By China Boynton
On Tuesday, April 25 the Florida House Representatives passed bill HB 49 which protects abandoned and historic cemeteries in the state. The bill passed unanimously, and the main purpose of the bill is to create a historic cemeteries program within the division of historical resources of Department of State (DOS), create a historic cemeteries advisory council, authorized certain entities to acquire conservation easements to preserve cemeteries, and provide appropriation and authorize positions.
The passing of this bill comes right on the heels of a meeting that took place late April at E. Pat Larkins Center regarding the Westview Community Cemetery, 428 NW 6th Ave., Pompano Beach, by a newly elected board for Westview.
The old cemetery board versus new board has been a source of community conflict for at least a year, when the old board agreed to put a portion of the cemetery up for sale. The election of the new board is still in question because after Walter Hunter became president of the Westview Cemetary board in October 2020, he created a new emeritus position on the board for the former president Derrick Gay who served as President since 2006.
Instead of election, others were appointed to the committee who had previously been in talks with developer KZ Copans to sell four-and-a-half acres of the cemetery to build a storage facility.
Residents in the community found out about the potential sale and formed a steering committee to fight back by filing a lawsuit against the board to stop the sale of the historic property.
The steering committee held an election in January 2022 to elect a new board of trustees and subsequently held a meeting to notify the community of the actions of the previous board.
However, in May of 2022, the former board consisting of Walter Hunter, Derrick Gay along with the rest of the former board decided to sign the warranty deed entitling the land over to developer KZ Copans.
The newly elected board has hired an attorney and is currently waiting on a decision from the appellate court to determine who the rightful board members are for Westview Cemetary.
In the meantime, local legislators from the House of Representatives have made their loyalties clear as they passed HB 49.
The appellate court decision to determine who the rightful board is set to have an answer in the summer. For more information on HB 49 visit myfloridahouse.gov
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