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This year, the Ocoee City Commission approved the Cemetery Beautification Project that had been previously discussed without a motion by the commissioners. 

The project at the Ocoee Cemetery, located at 368 E. Geneva St., is divided into three phases. Phase I of the project is currently underway. 

During this phase, according to City Clerk Melanie Sibbitt, the city provided lot, plot and niche owners 90 days to bring their lot or plots into compliance with the cemetery’s rules and regulations prior to starting tree trimming and removal May 4.

The end goal of the project is to have a cemetery that is in compliance mainly because the cemetery does not have a groundskeeper. 

“We are trying to get a cemetery that is in a condition where the sod throughout the cemetery will eventually be irrigated and the families would feel that they do have a cemetery that has some kind of perpetual care,” Sibbitt said.

Although the exact date of the cemetery’s establishment cannot be verified, the earliest record of the Ocoee Cemetery Association dates back to 1909.

Rules and regulations of the cemetery have been provided to lot/plot and niche owners since the city took ownership of the cemetery during the early 1960s. These read that articles such as boxes, shells, mementos, decorative rocks and mulch are not permitted and the city reserves the right to remove those items from the lots that have them. When it comes to flowers and symbols of tribute, these are allowed temporarily but will be removed by the city when they begin to look unsightly. 

According to the agenda for the Ocoee City Commission meeting of Jan. 18, 2022, “Parks (Department) staff will also proceed with tree trimming and tree removal during this phase.” 

The city does not have a timeline for the three phases of the project. As of right now, trees are still being trimmed or removed and the trees that are being left in have historical value to the land and are being cleaned up. 

“We are trying to do everything by section — each section of the cemetery at a time, going around and then to the middle,” Sibbitt said.

The removal of trees will allow for a more open-looking design, plus it will prevent other headstones from cracking due to tree root growth or tilting to a side, as well as keep branches from falling on top of headstones.

Included in the trimming process are all those trees and shrubs that lot/plot and niche owners have planted over the years. According to the rules and regulations of the cemetery, “the only permitted permanent vegetation is sod.” 

Phase II of the project, according to the agenda, “will consist (of) finalizing compliance of lot/plot or niche clean-up and proceeding with the installation of sod and irrigation to provide a manicured aesthetics to the cemetery; and further, allow for easier maintenance of the cemetery grounds.”

Ultimately, for Phase III of the beautification project, the city purchased a 5.25-acre piece of property located toward the back of the cemetery to allow for its expansion.

“(We need to) survey the property to see how many extra lots can be added,” Sibbitt said.

“Phase III of the project would be to proceed with the expansion of the cemetery after surveying is completed and options for the site are approved by the City Commission,” the agenda read. 

Since the city started working on the project, several residents have called and said they are starting to see the positive side of the project. 

“Working with the cemetery is not easy, and we really are trying to be compassionate with the families,” Sibbitt said. “To get them to understand the rules, and so far we’ve only had good feedback from families and good partnership from families. … We’ve received calls in support of everything that we’ve been doing and compliments of how nice the cemetery is looking.”

Overall, the city allocated $50,000 for this project, initially designated for a decorative fence. However, these were re-allocated to the expansion of the cemetery, since the decorative fence will be installed after Phase III of the cemetery is completed.

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Andrea Mujica is a staff writer for the West Orange Times & Observer, the Southwest Orange Observer and OrangeObserver.com. She covers sports, news and features. She holds both a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Central Florida....

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