Volunteers pushing on with repairs at cemetery

A group of volunteers plans to move forward with maintenance and repair efforts at the dilapidated Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City even after a bill died in the Legislature that was intended to protect them from liability.

State Rep. Gregg Takayama, lead sponsor of House Bill 1245, said it would have shielded volunteers and nonprofit groups from liability for maintaining the cemetery grounds.

HB 1245 also would have required the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the state comptroller to develop short- and long-term strategies for the repair and maintenance of the 4-acre cemetery on 4th Street.

Takayama said the bill especially would have helped families grieving over the state of the cemetery.

“It’s very disappointing and frustrating,” he said. “We were hoping the bill would pass this year and they would begin work this year.”

The bill died when it was not scheduled for a conference committee meeting before a key deadline last month.

Takayama plans to push a similar bill next session. In the meantime he plans to speak to the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Department to see whether anything can be done. Takayama, who introduced a similar bill last year, said there seemed to be more widespread understanding this session about the sorry state of the cemetery.

Darrell Salvador, whose relatives are buried at the cemetery, said he and others are planning their own repairs to the cemetery.

Salvador has helped to spearhead a grass-roots effort to improve Sunset Memorial and is working with an attorney to form a nonprofit group, which will allow volunteers to collect donations to pay for supplies. He said plans include erecting a fence around the cemetery’s perimeter and demolishing an old structure that formerly was the office, where homeless people have lived.

Salvador is the funeral director of nearby Leeward Funeral Home, which operates independently from Sunset Memorial. He said he is working with Sunset Memorial’s caretaker to sign an indemnity agreement that would shield volunteers from liability while they make improvements.

“This cemetery needs to get fixed up. I’m not going to wait for a bill,” Salvador said. “We’re dealing with people’s feelings. We’re dealing with my feelings because my family members are buried there. It’s a shame to see it like this.”

Family members and residents have raised concerns and frustrations for years about the cemetery’s neglect. Problems include overgrown grass and weeds, missing grave markers, sinking graves and stolen urns.

Takayama had said the cemetery’s owner died and that a friend has been trying to care for the property with no paid workers. The cemetery’s license expired in 1995, and it owes about $16,900 in property taxes. There is a cemetery trust fund with about $200,000.

The Pearl City Neighborhood Board stepped in about two years ago and held a community meeting that led family members and volunteers to form a group called the Friends of Sunset Memorial Park to oversee the cemetery’s maintenance and operations.

Larry Veray, neighborhood board chairman, is planning another community meeting to jump-start maintenance plans. The meeting is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. June 3 at Waiau District Park in Pearl City.

He also expressed frustration that Takayama’s bill went so far this year only to die at the last minute.

“This particular bill impacted so many families that have all been heartbroken with the conditions at the cemetery,” Veray said. “It was very disappointing.”

Salvador added that the goal of the Friends of Sunset Memorial Park is to maintain and repair the grounds, not to take over the cemetery or address burial plot ownership. He said he is hopeful the community will help, adding, “It’s going to be an interesting project for all of us.”