FAIRMONT - Last year, Martin County gained responsibility for a long-forgotten pioneer cemetery south of Wilbert.

On Tuesday, commissioners were forced to use that responsibility to deny the placement of a bell tower at the site

The tower, part of a church in Ceylon, was once the bell tower for the German Evangelical Church when it was located at the cemetery south of Wilbert. The church was moved to Ceylon in 1903, and the cemetery fell into disrepair when the congregation dissolved.

Last spring, the forgotten cemetery was brought to the attention of the county when the landowner planned to farm the site. Since then, the perimeter of the little cemetery has been marked, with grave markers placed at approximate burial sites.

However, moving the bell tower to the little cemetery violates several county ordinances, and would create more trouble in coming years, according to several county officials.

Planning and zoning officer Pam Flitter told commissioners that when the cemetery was surveyed last summer it was determined to be a non-buildable lot of land.

Setback requirements, as stated by county ordinance, would place the bell tower right in the area where graves are located. It also was noted there could be unknown graves at the site.

"I think we're setting ourselves up for trouble down the road," said Commissioner Dan Schmidtke, who represents the southwest portion of the county, including the towns of Wilbert and Ceylon. "It's signed as an unbuildable lot, our county attorney is advising against it, and it's against our own ordinances ... There's got to be a way to preserve it, but we've already spent too much time and money on it as is."

Schmidtke - a lifelong member of the church that descended from the German Evangelical congregation - pointed out that no one had known about the existence of the former church cemetery before last year.

"If we had showed as much concern for this 50 years ago, we wouldn't be in this situation," he said. "It shouldn't have sat there and gotten overgrown; they shouldn't have let the farmer farm as close to it as they told him to do, because they didn't want to have to deal with it ... I was confirmed with this church, I grew up at this church, and I had never heard anything about this place out by Wilbert until last year. I don't think there's anyone who's alive today that remembers when the church was out there."

John Schmidtke, representing Ceylon Historical Society, was dismayed that the county would not allow a variance to the county ordinance to help preserve the history of the pioneer cemetery.

"You'll do all these things to help the hog barns, but not with this," he said. "We're trying to save some history here."

It was explained that because of hog barns the setback ordinances for other buildings were put in place. Only structures in existence before 2004 are exempt from the current setbacks.

"It took us two years to get these ordinances in place," stated Commissioner Jack Potter. "During that time, we had public hearings about four times a year. If we go back on our own ordinance now, what does that say?"

"I won't sign a variance that goes against our own ordinance," said Commission chairman Steve Donnelly.

The request was voted down 4-0, with Gerald Boler absent Tuesday.

In other business, the commissioners:

o Approved a $229,000 bid from Flint Hills Resources for bituminous materials for road seal-coating projects this summer.

o Approved resolutions designating a 'stop' intersection at 60th Street and 190th Avenue, and designating 'yield' intersections at 90th Street and 60th Avenue, along with 95th Street and 280th Avenue.