If you haven't read the Herald, here's the story. -- jws City can build over old cemetery Judge orders remains moved for youth center By PAM McGAFFIN Herald Writer Tuesday, October 27, 1998 SNOHOMISH -- The city of Snohomish should be permitted to remove and relocate human remains at an old cemetery where it wants to build a youth center, a judge decided Monday. The decision by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Charles French also settles a question hanging over an existing senior center on the property, southeast of Second Street and Pine Avenue. The Snohomish Tribe and descendants of a pioneer family have tried to prevent the city from disturbing remains and building on the cemetery site. They also argued that the senior center should be removed because it's not a cemetery use. But French said he found no legal basis to grant their request to remove the building. Tom Haensly, attorney representing the tribe and Ruth Moore and Carolynn Crawford, said his clients haven't decided yet whether they will appeal. Meanwhile, Snohomish city manager Bill McDonald expressed relief at the ruling. "This is going to remove a cloud that has existed over that property for 100 years," he said. "Once and for all, we'll solve that big question mark: What do we do with this property? And we'll do it in a way that respects the past but allows us to move forward." "We're excited to get this youth center back on track and under way," said Jeff Soth, mayor of Snohomish. The city has committed to spending $20,000 for a memorial and interpretive center to explain the property's history, he said. "We'll have the kind of respect we've always intended to have for the past," he said. The controversy surrounds Snohomish County's first cemetery and the final resting place for about 300 pioneers and Indians. The last documented burial at the site was of an Indian woman, Pilchuck Julia, in 1923. In 1947, the cemetery was split by the construction of Highway 2, now Second Street. Prior to building the road, the state highway department had at least 111 sets of remains removed and reinterred at the G.A.R. Cemetery west of town. Over the next 40 years, volunteers periodically cleaned up the cemetery, but it was vandalized, fell into disrepair and become overgrown. The poor condition of the cemetery was key to Judge French's ruling. "The sanctity, respect and dignity to which the deceased are rightly entitled have been lost and forgotten long ago," he wrote. "Too much time has passed and too much neglect has occurred for this Court to conclude the interests of the deceased are better served by allowing them to remain in their present location." In 1996, the city, as owner of the property, asked the court to remove the cemetery dedication so that the youth center could be built. The senior center was established on a corner of the property in 1992. Moore and Crawford, descendants of the pioneer Low family, protested and went to court to try to stop the city from disturbing their ancestor's graves or building on the land. The Snohomish Tribe also sought to block the city's plans, saying the cemetery was an Indian burial ground. Last June, tests revealed at least one set of human bones at the site. City officials and the complainants differ as to how many more bodies might be found. McDonald said the city would be surprised to find five, whereas the complainants maintain there could be as many as 100. As part of the court decision, the city will be required to investigate, locate and map burial sites. Then it must get a court- approved plan to remove and reinter the remains at another cemetery, most likely G.A.R. Haensly, attorney for the complainants, said the city and its partners could face "huge costs" as it works to prepare the property. "If the city runs into 100 bodies, 75 bodies, it will be an extremely expensive undertaking for them," he said. "Our concern is that the city will disturb the site and not be able to follow through." McDonald called the concerns "hyperbole." Significant archaeological work has already been completed, he said, and the senior center and youth center have agreed to bear those costs under the terms of their leases with the city, he said. You can contact Herald writer Pam McGaffin by e-mail at: mcgaffin@heraldnet.com or by phone at 425-339-3429 Comments: newmedia@heraldnet.com HeraldNet - Snohomish County's Online Information Source http://heraldnet.com/ Local News http://www.heraldnet.com/localnews HeraldNet Opinion http://heraldnet.com/opinion/ HeraldNet Opinion - Letters http://heraldnet.com/opinion/letters/ Copyright (c) 1998 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash. http://www.heraldnet.com/about/legal.htm