent.

But WDRB News revealed last month that no one has been overseeing a trust fund for the properties for years, while more than $43,000 for cemetery upkeep was sitting unspent in a deceased supervisor's bank account.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Patricia "Tish" Morris told attorneys and other cemetery volunteers during Monday's hearing that "not everybody's on the same page." In setting the November conference, Morris said she wants an update that includes the status of hiring a representative to use funds from a trust held by PNC Bank for the cemeteries' care, as well as reports on outstanding spending.

"Hopefully that'll give everyone ample time to talk about any concerns and address the plan that maybe we can have moving forward," she said.

Attorney General Russell Coleman's office has been contacting candidates to oversee the funds, said attorney Justin Clark, who manages the civil division. The previous representative, Charles Rickert, ended his work in 2018 and was not replaced. He died in 2023.

Clark said it's believed there is more than $600,000 in the trust. That money, however, could be depleted quickly because of the cost of mowing and other maintenance, he said.

Clark told Morris that the AG's office has been speaking with Louisville Metro government about its possible involvement. He indicated that the office will also talk with groups involved in cemetery maintenance.

"I would like to have those conversations with as many people as involved to present you something that looks like a plan," Clark said. "I certainly don't want to show up in front of you and, you know, kick the can down the road any more than it has been in this case."

Coleman said in an interview with WDRB this month that he wants a "long-term solution" for the three cemeteries.

Speaking from the bench, Morris defended the court's handling of cemetery-related requests made since she took office in early 2023. She noted that the court case involving the cemeteries dates to 1989 and includes 25 volumes and four boxes of materials.

Attorneys for PNC and the University of Louisville, which has been involved in archeological work in Eastern Cemetery, also were in attendance at Monday's hearing, as were members from groups connected to Greenwood Cemetery in western Louisville's Chickasaw neighborhood.

Cindi Sullivan, executive director of Trees Louisville, told WDRB after the hearing that her organization welcomes a plan to stabilize the cemeteries' upkeep. Trees Louisville has coordinated the removal of potentially dangerous trees and heavy trunks at Greenwood, she said.

"I think that it's wonderful that the current attorney general's office is working to find, hopefully, a long-term and sustainable solution," Sullivan said.

"We can't go on the way we've been going on since 1989 with these cemeteries. They need care, because the people that are in their cemeteries deserve respect. They deserve respect."

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