Columbus City Council members took a first step toward formalizing having the parks and recreation department manage Columbus City Cemetery.
Mary Ferdon, city executive director of administration and community development, said while the department already manages and maintains the cemetery with guidance from the City Cemetery Advisory Committee, there is a lack of records regarding the arrangement.
“Neither the parks department nor the clerk/treasurer’s office could find documentation — that probably existed at one time but we have not been able to find it — which really shows who is ultimately responsible for decision-making for the cemetery, though historically the parks department has managed it, because it has been right next door,” Ferdon said Tuesday.
A recommendation from parks department city attorney Mike DeArmitt will solve the documentation problem and help the city move forward on addressing issues with the cemetery, such as finance, maintenance and legal ownership of lots.
Council members passed on first reading an ordinance to transfer management of the cemetery to the Board of Public Works and Safety. If the city council approves after a second reading and public hearing, the ordinance will be approved.
“The goal is not to change responsibilities,” Ferdon said. “We still want the parks department to oversee the cemetery. … If that ordinance is approved, then the board of works and the parks and recreation department will pass a joint resolution to transfer the power to govern the cemetery to the parks and recreation department.”
Provided the ordinance and joint resolution are approved, the matter should be resolved by mid-to-late August, she said.
The city also has future plans to establish an endowment for the cemetery, as it is a popular historical site, she said.
“I think most burials happen at other cemeteries now, but many of the founding fathers and mothers of Columbus and Bartholomew County are buried there,” she said. “The goal will be to try to establish an endowment so that we can maintain some of the structures that people enjoy seeing.”
