City council hears update on acquiring portion of Sandfield Cemetery
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus City Council heard an update on plans to acquire the eastern portion of Sandfield Cemetery.
At its most recent meeting, the Council heard from Columbus resident and attorney, Nicole Clinkscales, about maintenance needs at the historic cemetery, particularly the eastern portion.
The city had already been looking into the issue. The main roadblock is that it does not own the east side, and legally cannot maintain it.
But the mayor and council are interested in acquiring it and exploring taking it through eminent domain.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage has had someone researching the ownership history, but it is going to require more digging through land records.
“Well, I think it’s – I want to make sure that citizens know that it’s a big concern of ours. I know there are a lot of folks in the community that have been concerned about the upkeep of the cemetery. It is a historic cemetery that I think it’s incumbent on the city to make sure that it’s handled properly,” said Mayor Keith Gaskin.
Once the owner is tracked down, the city council would have to vote before they could begin the eminent domain process.
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