A perpetual care cemetery in Cleveland is allegedly in poor condition and constituents are asking the city for assistance.
Family members of those buried at Gateway Memory Park, also known as Mountain View Memorial Gardens on Boulevard Street, attended the Cleveland City Council meeting on Monday night. They pleaded for the city's help in getting the owner of the cemetery to improve conditions.
One of those concerned with the cemetery's condition is Debbie Davis. Davis told council members about the "terrible" conditions at the cemetery. She claimed the cemetery owner, whom she identified as Chris Shelnut, has dodged her requests for help. Davis alleged that she and others have tried to contact Shelnut multiple times, but he refuses to answer their calls. Davis also stated that the cemetery has not been registered with the state of Georgia since 2010.
Tom O'Bryant, the City Administrator, said that they were made aware of the situation on Monday and he, along with the city's code enforcement officer, visited the location. They gathered a list of items that the owner needs to comply with to bring the cemetery and a building on the property up to the city's new Property Maintenance Code.
Mayor Shan Ash said this is something that will be addressed.
"There are guidelines that they have to go by and we are going to check on our side to see what we can do about it and you know as far as license is concerned, we're going to check into that. We're going to follow up on this and make sure this is addressed," said Ash.
