News
Cemetery donation gets cool reception from city
BY
AMY RITCHART
The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN
A group dedicated to preserving what could be the county’s oldest black
cemetery expects to meet a road block today. Ward 12 City
Councilman Wayne Harrison said he doesn't think the city can accept
donation of the land containing Mount Olive Cemetery. The 7-acre
cemetery is between Swift and Beverly Hills drives. "I'm going to
recommend that we don't pursue this,” said the chairman of the city's
General Services Committee which oversees the city owned Riverview
Cemetery. "There are 30 cemeteries in Clarksville and Montgomery
County and we don't have the capabilities of taking over and running
them
The Mount Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society first asked the
Finance and Administration Committee to recommend
the city accept the cemetery from landowner Robert Davis.
That committee in March referred the matter to the General Services
Committee, which routinely reviews land maintenance and cemetery issues.
Harrison said he's against accepting the donation because the city would
have to enlarge its cemetery department to handle the added land and
upkeep. Additionally, the city would lose tax money being collected on
the land, he said. Davis has been paying both county and city
taxes on the property —
though by law he could have the land identified as a cemetery and
declared tax-exempt. Harrison said the cemetery could become a
burden to city taxpayers. "I can't foresee us putting that
liability on the city," Harrison said. "What those people (with the
Mount Olive Historical Preservation Society) can do is they can still
volunteer and clean it up with (the landowner's) permission."'
Landowner's view
Davis says the privately owned cemetery will remain protected should the
city reject ownership. But it will also remain closed to the
general public, he said. Those wishing to visit the cemetery are
required to get his permission.
Davis fears people could get hurt on his property or damage historical
evidence.
I’ve kept it for 60 years — nobody's put any plows and bulldozers to
it," he said. "It's probably just as safe with me as it was with
anybody. I like it — it's not just something I'm just trying to get rid
of." Davis, who has served as a City Council member, said he recommended
the city take ownership of the land so it would remain protected.
"This isn't new with me. If they don't want it, that's perfectly fine
with me," he said. "There's the long sight and the short sight. I
thought maybe it would be safer with the city."
Preservationists' view
Those working to preserve the area say they don't want something that
mirrors the manicured lawn of Riverview. "It will not be a
Riverview Cemetery. It will not be dressed," City Grants Manager Ron
McClurg said at an April 13 General Services Committee meeting.
McClurg has been serving as
the
city's liaison to the cemetery preservation group. "It needs to be
reserved as a historic area- You don't do that with lawnmowers and
weed-eaters and thousands of hours of labor every year," he said.
Members of the board of directors for the Mount Olive Historical
Preservation Society say they will
continue to fight for preservation of the land — and city involvement is
key.
Group members say city ownership would guarantee access to the land for
preservation efforts and strengthen their position when applying for
grants and recognition through the National Register of Historic Places.
Austin Peay State University professor Nancy Dawson said she hopes the
community will support
opening the cemetery to the public.
"This is a peoples' history that needs to be preserved," she said. She
believes it. can bring revenue into the city and connect with other
historical sites. ;
Today's meeting
The group plans to attend today's General Services Committee meeting to
persuade the city to accept the land and to explain that society members
plan to coordinate upkeep of the cemetery.
"The society agrees: We need to preserve this (cemetery)," said board
member Geneva Bell. "We're not asking the city to do anything. We're
going to keep (the cemetery) up.
Members of the society have been meeting weekly, working to file
paperwork for nonprofit status
with the IRS, Bell said. Thus far, Mayor Don Trotter and many council
members have been open to society members' ideas, she said.
"We're going to continue on the path that the mayor set for us," she
said. "I have faith in the mayor. I don't believe the council members
will turn and run. I want to believe they mean what they say.
"I feel this could make a difference in how we see the City Council.
Some are saying it's a black thing. I don't want to believe
Clarksville's like that."
The issue could still make its –way before the entire council, Harrison
said, even if rejected by the General Services Committee. Another
council member or the mayor could pursue it, he said.