By Cindi Andrews
Enquirer staff writer

A judge refused to let the city of Cincinnati off the hook Monday for overgrown weeds at Wesleyan Cemetery in Northside.

But don't expect to hear the buzz of lawn mowers there anytime soon.

The city and Hamilton County have both been named in a lawsuit by Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro. The lawsuit seeks to remove a convicted felon as the cemetery's trustee and ensure that it is cared for properly. Lawyers for the city asked Common Pleas Judge Steve Martin to drop the city from the case. Martin refused.

The cemetery dates to 1842 and holds about 17,000 graves - including those of more than 1,000 veterans.

Martin questioned why the city began mowing the 24-acre cemetery just after Memorial Day but stopped after clearing only one acre. Terry Nestor, a city attorney, said officials realized maintaining the cemetery would have used up most of their $250,000 budget for clearing hundreds of overgrown lots throughout the city.

Mayor Charlie Luken said Monday he was disappointed with Martin's ruling, although the judge did not demand any specific action of the city.

"If we're responsible for every cemetery that somebody chooses to walk away from, then I think we're going to have to sit down and reconsider our entire budget," Luken said. "This is not just an issue of going in and mowing the grass once. You cut it once, you own it. It's yours."

But members of Friends of Wesleyan Cemetery say the city is not following its own ordinance. The law says the city can cut down tall weeds that may encourage rodents and then charge the property owner for the work.

William Redmon of Northside, a member of the Friends of Wesleyan, photographed among the tall weeds and tombstones at the overgrown Wesleyan Cemetery in Northside. (Gary Landers photo)

"They want to have selective enforcement," said Friends President Debbie Redmon of Northside.

Three-foot-high weeds and grass have grown up at Wesleyan since trustee Robert Merkle finished his 18-month sentence for stealing $93,000 from the cemetery trust and resumed control of the cemetery last November.

Luken and Councilman David Pepper say they'd be willing to help if county commissioners pitched in, too. Commissioner Todd Portune has proposed that the two governments equally split the equipment costs, use people on probation as free labor, and have Cincinnati State Community and Technical College's cemetery program provide the oversight.

"My attitude is: This is a mess. And if we can clean it up, I'd like to," Pepper said. "I think this proposal makes sense - if it can happen."

However, Portune is still looking for a second vote at the county. John Dowlin was out of town Monday, but the third commissioner - Phil Heimlich - said he doesn't think the county can afford the cost or legal risk of getting involved. The first mowing could cost $30,000 and subsequent ones $17,000 apiece, Heimlich said.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a huge expense I'm not willing to commit to," he said.

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