Department of General ServicesMay 12, 2014

Briefing Overview

• Future vision• City owned cemeteries• Cemetery responsibilities• First steps towards improvement• Current condition of cemeteries• Current maintenance and operations budget• Current challenges• Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex

Future Vision

• Revitalize cemeteries by creating park-like settings that invite visitors– Install park benches– Install historic signage– Install water fountains– Install matching trash receptacles– Increase overall lawn-care maintenance

Future Vision (continued)

• Capitalize on the historic significanceof our cemeteries

• Tap into a new tourism market with our Path of History

Current City Cemeteries• Cedar Grove Cemetery• Oak Grove Cemetery• Olive Branch Cemetery• Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex

– Mount Calvary– Mount Olive– Fishers Hill (will take “ownership” in July 2014)

– Paupers Field

Cedar Grove Cemetery

Oak Grove Cemetery

Olive Branch Cemetery

Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex

Mt. Calvary

Fisher’s Hill

Mt. OlivePauper’s Field

Mt. Calvary Cemetery Complex

Brief History• Prior to 1960 – City owned & managed the following

cemeteries:– Cedar Grove– Oak Grove– Olive Branch

• 1960 – City sold all of its vacant grave sites to a private entity and entered an agreement with Wimbrough and Sons to manage burial operations at all cemeteries

• 1964 – City sold the land east of Olive Branch Cemetery to Wimbrough and Sons and adopted an ordinance designating this land the Olive Branch Cemetery Annex

Current Cemetery Responsibilities

• Contractor – Wimbrough and Sons– Sale of vacant graves– Digging of graves– Record Keeping– Scheduling interment services with funeral homes

• City– Grass cutting– Removal of flowers– Road maintenance– Repair of grave sites– Trash and debris removal

• We have reorganized the cemetery operationsand created a Cemetery Superintendent usingan existing position

• Worked with the Sheriff’s Office to develop an agreement for regular grass cutting and weeding

• Developed partnerships with private groupsto improve our historic cemeteries

• Developed a plan to reach the goal of a 7-daycut cycle for all cemeteries

First Improvement Steps

First Improvement Steps (continued)

• Major clean-up of old brush, debris and old flowers

• Regularly remove old flowers and memorials

• Reviewing the existing City Code and looking toward developing a reasonable schedule for enforcement

• Installing signage that clearly states what is acceptable in our cemeteries under the existing code

Current ConditionsIn City Cemeteries

• Cedar Grove – Grass is on a 7-10 day cut cycle.– Replacing historic markers – Remade the Scatter Garden– Regularly repairing historic graves– Regularly repairing cave-ins– Very good staff relationship with the Cedar Grove

Cemetery Foundation

Current Conditions (continued)

• Oak Grove Cemetery– Grass is on a 7-10 day cut cycle.– Completed major clean-up of old brush

and overgrowth– Replaced fencing where needed– Ordered new signage

Current Conditions (continued)

• Olive Branch Cemetery – Grass is on a 7-10 day cut cycle– Completed major clean-up of old brush and

overgrowth– Regularly removing old flowers– Moved grave-digging equipment out of sight– Covering work areas with appropriate fencing – Ordered new signage

Current Conditions (continued)

• Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex– Grass is on a 7-10 day cut cycle.– Completed a topographical survey– Removing brush, debris and overgrowth– Removing un-necessary trees– Developing a plan to repair cave-ins– Meeting with ERC to discuss drainage issues– Improving roadways using old crushed asphalt from

High Street re-paving (a temporary fix)

Current Funding• The perpetual care fund currently totals $1,544,083

• Should appropriate annual earnings from the investment of these funds to cemetery maintenance

• Current earnings are insufficient to cover total cost of cemetery maintenance

• Current 2013-2014 budget (cost) is $220,420

• Ideal annual budget is $470,000±

2014-2015 Proposed Budget

• The proposed budgeted funds for cemetery maintenance is $280,0000 which incorporates several improvements in efficiency:– Cemetery Superintendent– Lower contract price by utilizing the Work Release

Program– Certain infrastructure improvements

Current Challenges• Compliance with the City Code

• Mt. Calvary, Mt. Olive, Fisher’s Hill andPauper’s Field condition

“Serious Drainage issues are persistent at this cemetery…. A complete drainage plan should be done for this area. The amount of work to be done is far beyond what the Perpetual Care Fund will ever be able to address…There is no way this project could be handled within the Perpetual Care Fund or General Operating Budget. This will be a large project and will take numerous years to complete.”

Excerpt from the November 16, 2006 City Cemeteries Perpetual Care Fund 10-Year Master Plan, page 16

City Code on Enclosures and DecorationsSection 9-47 and Section 9-48

• No enclosures, flower beds, hedges or borders of any kind will be permitted around or alongside of any grave.

• Nor ornaments or decorations other than cut or artificial flowers shall be placed on any grave

• Flags may be place on graves on Memorial Day

• Floral designs may be used at burials, but shall be removed from lots within ten days thereafter.

City Code on Monuments and GravestonesSection 9-41 and Section 9-42

• A monument is any stone that projects more than 24 inches above the ground

• A gravestone must be between 4 and 12 inches thick and no more than 24 inches wide

• A gravestone can be nor more than six inches above the ground

• A grave can have only one stone.

• All stones and monument foundations must be at least 4 feet into the ground

Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex:Mt. Calvary

Mt. OliveFisher’s Hill

Pauper’s Field

Future Goals • Restore the cemetery and the sanctity

that it deserves• Have the cemetery placed on the National

Register of Historic Places– Through the National Park Service– Develop the documentation that will identify the

cemetery as one of America’s historic and archeological resources

Future Goals (continued)

• Have the cemetery become a part of the “Network to Freedom”– Through the National Park Service

– Develop the documentation to support the identification of the cemetery as a place associated with the Underground Railroad and thereby allowing it to become part of a network of Underground Railroad historical sites

• Expand the cemetery with additionalgrave sites to support thePerpetual Care Fund

Mt. Calvary

Fisher’s Hill

Mt. Olive

City of Portsmouth

City of Portsmouth

City of Portsmouth

City of Portsmouth

Pauper’s Field

• Current combined cemetery boundaries• Proposed “new” boundaries for cemetery and sale of grave sites

Collaborative Community Efforts• African American Historical Society is the supporting

foundation - Mae Breckenridge

• Application for the National Register and Network to Freedom historical documentation –Nadia and Brenda Orton

• Grant writer – Margaret Windley

• Volunteerism and clean-up champion –Christina Carlton

Timeline of Activity

• December, March, April: Volunteer and City Staff meetings

• April: – Successful grant of $4,000 to remove decaying trees /

trees that are damaging grave sites– Completion of aerial survey and first step in

developing design for remediation of drainage problem

Timeline of Activity (continued)

• July – Notice of Hearing for the City to officially take possession of Fisher’s Hill Cemetery

• Next step – submit applications for the National Register and Network to Freedom

• Fall – Completion of design documents for solving the drainage issue and development of new grave sites to support perpetual care