Some Hope Township residents are asking why the old section of Cedar Creek Cemetery is not getting the attention they say it deserves. The south end  of the cemetery was vandalized about three years ago, suffers from lack of regular maintenance, and despite offers from different groups to come in and clean and repair damaged headstones, none have been given permission, resident Barb Cichy said.

 

The township has millage to support the cemetery that could be used to bring the old section up to snuff, she said, but it gets complete mowing and trimming care just once a year before Memorial Day and is neglected the rest of the year. Cichy, and others, also challenge the transparency of the township’s dealings on cemetery/sexton’s services performed by Hallifax Services.

 

A Freedom of Information Act request for information by one of the critics brought a copy of a sheet of paper from Hallifax’s Service detailing what the service would do for  $1,500 a month for one year, undated with no signature from a township official.

 

Hope Township Supervisor Mark Feldpausch responded to each claim.

The township has begun the process of finding a company that specializes in cemetery restoration to do the work on the south end of Cedar Creek Cemetery. Officials have talked to one company and will talk to others before deciding on one to contract to repair damaged headstones, Feldpausch said.

 

The township’s plan is similar to what other townships do; dedicate an amount from the voter-approved millage each year and do as much as they can with the funds for that year, he said. The board has not decided on the specific amount yet.

In August 2016, township residents approved renewal of 1 mill for fire protection and cemetery maintenance (.75 mill for fire and .25 mill for cemetery) for four years. 

 

Feldpausch said he has not heard the complaint that some groups have offered to work on the problem and been denied. Some time ago, there was one offer to recruit volunteers to work on a cleanup that was given the go ahead, but nothing further was heard on the offer, he said.

 

On Hallifax’s service, Feldpausch said Hallifax’s was the low bid, and also the best offer, out of the bids taken by the board for sexton services.

“We accepted his bid; that’s in the minutes of the meeting. Hallifax does a tremendous job and the board has not had one complaint about his work,” he said.

The Cedar Creek Cemetery dates back to the 1800’s and has military veterans buried there.

 

 

 

 

Photos: Examples of the vandalism at Cedar Creek Cemetery