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Dade City Seeks Cemetery Land Swap

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 27, 2008

DADE CITY - City officials need more land for burial plots at the municipal cemetery.
Bob Larkin needs a street paver and backhoe for his contracting business.

Somewhere along the line, a trade was proposed.

This afternoon, the city council will decide whether the gentleman's agreement, brokered by then-City Manager Harold Sample, is a fair exchange for Dade City.

The trade would cover only a small portion of the purchase price for 7.08 acres on the market for $247,800, or about $35,000 an acre.

To sweeten the deal, the city would throw in about 3.6 acres of surplus land.

Jim Class, the city's finance director and clerk, said the number of unsold plots in the 25-acre cemetery is dwindling and if the city wants to retain ownership, more space is needed.

"We're down to a few hundred plots out there," he said. "We really need more land."

That's where the proposed swap comes into the picture. It would cover $38,645 of the land purchase, which requires a $5,000 down payment. The city would have to pay the remainder, $204,155, over 10 years at 5 percent interest.

Based on that financing plan, the city would have monthly payments of $2,165 and pay nearly $55,700 in interest.

The land purchase would have a closing period of about one month.

A source of funding has not been identified. City officials had hoped to use revenue from leasing a cellular tower, but it hasn't been built.

"The council will need to decide how the city would be paying for it," Class said of the extra burial land.
Dade City Cemetery is one of the county's oldest burial grounds; the final resting place of founding families and Civil War veterans.

Local historian Jeff Cannon said records show the cemetery dates back to the late 1860s and that Oak Grove Baptist Church once stood on the property.

The church deeded it to Dade City on Dec. 7, 1901, according to historical accounts, and generations of municipal workers have maintained the burial grounds.

Through the years, the city has expanded the cemetery through land purchases.

"It was just a small country church cemetery back then," Cannon said. "It wasn't until Dade City acquired the property that it was expanded to the size that it is today."

The Larkin family owns two parcels abutting the northern edge of the cemetery, across from the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the U.S. 98 Bypass. The most recent county appraisal valued the properties at $188,922 combined.
Bob Larkin could not be reached for comment.

The city is offering the street paver and backhoe, at a combined value of $25,000, and roughly 4 acres in three parcels totaling about $13,600. Two of the parcels are on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the third is off Old Lakeland Highway.

Councilman Steve Van Gordon said if the city can afford it, the deal makes sense.

"We have to figure out where the money is going to come from," he said. "Obviously, we need more land for the cemetery, but also we need to be careful with our spending."

The proposal comes at a time when the city is struggling to fund public services amid state-mandated tax cuts that have reduced municipal revenue.

Cannon said he thinks expanding the cemetery is a worthwhile investment.

"They've owned it for more than 100 years," he said. "Why would they give it up now?"

IF YOU GO

The Dade City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. today at the City Hall annex, 14150 Fifth St.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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