BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — With much regret, the Union County Board of Commissioners restated an issue from a previous meeting that the county could no longer offer mowing service to private cemeteries in the county.
The matter came up during the public comment segment of the Feb. 20 meeting of the board, when representatives from two cemeteries were present to enquire about a letter that had been sent out by the county to inform them of the decision. It seems that some of the cemeteries received the letter while some did not.
Ralph Douglas, a member of the Fort Call Cemetery board, came forward and asked about the situation, saying that his cemetery had received a letter. Jim Harrell, vice president of the Elzy Chapel Cemetery, said that his board had not gotten one. Douglas said that he had spoken with a representative from another cemetery who had also not gotten a letter.
The problem seems to be a lack of correct, monitored addresses for many of the private cemeteries in the county. Letters were sent out to all of them, but most did not receive them.
Commissioner Jimmy Tallman said he did not like the decision, but that it had to be made.
“We need to care for cemeteries, but will have to get the inmates back,” Tallman said. “This is a service we want to provide, and the decision is not about money, but is a manpower issue. Without the inmates to handle the county mowing we cannot free-up county road department workers to mow the cemeteries.”
In the letter, the board cited the loss of 50% of the inmate labor made available to the county in the past. The county relies heavily in inmate labor due to financial constraints that make it impossible to fund the additional hiring to bring the county up to the workforce it had pre-COVID, which was the cause of the decrease.
“We have lost the equivalent of 30 man-positions when the number of inmates available to the county was cut and there is just no way we can continue to provide the work-load that we did when more were available,” said County Coordinator Jimmy Williams. “At state events I have attended representing the county I have spoken about the need to get the Department of Corrections to allow inmate labor to go back to what it was before the mandates it implemented during the pandemic.”
Efforts are being made to locate valid addresses for each cemetery. In the letters, the board offers to assist the cemeteries with information about local lawn services through the board office.
About a dozen private cemeteries are affected by the issue and all of the commissioners stated their regrets at having to stop assisting them by mowing. The practice started several years ago when Karen Cossey was on the board as a public service to the community and all of the commissioners would like to see it continue despite the fact they realize that it is not possible.
Anyone connected with the boards of the private cemeteries in the county is encouraged to call the board office at 386-496-4241 to give a valid address to which the letters can be sent. The cutoff day for the mowing service has been set for March 31.
