Councilman says efforts continue to force repairs at Birmingham cemetery

Efforts continue to persuade the management of Zion Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Eastern Birmingham to make what many area residents say are badly needed repairs, according to Birmingham City Councilor William Parker.

People with complaints about the cemetery are being asked to fill out the Consumer Request for Assistance form from the Alabama Department of Insurance, which has oversight over cemeteries in the state, according to Parker.

“We will also provide those concerns to the (cemetery) ownership in a week or so,” Parker said.

Parker told the council in September that many people have complained about poor customer service at the facility – located on Tarrant-Huffman Road – as well as slow repair times, broken headstones, and run-down roads and fencing.

About 150 residents attended another public meeting on the issue at Brownsville Heights Community Center on Sept. 29, according to the councilman.

Parker, who hosted the meeting, said that – unlike a previous public meeting at the community center – the owner of the cemetery attended.

“The ownership did participate, but he only stayed for about five minutes, and he left the meeting very abruptly,” Parker said.

And the issue is not going away, according to Parker. “This is an issue of great significance and great importance,” he said.

The council passed a resolution in September urging the owners of the cemetery to properly maintain it.

The owner, Cedric McMillian, told WIAT TV-42 that he just took over the property a year ago and inherited some of these problems. He also told the station that some of the facility’s maintenance equipment was stolen this summer.

Iron City Ink called the cemetery today seeking comment but was told that McMillian was unavailable.

Parker said he will continue to update the rest of the council on his progress and will “keep working with the Department of Insurance in Montgomery,” he said.

The state legislators in the area -- Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-District 58, and Rep. Mary Moore, D-District 59 -- are also involved in gathering those complaint forms and working to force improvements at the cemetery, according to Parker.

City Councilor Kim Rafferty commended Parker on his efforts and said that she had three family members buried at Zion Memorial, giving her a personal stake in the issue.

Councilor Jay Roberson said that he has some grandparents and a great uncle buried there. “That cemetery is dear to our heart,” he said, adding that he supports efforts to make sure that the owners “revitalize and maintain” the facility.

Councilor Sheila Tyson discussed her efforts to revive the council’s cemetery committee.

Roberson agreed that the committee should be revived. “It has not been active for almost 20 plus years,” he said.

For help in obtaining the Consumer Request for Assistance form, Parker said residents can contact him at 254-2464 or at william.parker@birminghamal.gov.

The form can also be obtained by calling the Department of Insurance at 334-269-3550 or going to www.aldoi.gov.

UPDATE Oct. 17, 2016: The name of Rep. Mary Moore and additional information regarding the compliant form was added to this post.