The parks in the City of Kingston could host specially designated areas for the scattering of cremated human remains under a proposal put forth by the Corporation Counsel’s Office. But members of the Kingston Common Council’s Laws and Rules Committee were lukewarm on plans to create a permitting process and charge administrative fees for the activity.

The discussion at Wednesday’s committee meeting was prompted by a request by City Clerk Elisa Tinti for clarification of rules regarding scattering ashes on city property. Finding no guidelines in the city charter, Tinti asked Corporation Counsel Barbara Graves-Poller to make a set of recommendations on the issue. Graves-Poller gave the assignment to law student and summer intern Charles Kuhlthau Caspari.

“It seemed like a superficially easy thing,” said Graves-Poller. “But once you delve into it there are different places people want to engage in this activity with family and then it starts bringing up other questions about where and who has the authority and how we might administer that type of program.”

Caspari told lawmakers that there was little to be gleaned from federal or state law relevant to Kingston, other than a Department of Health designation of scattering ashes as a “generally permissible” activity. Caspari also examined New York City Parks Department rules which include a set of regulations, like a ban on scattering ashes on playgrounds or ball fields, and a permitting process for ceremonies involving 20 or more people.

The main reason for developing guidelines, Caspari said, was to prevent conflict between people wishing to scatter a loved one’s remains and other park users.

“If you have someone who wants to have a barbecue, or a concert or a child’s birthday party and someone else is coming to disperse remains, it’s a conflict for the person who’s trying to have a barbecue and it’s a conflict for the person who’s trying to have a meaningful moment,” said Caspari.

Caspari’s recommendations included a joint effort between the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Arts and Culture to develop specially designated areas in one of two parks for the scattering of human remains, while giving Parks and Rec discretion over alternative sites. Lawmakers may also choose to create a permitting process for use of the designated areas and charge an administrative fee to pay for maintenance.

“It might be a good idea […] to find and designate particular areas where you could have scattering on city-owned land,” said Graves-Poller. “And hopefully have some sort of beautification effort so we get a meaningful space but also to demarcate it from others.”

But several committee members expressed concern about charging fees for scattering ashes. Alderman Carl Frankel (D-Ward 2) said that while he supported creating a sort of memorial garden and promulgating guidelines for scattering human remains on city land, he would not support a permitting fee.

“I think it’s great to say, ‘You can do it here, you can’t do it there, here are the guidelines,’” said Frankel. “But I don’t want to put people through bureaucratic hoops when they’re in the [grieving] process.”

Committee Chairman Rennie Scott-Childress (D-Ward 3) asked Graves-Poller to come up with a number of options on how to proceed and present them a later date.