The Town of Elizabethtown cemetery on North Queen Street was damaged due to the amount of rainfall the town received during Hurricane Florence. Repairing the devastation at the site is costly and time consuming.
Local officials are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding repairs to the damages. The soil erosion at the cemetery created formations of giant cracks along Queen Street and in the cemetery. Engineers performed soil borings and have reported the cracks in the surface of the cemetery are due to soil movement.
During the Elizabethtown Town Council’s planning retreat held in February, the board authorized a report to be submitted on the town’s behalf to FEMA requesting funding for the needed cemetery repairs.
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“We are still meeting with FEMA trying to establish an actual cost to restore the cemetery back to pre-storm conditions and we have a strong difference of opinion on what that is,” Madden said.
Until the funding piece is worked out with FEMA planning the second cemetery location for the town will not take form, according to Madden. He said, “It is nearly a three million dollar project and FEMA has only offered $800,000 towards the cost.”
Madden said the town did have a follow up meeting about the cemetery this Thursday.
The engineer working on the project was sent some of the photos of the damages recently to because of concerns about more shifting and movement in the area.
“We have checked the Status of Vertical and Horizontal “SHIFT” in the Elizabethtown Cemetery North of Queen Street, and Report as Follows: We occupied our Georeferenced Control Points this Morning (April 25th, 2019), and took new shots on some 16 Points on the herein referenced survey sent to You on December 27, 2018 (Field Surveyed December 13, 2018), said 16 Points include the Outside Corner Markers of the Cemetery, Two points being on the North margin of Queen Street and Two Points being the Northernmost Irons toward the River, and several Points on the upper and lower sides of the “fault line” running East to West across the Cemetery; and Found that BETWEEN DECEMBER 13, 2018 AND APRIL 25, 2019 THERE HAS BEEN NO DISCERNIBLE MOVEMENT EITHER HORIZONTALLY OR VERTICALLY ON ANY OF THE OCCUPIED POINTS,” stated Lloyd R. Walker, Professional Land Surveyor working on the project.
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