Grand View Reopening Proposal on the Table
valleynews.com's Grand View Memorial Park expert Lisa Burks' latest scoop is that Tom Trimble, estate executor and brother of the facility's late majority owner Marsha Howard, has proposed a plan that could re-open the shuttered cemetery on a full-time basis.
Details of the proposal, which involves pooling all of the cemetery's current and expected revenue streams, were included in a letter sent to the City of Glendale earlier this week. Here are the letter's contents, according a post by Betty Haskell, Trimble's fiance, at this Yahoo Group for Grand View Families.
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 7 days a week for visitation only.
The public's 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
Execuator Estate of Marsha L. Howard.
The old cemetery has been closed for regular business since June 2006, six months after its owners and operators were charged with allegations of financial and criminal wrongdoing. Though criminal charges were dropped, Grand View was left insolvent.
Meantime, the Glendale City Council stepped-in to organize limited visitation hours on the city's dime as an intermediate fix while lawyers and the cemetery's insurers sort out Grand View's future. The City Council is scheduled to address all these issues at its Tuesday, June 12 meeting. The final date for the current limited visitation schedule approved by the council is Sunday, June 17.