By CAROLINE CARMICHAEL / Staff Writer

Jemison is putting its foot down with a new ordinance requiring burial plot permits for graves in city-owned cemeteries, effective March 6.

“There have been issues where people have gone in and buried on someone else’s site,” Mayor Eddie Reed said. “They can’t do that, and this time, this ordinance will be enforced.”

Ordinance 03-05-18 was approved during a City Council meeting at Jemison City Hall, and regulates the burial plot processes for Pine Hill Cemetery and Holly Grove Cemetery, which in years prior had been declared city properties due to Jemison’s faithful upkeep of the cemeteries over many years.

“The purpose of this ordinance is to establish permit fees in protecting existing grave sites owned by the City of Jemison, Alabama from persons wishing to dig to create new burial sites in cemeteries within the City of Jemison, owned by the city,” the ordinance reads, according to City Clerk Sylvia Singleton.

“Our cemeteries are mapped out,” Reed said, “and we don’t want someone coming in digging a new grave on someone else’s property that they have purchased or graves that have not been marked.”

Reed said even out-of-towners have taken advantage of the sites.

According to the new ordinance, mortuaries and individuals are required to pay a $200 permit fee to the Jemison City Clerk’s Office and present a site plan indicating the location of a current or future burial plot, according to the ordinance.

Violators may be penalized for up to $500 per offense or imprisonment for up to six months, or both.

“It’s not fair to the resident and to the owners of the graves to find someone buried therein,” Reed said.

In other proceedings, the Council:

• Approved a three-year contract between the City of Jemison and Waste Pro for continued use of Chilton County solid waste. The agreement requires the same driver, same helper, same truck, same route and same day, and it prohibits interaction between the driver and Jemison citizens.
• Discussed a future work session regarding Chilton County Relay For Life’s request for a $1,250 sponsorship for Relay For Life 2018.
• Approved Hiring CDG Engineering for Cassie Circle sewer system.
• Approved recognition of Samantha Oaks and Whitney Smith as reserve officer candidates for the police academy, as presented by Deputy Chief Marc McMinn.
• Approved paying the city’s bills.
• Approved Jemison’s Annual Clean Up, set for April 23-27. Items must be near the road for pick up by April 23 and may not include batteries, refrigerators, tires, paint and chemicals.