The Florida cemetery has been in a state of neglect for a while, attracting the unwanted attention of vagrants and posing a danger to those who visit there.
The members of the Florida Blockwatch have decided that enough is enough, and have come up with a solution. According to the councillor for Ward 70, Caleb Finn, Denise Pretorius, the chairperson of the Blockwatch contacted him and discussed the concerns about the state of the cemetery. “Denise contacted me and said the Blockwatch would like to clean up the cemetery and handle the maintenance thereof without stepping on anyone’s toes. I sent the request through to Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) who then agreed to the proposal,” he said.
According to Denise, the cemetery poses a number of problems. “We found that suspects would, after committing a crime, often run into the cemetery. With the grass being so long, it is an ideal hiding place for them. We also deal with vagrants moving in here on a regular basis and it happens two to three times a week that we need to come here and ask them to leave,” she said.
She said that the cemetery is old and has been around for many years, but nobody seems to care about what it looks like. “This cemetery is like a monument in Florida and there are very old graves here, the oldest one being from 1911,” she said.
They have already started cutting the grass inside the cemetery, but only managed to complete part of the work, as the rain interrupted them. “We would like to finish with the grass by the end of this week, if possible. Then we will start pruning the trees inside the cemetery. We will be cutting the grass on the outside of the cemetery as well,” she said. They will also be painting and repairing the building at the cemetery’s entrance.
Denise said that they had help from Flomotion who supplied the lawnmowers, edge trimmers and workers, and M and P Recycling, who provided funding to help this happen. “We would like to thank everyone involved in this initiative. We will do maintenance on a regular basis, and if there are community members who have family buried here who would like to get involved, please contact me on 061 452 9770 or the vice chairperson, Fanie Naudé on 083 383 1162,” said Denise.
Caleb concluded by saying, “Councillors always welcome partnerships between the council and residents. It is wonderful to see dedicated residents stepping up to help making a difference and improving things.”
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