Members of the board of directors, Jay Steele, Robert Wilson and Philip Martin, came before the City Council asking for help in trimming the grass, removing dirt and with the flower baskets.
Under their current contract, according to Steele, only grass is mowed and nothing else is being done.
The board does not have the funds to pay for the additional work, he said.
Individuals are responsible for the maintenance of headstones at their loved one's grave.
“No funds have been given for the upkeep of the cemetery. Most cemeteries have a professional care fund, the Pineville Cemetery does not have that luxury,” stated Steele.
The cemetery does not have any funds coming into it except interest from an original fund set up by the former owners. The original monies can not be accessed, only interest generated by the fund.
“If the churches give up the cemetery and dissolve the board, it will fall back to the city,” Steele said.
The board asked the city council to help with the maintenance of the cemetery as the current contractor does not do all the work needed to keep the area clean and the cemetery board does not have funds to hire someone to do all the needed work.
“We are asking, not so much financial help as physical help, like with labor. We need help with the cemetery,” he pointed out.
Steele stated that if the cemetery ever went to the city, they would already have a handle on what needs to be done and how.
Council members had a number of suggestions for the board and suggested that maybe a new maintenance person needed to be hired.
After some suggestions by council members, board member Martin brought them back to the original request, to help in getting the cemetery trimmed, dirt, brush and funeral baskets removed.
The council suggested it will look into the legality of having prisoners work on cemetery property in order to do the additional work. Council members also said they would ask Poff Sanitation to assist by placing a container to put the brush and destroyed flower baskets in.
The council said they would assist the cemetery board, but first had to look at the different legalities as to who they could get for assistance. It was suggested the board also ask the Bell County Fiscal Court for assistance in keeping the cemetery clean, such as removing excess dirt.
There are several places council members and area residents are worried about as far as safety and health are concerned. One is a former home on Virginia Avenue that is falling down. An area resident says he found two copperheads on the property and a wide variety of rats. The council, working within time frames, says the property owner has been notified and if the problem is not cleaned up in a timely manner, then the city can step up and tear the house down and add the bill to the owners taxes.
Another problem was with a burned business. The burned mobile home, sitting near the Bell County Senior Citizens Center, needs to be removed or replaced. The owner is to be notified of his options.
The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival was granted permission to close Pine Street, near the courthouse, for exhibits. Also to be closed is the area of Pine Street in front of the Post Office. Another street, Tennessee Avenue, is to be closed between Cherry Street and Pine Street for the carnival. Kentucky Avenue by the courthouse is to be closed Friday night through the end of the parade on Saturday.
The council discussed the problem of children playing in the streets. The council decided to install several new basketball goals in Wallsend, Newtown and near Pineville school so the children could play and still be out of the way of traffic on the streets.
Tim Cornett presented a copy of a new design for the Cumberland Ford Historic Site to the council. The sign is being created and designed by Artcraft Signs & Graphix of Pineville, and is expected to be installed by the end of the week, according to Cornett. The sign is to be placed near the Pine Street Bridge, near where the original Cumberland Ford is located. Work on clearing the site, so it can be seen from the Cumberland Gap Parkway, is ongoing. The sign is another step to show visitors the historic significance of Pineville, and the Cumberland River in the development of early America.
The council voted to install a new heat pump for the rear of city hall. The front section has been done, however the back section of the building needs a new heating and cooling system.
The council voted to renamed Prospect Avenue after former football coach and Pineville School Superintendent Bill Adams. After May 20 the street will be known as Bill Adams Drive.
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