Austin Memorial Park (AMP) was designated as a Historic Texas Cemetery by the Texas Historical Commission in 2008 and is the final resting place for many notable Texans. AMP is an important part of Austin's and the state's history. However, as set out in Tomb Raiders, the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) has been ripping out historical artifacts throughout Austin's cemeteries with apparently no care or concern that it is destroying tangible links to Austin's past, as well as dishonoring those resting there. On that page, I documented ornamentation removed from gravesites being stored among scattered trash, waste material, and heavy equipment with no apparent labels or other signage regarding which gravesites these artifacts came from. Among them were a significant number of large elaborate benches, planters, urns, and statuary with the definite patina of age. I noted that not only were these grave decorations a significant part of a historic cemetery, such items costly when first purchased and can sell for hundreds of dollars on the secondary antiques market.
To try to gather more information regarding these displaced or dismantled grave ornamentation, on January 22, 2023, I submitted the following Public Information Request to PARD (reference number C166480-012223).
Records Requested: Any and all documentation, including, but not limited to, memos, letters, notes, notices, or photographs regarding the removal of any item of grave decoration or ornamentation (item) at Austin Memorial Park, excluding cut or artificial flowers or temporary holiday decorations, and any and all information regarding: the date an item was removed, the specific location the item was removed from; the person or persons who authorized the removal; whether there was any consideration or assessment of the historic or other value of the item; the reason or reasons for the removal; any notice or notices provided to the plot owner or stakeholder regarding the removal; whether the item was stored and, if so, where and for how long; and the final disposition of the item, including whether the item is still being stored, has been reclaimed by the plot owner or stake holder, has been destroyed, and if so, the method of destruction, has been discarded and, if so, the method by which it was discarded; was sold, was removed by an employee or other person for personal use, or the final disposition is unknown.
The dates covered by the request are September 1, 2013, through January 20, 2023.
On February 6, 2023, I received the following from the City of Austin regarding my information request, staring that my information request would be completed on or before March 10, 2023:
However, on March, 9, 2023, I received the following response from the City of Austin regarding my information request:
Even though I received an email from the City on February 6, 2023, stating that they "anticipate completing your request on or before 03/10/2023," now, a single day before that date, I am informed that, in order for the City of Austin to BEGIN processing my request, I need to provide additional clarification. I was being asked now to narrow the date range and be more specific regarding what I was looking for or requesting, because the request "as is would be a substantial cost involved." I had submitted the request originally on January 22, 2023, but now, well over a month later, I was being told that I needed to substantially revise and resubmit my request.
On March 10, 2023, I sent the following response:
Is there a way I can meet with someone face to face and explain the situation? Currently the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), without any authorization, is engaged in the wholesale removal of monuments and grave ornamentation throughout the Austin cemeteries: https://saveaustinscemeteries.blogspot.com/p/tomb-raiders.html There appears to be no consideration given to the families, the historical significance of the cemeteries, or the fact that some of these items may have significant monetary value. I am just trying to get some documentation on the extend of this desecration and looting of gravesites, as well as what is happening to items that have been removed. I am willing to narrow the date range, but since the removal of grave ornamentation by PARD has been an opaque process without any apparent guidelines, I have no way of knowing what documents are available or which documents I need to request. Please have someone contact me so that I can proceed with this request.
If I knew the process for removing, storing, and disposing of grave ornamentation, I would know what documentation to request. But because I had no idea what documentation, if any, was available, I could not narrow my documentation request. How can I be more specific regarding what documents I am requesting when I do not know what documentation actually exists?
After a week without a response, on March 17, 2023, I again sent my request asking to meet with someone face to face and explain the situation. Subsequently, on March 24, 2023, I received the following response from the City of Austin:
In short--"THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS NO RESPONSIVE DOCUMENTS TO YOUR REQUEST." On March 9, 2023, the City informed me that in order to begin processing my request, I needed to provide additional clarification, narrow the date range, and be more specific regarding what I was looking for or requesting, because the request "would be a substantial cost involved." Now, apparently there is not a single document "responsive" to my request. So we've gone from it being too costly to complete my initial request to there are no documents to fulfill my request.
So according to PARD, there is not a single document, memo, letter, note, notice, or photograph regarding the removal of any item of grave decoration or ornamentation at AMP. There is nothing documenting when and from where a item was removed, who authorized the removal, whether there was any consideration given to the historic or other value of the item, the reasons for the removal, any notice provided to the plot owner or stakeholder regarding the removal, whether the item was stored, and the final disposition of the item.
I have posted on this blog my February 8, 2023, comments regarding the proposed cemetery rules, including Proposed Rule 14.4.10-Ornamentation and Decoration, which gives Cemetery Operations in its sole discretion the unchecked and unconditional authority to remove any grave ornamentation for pretty much any reason, including "interferes with cemetery operations or maintenance." Nothing in the rules requires any notice to the stakeholder or plot holder, imposes on PARD the obligation to do any sort of assessment regarding the potential historic or monetary value of the ornamentation, or sets out how the item is to be stored or disposed of. Further, nothing in the proposed rules grandfathers in existing grave ornamentation, granting PARD the unlimited authority to tear out grave decorations that have been in place for decades. In fact, not only do the proposed rules not require PARD to repair any damage done to a gravesite resulting from PARD ripping out grave decorations, the rules further indemnify the city from the theft or vandalism of ornamentation, decoration, or any other personal property left in a cemetery.
But PARD is clearly not even waiting for these extremely unfair and one-sided rules to grant it absolutely authority to rip up existing grave decorations; like a tinpot Napoleon it is already engaged in widespread looting and pillaging of gravesites throughout Austin's historic cemeteries. Perhaps it should be properly renamed "NapolePARD." But that might not really be fair. . . to Napoleon, because at least the antiquities looted under his orders were often carefully documented by the savants who accompanied him and were subsequently placed and preserved in French museums and historic buildings. According to the City of Austin, NapolePARD has not even a Post-It note documenting the removal of a single piece of grave ornamentation. Currently, possibly hundreds of sculptures, statues, urns, and other grave ornaments have been torn out of Austin cemeteries with no documentation of when or from where they were removed or consideration of their emotional, historical, or monetary significance. As set forth in Tomb Raiders, at least some grave ornaments are being currently stored at AMP behind waste piles, barely secured by a flimsy fence, but there is not even a single scrap of paper documenting the ultimate fate of many of the grave decorations pillaged by PARD. Are these ornaments eventually simply destroyed and thrown away? Are any given away to city employees or other persons? Have any been stolen or otherwise misplaced? Have any been sold and, if so, who pocketed the proceeds?
If the City of Austin sincerely cares about preserving its history, protecting its historic public cemeteries, and honoring those interred therein, it must immediately stop the relentless march of NapolePARD and its uncontrolled looting and desecration of Austin's cemeteries.
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