COLUMBUS, Ohio — It's supposed to be a place of serenity for families to remember their loved ones, but at one Columbus cemetery, it's become far from that. Multiple complaints into our 10Investigates tip line point to conditions at the Green Lawn Cemetery.
The cemetery is more than 300 acres and has more than 150,000 gravesites.
Michael Sweazy’s great grandfather is buried at the cemetery and has a tough time finding his headstone, due to high grass.
“I think it'd be next section over, it's hard to even say where it's at…it’s terrible,” said Sweazy.
“You can just see the top of the tombstone,” said Bill Snodgrass.
Snodgrass lives close to the cemetery and has been walking here for at least eight years.
“I'm just disheartened when I come here and walk. This is a place of reverence, place of peaceful and respectful people,” said Snodgrass.
As 10TV was speaking with Snodgrass, the general manager of the cemetery pulled up and agreed to a one-on-one interview.
Kevin Boudle took on the role of General Manager recently.
“A month and a half,” Boudle said. “At least daily we have people that complain about the conditions of the ground especially back there.”
The general manager says he's also hired about 15 people, but half of them have quit. He says, just like many other industries, he's having difficulty finding workers.
“We have ads out on Facebook, we have a sign at the front entrance, so we're actively trying to recruit people, but it's very difficult,” said Boudle, “I have hired a contractor to mow and weed the back hundred acres, which is the more historical part of the cemetery.”
Some families are already seeing some improvement. During the Memorial Day weekend, the Glason family had to look through high grass to find their loved one.
“Normally, when we come, it's not bad like this. So this was the first year that the grass has been this tall,” said Monnette Glason, whose grandfather is buried at Green Lawn Cemetery.
But a few weeks later, when 10TV met the family at the cemetery, there was some improvement.
“This is better than when we came, but it's still bad,” said Glason.
But other families are still waiting for conditions to get better.
“I mean it's a disgrace,” said Sweazy.
The general manager says he's hoping by this week the grounds will be kept up and look a little more up to his standards.