The next informational meeting centering around the future of Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Chillicothe will be.: Saturday, March 23, from 12:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. at the Myers Meeting Room - Northside Branch of the Chillicothe and Ross County Public Library.
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Sharing this article published by the "Chillicothe Gazette" on August 18, 2023.:
"Huntington Township to take over Floral Hills Memory Gardens"
By:
"Chillicothe Gazette"
"CHILLICOTHE ― Citizens can rejoice as the Floral Hills Memory Gardens conflict comes to a resolution, but Huntington Township trustees grapple with mounting financial challenges.
Huntington Township Trustee John Cottrill said Huntington Township manages 10 cemeteries. Floral Hills, which would be its 11th property, is larger than every other cemetery combined.
Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting.
Sharing the latest news coverage about the Floral Hills Memory Gardens located in Ross County, Ohio. It is from Mr. Kevin Coleman of the "Scioto Post" newspaper.
Mr. Coleman has provided an excellent presentation pinpointing the details central to the sad story of Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County, Ohio.
Floral Hills Memory Gardens is an Active yet orphaned and unregistered cemetery left languishing in this state for over a decade - twelve years to be exact - due to no fault of its own or that of the lot owners at the cemetery.
What is different about this news story is that U. S. veteran, Mr. David Robertson, is featured in two "Scioto Post" Youtube videos. In the first one he tells of his personal connections to Floral Hills Memory Gardens and shares that several others he has discussed the cemetery with do as well.
In the second video, David Robertson shows two Floral Hills Memory Gardens cemetery plat maps that he has in his possession. He mentions that he has shared copies of them with the Ross County Recorder's office so that the cemetery would be officially filed. Floral Hills Memory Gardens was started in 1960 as a cemetery that is open to the public.
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Floral Hills Memory Gardens is well represented on Facebook with it own Page entitled "Clean Up Floral Hills Memory Gardens." started by David Robertson.
Below is an in-depth history of Floral Hills Memory Gardens found in the "About" Section of its Facebook Page.:
"A cemetery that is located at 4284 US RT 23 Chillicothe, OH 45601. The owners Joseph Miller filed CH 13 after fleeing to Nevada, his partner Ronald Downey has fled to Michigan. Neither has left any means of upkeep and care of the grounds and are refusing to honor any of the prepaid services that have been purchased thru the cemetery. The Attorney General filed a suit against the 2 owners in May 2012, with nothing of any significance being done to get a resolution to the problem.
One of the items Mr. Miller is trying to do is surrender the property in lieu of taxes owed. By ORC the property would then be handed over to the Township that the property is located. (Huntington Twp. Ross County). The problem is Huntington Twp. has refused to accept responsibility for the grounds due to the trustees claiming they are not financially able to maintain the grounds, they also state the have sought guidance thru their "Prosecutor" and have been advised that they do not have to take it. With all legal issues aside ..it is the attempt by this group to bring this tragic situation to the public and clean up the Cemetery grounds and find a resolution to further maintenance of the grounds."
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Floral Hills Memory Gardens is on Find a Grave with 3,725 memorials posted on it.
Also, currently there are 52 open photo requests for grave marker photographs to be taken and posted on the Find a Grave website.
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We look forward to future updates about Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County, Ohio from the "Scioto Post" and other news outlets as well. Updates offering much more hopeful news indeed for a brighter and secure future for Floral Hills Memory Gardens.
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As always, we thank Mr. David Robertson and all of the volunteers who have extended their help for the betterment of Floral Hills Memory Gardens throughout this entire time while it awaits its new legal owner; an entity that can properly care for all of its needs going forward.
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Tue, July 18, 2023 at 5:01 AM EDT
The cemetery owned by Ronald Downey and Joseph Miller has been abandoned for over ten years and has since been cared for by volunteers, like Army Veteran Dave Robertson.
The property owes almost $19,000 in back taxes, according to Ross County Treasurer Dave Jeffers.
The court is considering appointing a receiver. The person or entity in charge of the cemetery would be able to utilize the interest generated from the trust fund to pay for monthly expenses. Timothy Long with Huntington Bank, where the cemetery's Endowment Fund is kept, said the trust generates about $800 to $900 a month in interest per month.
However, the job has garnered little to no interest, and the requests for it have been met with poor reception. If a receiver can't be found, it would be possible to ask Huntington Township to step in.
Using a list of possible receivers from 2020, Tammy Chavez with the Ohio Attorney General's Office contacted an entity in Columbus that expressed a willingness to assume the role, contingent upon specific conditions being fulfilled.
According to the company's website, New Perspective Asset Management (NPAM) consists of court-appointed receivers who specialize in handling distressed commercial assets. Chavez indicated that the company has certain inquiries that need to be addressed before assuming responsibility for the cemetery, one of which pertains to the availability of saleable lots.
To answer NPAM's questions, a thorough examination of Floral Hills' records is required. Judge Mike Ater said the court will need to "appease" the receiver to ensure the successful completion of the deal. Ross County Prosecutor Jeffrey Marks said the townships, "don't have the manpower to look through records."
Ater mentioned the possibility of the court hiring a temporary employee to search the cemetery records for necessary information. Ater gave Marks seven days to determine if a temporary hire would be possible. Ater also said he will reach out to local funeral homes to see if they would be available to look at the Floral Hills records.
Chavez said she will follow up with NPAM to get their exact list of questions and requirements."
No decisions have been made yet regarding a receiver or NPAM.
Is Floral Hills public or private?
Ater said the court will hold monthly status conferences for Floral Hills. During the July 13 status conference, Ater asked parties Long, Chavez and Marks, who represents the Ross County townships, to determine if the cemetery is considered public or private.
Parties argued the private cemetery may be considered public because of the nature of the situation. Ater said it will be determined if the cemetery is public or private by the next status conference on Aug. 17.
Roberston continues to attend every status conference about Floral Hills. He said most of his free time is spent researching ways to help the cemetery where his parents are buried.
Chillicothe resident Sharon Detty attended the July 13 conference. She has several family members buried at Floral Hills, including her daughter. She has six plots reserved and she still hopes to bury her loved ones there in the future.
She said her story is similar to many others in Chillicothe who have connections to Floral Hills. She said she has seen the cemetery turn from "beautiful to deplorable."
"This entire situation is so disrespectful. Not only to the deceased who are buried there, who left this world with the promise that their final resting place would be properly maintained but to the living relatives who remain," Detty said. "It is a disgrace to our community, the state and local governments to have let this happen in the first place, let alone have it go on for the past 11 years."
Ohio Representative Mark Johnson also attended the status conference. He said his office is "constantly" receiving calls about Floral Hills and he attended the conference to better inform others of the situation.
"Everyone wants this resolved but we need to follow the legal process," Johnson said. "It's more than Huntington Township... This is a community problem."
Will Huntington Township take Floral Hills?
On March 28, a status hearing was held in Ater's courtroom, where involved parties discussed asking Huntington Township to care for the property. Huntington was then added to the complaint.
Appointing a receiver would be ideal because of the financial burden the cemetery would put on Huntington Township. However, there are limited options for receivers.
In case Huntington Township takes possession of the cemetery, Marks said they are working on "trying to find different avenues of potential assistance to get over that initial hump" with funding maintenance, including asking the Ross County Board of Commissioners for help.
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"Clean Up Floral Hills Memory Gardens" - A Facebook Page dedicated to Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County, Ohio started by Mr. David Robertson.
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Floral Hills Memory Gardens on Find A Grave with 3,728 memorials.
There are 52 open photo requests.
Find a Grave has one famous person - Elbert E. Nickel - who has a memorial on Find A Grave.
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There are a lot of details in this story regarding Floral Hills Memory Gardens, but sadly missing are details about those that would tell of the long history going back over a decade of what the cemetery, the lots owners, and all who care about it, have endured. Those are ones not covered.
This is why we fight for all cemeteries because they are all vulnerable in one way or another. I personally feel they are vulnerable because of weak laws, loopholes in the laws, being purposely exempted from the laws, etc.
Meanwhile, as all of the discussions about decisions rage on by the "powers that be", volunteers continue to do what they have had to do for a decade or more, maintain the grounds themselves and their loved ones gravesites.
Thanking David Robertson who has been a tireless leader in this brutal battle to save Floral Hills Memory Gardens through his unwavering advocacy for the cemetery. He has inspired others and gained their support. Groups and individual volunteers have followed his lead to do their part to keep it going.
Expressing our appreciation to David Robertson, and all who have worked to maintain Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Ross County, Ohio. It is an Active Cemetery in Ohio despite being abandoned by its now out-of-state owners who want nothing more to do with it. Thus, the cemetery lacks its needed Registration.
Thank you to all the volunteers who have given of themselves to work, in various capacities, on behalf of cemeteries that are deteriorating and facing abandonment.
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