Saying “human infrastructure is just as important as roads,” a Summit councilman suggested Tuesday using some of the American Rescue Plan Act funding to fix up Greenlawn Cemetery.
Councilman Chris Daniels, a funeral director, said sunken graves, chipped cement on plots and vaults, and other problems make the cemetery an eyesore and hazardous to visitors.
“I think we need to look at some of the areas that are sunken in,” he said. “We need to go in and remove some of that broken concrete and fill one of those holes in. It’s an eyesore when I go there. It’s easily fixable.”
Daniels also suggested running a public notice to inform relatives of those buried in the cemetery what work will be taking place.
Summit owns two cemeteries, predominantly white Woodlawn Cemetery on Lawrence Street and predominantly Black Greenlawn on Pine Street. The town acquired Greenlawn from a private cemetery association a few years ago after volunteers struggled to keep it maintained.
Woodlawn has been under town maintenance much longer than Greenlawn, and, as Daniels noted, is in better condition.
“One is in far more better shape than the other, and I think we can agree on that,” he said, adding that Greenlawn “will take the most financial resources to get it up to par.”
Daniels said Summit needs to come up with a budget for key projects, including fencing, fixing driveways and excavation.
“I will say this: Human infrastructure is just as important as roads, bridges and all that other stuff, and that’s something we need to be aware of, too,” he said. “The general public is just as important as the streets they drive on.
“I’m challenging everybody to come up with something that we can do that benefits the town as a whole.”
