continued from page – we ….
continued from page
– we have set a tone for history to be made,” Councilman Ronald Miller emphasized. “That this council, this mayor, this city manager, and attorney have taken a task to come in with the citizens and say, ‘Enough is enough. We want to continue to make our city beautiful.’ I take my hat off to the council, to the mayor and the city manager, and to [everyone] for the effort that has been made. You have done a great job with a great concern.”
The Vidalia City Council shared their intentions of taking possession of the historic East Park Cemetery within the city and creating a trust for the property in order to use city funds to help improve the area. In the past few years, several community members have united in an effort to help restore the cemetery to its former glory, as the group ELICE (Enhancing Low Income Communities Economically, Inc.) have spent several weekends working to clean up the area.
To begin the public forum, City Manager Josh Beck explained that the city’s intent is to create a trust for the cemetery similar to the existing Pine Crest Cemetery Trust, which allows the city to help fund projects within the area. “The City would like to pursue gaining East Park Cemetery as a trust, so that we can do what we’ve done with Pine Crest Cemetery. We need to be able to spend public dollars at a high level in order to get this asset In the shape it needs to be in, and in order to do that, we need to get a trust,” Beck told attendees.
He explained that it would be a lengthy legal process to gain ownership of the property, which is currently owned by the Poe Family according to QPublic. Beck stated that according to his research, the Poe Family no longer lives in the area; thus, the city would have to file things in the court to try to take ownership through procedures.
City Attorney Daniel O’Connor also weighed in on the decision, as he explained that he had suggested that the City seek public opinion on the action before moving forward. “It is sort of a monumental effort for the city to gain the title to the land that the cemetery is on. It will involve a good bit of resources. The public’s opinion on this and the community’s opinion about this is pretty important instead of just assuming that is what the people want,” he commented.
O’Connor also told the attendees that though the city would own the land, a Board of Trustees would be appointed to oversee the cemetery in things such as upkeep and plot sales. “It would bring in some regulation to the cemetery that doesn’t exist right now,” he remarked. “I believe that the city would put individuals that are interested in the cemetery on the Board.”
He went on to explain that several things needed to be done, including a survey to determine what all graves were there, as many were without headstones.
Many community members commented on the decision, as most shared their support for the city’s involvement. “I am so happy that you, Mayor and Council, have taken up the East Park Cemetery Project, along with ELICE. My hat goes off to you because this has been a desire – even when you came on as mayor, it had already been years and year of punting the ball down the road. Things got worse and worse as that ball kept getting punted. I am proud of the progress I am seeing, and I am hopeful that we can carry this out because everything you said is exactly true. When [late Mayor Pro Tem] Mr. [John Raymond] Turner was alive, he even went as far as trying with previous administrations to get in touch with the Poe family.”
Drummer shared that the Poe family had not had any involvement in the city of Vidalia since the 1970’s, when they owned several properties within the city. “Usually, when a family goes away, someone comes out to be buried. We haven’t heard anything. Mr. Turner spent a lot of time and a lot of effort trying to locate them, but we could not find any Poes anywhere. The longer it takes, the more it will be in disarray, and as you pointed out, there are a lot of graves over there that have no name and no one remembers who they are,” he added.
ELICE Founder Rosemarie Miller addressed the City Attorney, asking him several clarification questions about the timeline of the legal process the cemetery would undergo. She also asked the mayor and council when they would decide whether or not to take on the project, and was told there is a possibility the group could vote during the next meeting.
Another citizen shared that her family has been a part of the city for generations, and that she believed the city should accept the cemetery as a project. “We have been working very hard at East Park and have discovered graves in the 1800s, people that have served in World War I, World War II, and that have been killed on active duty. We have citizens that have long contributed to the city of Vidalia during that lifetime. So we would like for their work not to go in vain,” she emphasized. “We understand that there is a process, and we hope that that will occur very rapidly. But we have read, and we read in the history of Vidalia, and we see other cemeteries that are listed, certainly East Park is worthy.”
Many other citizens shared their gratitude for the city to consider the project and emphasized the importance of protecting and preserving the history within the cemetery, while also honoring those buried there.
Mayor Doug Roper commented on the potential project. “It is vitally important because of the things that have been mentioned tonight, the history, veterans – it's an important part of our community. And I believe that getting this cemetery where it needs to be could be transformative in other areas and parts of our community in that area. So I think it's a great project. I don't see any reason why it can't be on the November agenda. And I don't foresee an issue or a reason why council would not decide to move forward and then get the legal ball rolling as well,” he emphasized.
The City will continue to accept comments and concerns about the potential project before it is voted upon. To share your thoughts, call (912) 5377661 or email jbeck@vidaliaga. gov.
