CINCINNATI -- The City of Cincinnati has been maintaining the Wesleyan Cemetery, an abandoned cemetery in Northside, since 2007, but some people have said the city hasn't done a good enough job.
"We shouldn’t have to have no problem visiting a loved one out there," said Jimmy Minter, whose brother and sister are buried in the cemetery. “I normally find my sister first. This time I couldn’t even find them. That’s how bad that grass is.”
Some sections of the cemetery look like a grassy lot, but after digging in some spots, you come across a headstone.
“You should be able to walk up on your loved one’s headstone," said Minter. "It shouldn’t be embedded in no grass."
The city said it has maintained the grounds as best it can since taking over the upkeep of the cemetery.
"The city regularly sends crews to the property to perform routine grounds keeping," a City of Cincinnati spokesperson said. 'Routine grounds keeping' in this instance means cutting the grass and picking up litter.
The spokesperson also said upkeep of the cemetery requires "a great deal of financial resources, technical expertise and specialized staffing," and the city is "not equipped" to meet those needs. "We do all we can to ensure the gates are able to remain open and families can visit their loved ones.”
“If I knew that, I would have took a weed-whacker or a lawnmower out there or something," said Minter. "It should be easy for, not just me, but for everyone to go visit their loved ones.”
