Councillor mourns the state of Trelawny’s cemeteries

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE GRAVE situation with the cemeteries in Trelawny came to the fore at yesterday’s monthly meeting of the parish’s municipal corporation as Falmouth’s councillor Garth Wilkinson bemoaned the unkempt state of cemeteries, which, he says, is making it difficult for relatives to locate the graves of their deceased loved ones.

Wilkinson, a former mayor of Falmouth, says he has been getting complaints from persons who are quite unhappy that the 32 cemeteries are not being properly maintained.

“I have had several complaints from relatives of deceased persons about the difficulty they have in finding the graves of their loved ones. In the majority of cases, they are overrun by trees and shrubs,” said Wilkinson, reminding his fellow councillors that the maintenance of the cemeteries is the responsibility of the municipality.

In acknowledging that the municipality does not have the funding needed to properly maintain the cemeteries, Wilkinson says he plans to move a resolution to get funeral homes to be charged a fee to use the cemeteries.

“I plan to move a resolution that funeral homes be charged a fee for the use of the cemetery. They can afford this charge and when collected, the municipality can use that money to keep the cemeteries in a respectable condition,” said the former mayor.

As it relates to the construction of graves, he wants that responsibility, which is now being taken on by the funeral homes, to fall to the municipality to create a new revenue stream to generate funding to maintain the cemeteries.

“The cemetery keeper should be responsible for the construction of graves,” said Wilkinson, in reference to the person employed by the municipality to oversee the cemeteries. “Money should be paid to the municipality and cemetery keepers be designated to construct based in the dictates of relatives of the deceased.”

According to Wilkinson, if sufficient revenue is generated to ensure the proper maintenance of cemeteries, local cemeteries could be just as attractive as those in some countries overseas.

“Cemeteries can be an attraction ... these cemeteries are important pieces of history that can inform visitors,” said Wilkinson.

Phillip Service, councillor for the Granville division, says he stands ready to support Wilkinson’s resolution because he, too, feels that cemeteries should be treated with some amount of dignity.

“I won’t be here when the next council is formed, but in the interest of the municipality’s viability, I am giving my unwavering support to the resolution,” said Service, who has indicated that he will not be seeking re-election in the next local government elections.