Agenda 12/14/2021 Item #16D23 (Cemetery Parcels Plot W & Plot N purchase)12/14/2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to direct staff to begin the process of acquiring two additional Rosemary
Cemetery Parcels (Plot W and Plot N), to perform necessary improvements and annual
maintenance to conform with standards similar to the County -owned Rosemary Cemetery Parcel
(Unit B located on the Southeast corner of US41 and Pine Ridge Road) in order to honor and
remember our community's forebears. (Museum Fund 198, Estimated Fiscal Impact:
Improvements $27,543, Annual Maintenance $3,024)
OBJECTIVE: To honor and remember all our community's forbears buried in the original Rosemary
Cemetery.
CONSIDERATIONS: Rosemary Cemetery was founded in 1930 on twenty (20) acres of land donated
by Ed Crayton between US 41 and the railroad (now Goodlette Road) south of Pine Ridge Road to allow
removal of graves from the downtown area near St. Ann's Church. The historical record of burials in the
cemetery is incomplete. It is known that ten (10) burials were moved from St. Ann's to Rosemary Unit B
and Plot W in the 1930s, but the high water table and sugar sand at Rosemary made burials problematic.
Overall, the cemetery was "unpopular," and many of the departed were sent up north or to Ft. Myers
instead of finding a final resting place in Rosemary. The last interment in Rosemary was in 1947 and it
officially closed in 1955.
The most reliable source on information we have about Rosemary is a 1944 survey completed by City
Engineer Cambier, which identifies twenty-four (24) actual graves (fourteen (14) known, ten (10)
unknown) in Unit B, nine (9) named graves in Plot W, and "eight (8) Negro Graves - Unmarked" in Plot
N.
In 1950 Ed Crayton's widow sold the cemetery to John Pulling and Robert Benson. Throughout the 1960s
development happened around the burial plots. In the mid-1970s community interest arose about the
cemetery and in 1976 Pulling and Benson quit claim deeded Unit B to Collier County. Various
community organizations cared for the plots through the 1970s and '80s, and in 1993 at the
recommendation of the Historical and Archaeological Preservation Board, the Board of County
Commissioners (Board) designated Unit B as a historic site and authorized new markers and maintenance
under direction of Museums. Museums, with the help of Facilities Management, has maintained Unit B
ever since. Plots W and N, however, remain in private ownership.
In May of 2020 Museum staff noticed that two (2) of the four (4) concrete posts that are the only
remaining indicator of the location of Plot N had been damaged. Museums contacted the heir of the
property owners of record (Alec Pulling), who stated he had no material interest in retaining ownership of
the properties. In the meantime, Facilities Management made temporary repairs to the pillars, as
community interest and concern was starting to grow.
In August of 2020 a citizen attended the Historical and Archaeological Preservation Board (HAPB)
meeting asking about the process to designate one of the Rosemary outparcels as historic. The project was
referred to the Museum Division due to the property ownership issue.
Staff recommends the following course of action:
1. Arrange for a quit claim deed for Plots W and N from Alec Pulling, bring to Board for approval
2. Present Plots W and N to the HAPB for historic designation; if recommended by HAPB, bring to
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Board for approval
3. Fence the properties and install headstones in the same manner as Unit B
4. Maintain the properties under our contracted landscaping service in the same manner as Unit B
5. Submit applications to the State Division of Historic Resources for Historic Markers for the
parcels
6. If not successful, erect "local" historic markers as has been done for Unit B
Estimated project costs are as follows:
One -Time Expenses
Item
Plot N
Plot W
Total
Boundary survey
$1,900
$2,400
$4,300
Fencing Permit
$70
$70
$140
Fencing
$4,950
$4,035
$8,985
Headstones
$6,360
$8,745
$15,105
Historic Marker
$2,800
$2,800
$5,600
10% Contingency
$3,413
TOTAL
$169080
$18,500
$37,543
Annual Expenses
Item
Plot N
Plot W
Total
Maintain
Landscaping
$1,512
$1,512
$3,024
Through the Community Foundation of Collier County, the NAACP Collier Chapter has secured $10,000
to put toward the work needed on Plot N. The Friends of the Collier County Museums have also offered
to financially support the project.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with approving this project in concept. Funding
in the amount of $27,543, for the County's estimated portion of the project, is available within Museum
Fund (198) Reserves for Capital. Annual maintenance expenses of $3,024 can be absorbed within
Museum operating budgets. Staff will bring forward a Budget Amendment with a future action item to
accept ownership. The sources of funds for Museum operating and capital expenditures are Tourist
Development Taxes and the General Fund.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no Growth Management impact.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney, raises no legal
issues at this time and requires majority vote for approval. -JAK
RECOMMENDATION: To direct staff to begin the process of acquiring two additional Rosemary
Cemetery Parcels (Plot W and Plot N), to perform necessary improvements and annual maintenance to
conform with standards similar to the County -owned Rosemary Cemetery Parcel (Unit B located on the
Southeast corner of US41 and Pine Ridge Road) in order to honor and remember our community's
forebears.
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Prepared By: Amanda Townsend, Director, Museum Division
ATTACHMENT(S)
1.79.13.26 Rosemary Cemetery Feb 1944 (JPG)
2. Rosemary Cemetery Plots W & N (PDF)
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16. D.23
12/14/2021
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 16.D.23
Doe ID: 20534
Item Summary: Recommendation to direct staff to begin the process of acquiring two additional
Rosemary Cemetery Parcels(Plot W and Plot N), to perform necessary improvements and annual
maintenance to conform with standards similar to the County -owned Rosemary Cemetery Parcel (Unit B
located on the Southeast corner of US41 and Pine Ridge Road) in order to honor and remember our
community's forebears. (Museum Fund 198, Estimated Fiscal Impact: Improvements $27,543, Annual
Maintenance $3,024)
Meeting Date: 12/14/2021
Prepared by:
Title: — Museum
Name: Lorna Jervis
11/02/2021 11:46 AM
Submitted by:
Title: Division Director - MuseumOperations Support — Museum
Name: Amanda O. Townsend
11/02/2021 11:46 AM
Approved By:
Review:
County Attorney's Office
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 2 Attorney Review
Museum
Amanda O. Townsend Additional Reviewer
Operations & Veteran Services
Jeff Newman
Additional Reviewer
Operations & Veteran Services
Kimberley Grant
Additional Reviewer
Public Services Department
Todd Henry
Public Services Department
Public Services Department
Dan Rodriguez
PSD Department Head
Office of Management and Budget
Debra Windsor
Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review
County Attorney's Office
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review
Growth Management Operations Support
Christopher Johnson
County Manager's Office
Mark Isackson
Level 4 County Manager Review
Board of County Commissioners
Geoffrey Willig
Meeting Pending
Completed
12/01/2021 1:38 PM
Completed
11/02/2021 12:08 PM
Completed
11/02/2021 1:14 PM
Completed
11/08/2021 11:52 AM
Completed
11/09/2021 10:31 AM
Completed
12/01/2021 11:25 AM
Completed
12/01/2021 12:15 PM
Completed
12/01/2021 1:44 PM
Additional Reviewer Completed
Completed
12/07/2021 1:39 PM
12/14/2021 9:00 AM
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