For years, the east side of Sandfield Cemetery has been falling into disrepair due to the lack of upkeep.
At question is the ownership of the property. At the city of Columbus council work session Thursday morning, city attorney Jeff Turnage confirmed the heir of Prince Edwards, who died in the 1960s, owns the property.
However, Turnage said he is not sure who that heir would be or where they reside. The land deed for Edwards was filled out between 1900 and 1905, and Turnage could not confirm Edwards lived in Columbus due to the nature of how land deeds were written in the early 1900s.
“If it was filled out now, you’d be able to see his name, address and phone number,” Turnage told The Dispatch. “It wasn’t filled out that way, so we don’t know if he lived here or not.”
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones suggested the only way to fix the east side is eminent domain.
Though no action was taken, the council seems intent on taking over a portion, if not all of the east side of the cemetery. Turnage said the next step to determine the property to be taken over would be a survey of the land.
“If you want us to proceed with eminent domain, I think we need a survey that accurately describes what we want to take because it’s unclear where the boundaries are since we don’t have a deed we can follow to get a description,” Turnage said.
Leadership Plaza
Penny Bowen with Main Street Columbus presented current pictures with a new blueprint for an update of Leadership Plaza to the council and mayor.
The shaded brick area sitting at the intersection of Fifth Street South and College Street — next to Hollyhocks Gift Shop — is going to receive a facelift thanks to Main Street Columbus.
The plan includes moving a crepe myrtle tree, keeping three other smaller trees back toward the building, a gazebo in the middle and all new landscaping. Bowen said the facelift will also address roots from large oak trees, which are damaging the sidewalk.
The renovation could cost anywhere from $35,000 to $45,000, excluding concrete costs. Bowen said the chamber is filing for a $50,000 T-Mobile grant to help fund the project.
Bowen requested funding from the city to cover the concrete costs.
After some discussion, the council floated three options for funding, including using funds set aside for sidewalk repairs, the tourism tax and event tax.
Before officially filing for the grant, Bowen needs the final cost of the gazebo, which should be in by next Friday, and a written letter signed by the mayor and council approving the renovation. She told the council she is months ahead of the deadline to apply for the grant and has been spurred on by an eager Main Street Columbus board.
“Our board is very eager to see this happen,” Bowen said. “When we first proposed the idea, they were ready to go. I don’t think there would be any dust settling once we got everything.”
Though there is yearly landscape maintenance, the last time serious maintenance and repairs were done on Leadership Plaza was roughly 35 years ago, Bowen told the council.
With pictures of the broken up and waving concrete due to the roots to guide him, Jones said the area definitely needs to be repaired because of the hazard it presents to pedestrians.
Mayor Keith Gaskin said the next steps are getting City Engineer Kevin Stafford to give an estimate on the proposed concrete needed for that area. Once the city has the estimate on concrete and the full cost from Bowen, they can move forward with a signed letter of approval needed to complete the grant application.
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