DENVER — Why - in the heat of a Colorado summer - would management at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery not be watering its 240-acre tract of land in Wheat Ridge?
That's what Rick Smit and his 80-year-old father Lee Smit wanted to know.
The cemetery said in a release they are currently working to replace the irrigation system.
But when Rick and Lee Smit started to notice the grass turning brown, it's an answer they had a hard time getting.
"Dad noticed it," Rick Smit said. "He talked to me about it and I didn’t pay any attention to it the first couple of times he said something. I was like, 'You’re being overcritical.' But no, he’s not being overcritical. This is really, really bad."
Lee Smit said he has asked groundskeepers why they aren't watering. Rick Smit said he has made calls to management to inquire about the issue. He feels he's gotten the runaround.
"Nobody could give me 'Hey this is the problem, this is what's broken, and this is when it will be fixed.' And that's really all anybody wants to know," Rick Smit said. "Just water the grass folks. Find a way to water it or tell us that it's not going to be watered. But don't give me stories."
The grass at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery is brown and dry in a lot of places. Rick Smit said he hasn't seen the water on all summer.
We even saw one man bring his own water to the grounds on Monday. For Rick and Lee Smit, the grass is incredibly important.
"My mother passed away from small cell lung cancer," Rick Smit said. "97 days from the diagnosis to the day she passed away."
Now, Rick and Lee Smit visit her a few times a week. Rick Smit said seeing her plot dying is hard on his dad.
9NEWS reached out to Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery on Monday. They sent us this statement:
“We appreciate the concerns surrounding cemetery conditions at Olinger Crown Hill and are diligently working to replace the irrigation system. Cemetery management is currently working with construction and system engineers to discuss maintenance requirements. We regret that our families are affected by these conditions and take full responsibility in maintaining a beautiful resting place for their loved ones. We value the relationships we have with our client families and encourage anyone with concerns to contact us directly.”
The cemetery hasn't responded to questions about how long the grounds have been without water, how much of the 24-acre cemetery has been affected, or when the irrigation system is going to be fixed.
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