RNA - Albany city commissioners voted Tuesday evening 5 to 2 in favor of the Islamic Center of Albany placing a cemetery at 711 West Highland Avenue.
The decision didn’t come without many speaking up during the public hearing at the commission meeting for and against the cemetery.
“I have the highest respect for the Islamic community but I would not at this time, not at any time, I think, like to see a cemetery on Highland across from my business,” said a resident and a Highland Avenue business owner. “I value that community. We have invested to make the community attractive and I’m not sure how the presence of the cemetery would affect the property values. Would it be a plus or a minus,” she added.
Another resident brought up the issue of the cemetery being located somewhere else in the county that isn’t so close to the waterways for the city. Residents were concerned about the cemetery being in that area which floods when there is a lot of rain and has many cases of standing water.
“If the Islamic center buries according to what they say were they just wrap people, we don’t know what the cause of death might be and just place them in a bottomless vault and the remains disseminate into the earth. What kind of impact will it have on the water system and since we have standing water and we still have residents in that area and we have business,” said a business owner.
There were two people who spoke in favor of it including the president of the Islamic Center Mohammed Okashah. He told the commissioners he agreed to follow the two specifications included mandated by the planning commission when they agreed to rezone the property and approve the application which was to bury individuals six feet under and with concrete vaults.
He also explained to the commission how they do their burials.
“What we do is similar as the Jewish community. What we do is when somebody dies we wash, them and we use two sheets of cloth; cotton material or linen material which is about five yards. So you wrap that person and put the person in the grave as is, and that’s basically what we do; nothing unusual,” Okashah said.
The second person who spoke in favor of the cemetery and requested it be approved was a member of the Islamic Center of Albany. He told the commission they had to bury people in other places after not finding sites in the city.
“This application was after three years of trying to find something…we’ve agreed to the vaults; we’ve agreed to the six feet. I don’t think anyone can say we are not keepers of the trust,” Umar, a member of the Islamic Center of Albany said.
All commissioners including Mayor Dorothy Hubbard voted in favor except commissioners Bobby Coleman and Tommy Postell.
“Regardless of how we feel about this situation and we should not allow our emotional, personal feelings to be involved,” said Commission Jon Howard.
One of the issues that came up was the city getting sued if the request was denied and city attorney referenced a case else where it had happened.
This was a special approval and there were 10 important things that had to be met by The Islamic Center of Albany before the planning commission had approved their request this month. Some of those were if the cemetery would affect traffic flow which it was determined it would not, if there was adequate parking and the size and type of signs that would be used just to name a few.
“A lot of us are going to leave here mad or frustrated but as a commissioner, I see fit to vote in favor of it based upon the 10 criteria and based on what the city attorney elaborated to us that if this is defeated that the party that’s present has a right to sue and when he said that,” Commissioner Howard said. “When I asked him verbatim if this goes to court could we win and the chances were zero and so I feel that as an elected official it is the responsibility that; I’m not perfect but to make sure we try to stay out of the court system,” he added.
“I’ll tell the people that are in this room who are not for this I will do everything in my power to make sure these special conditions are met. I have a proven track record of over the last three years of doing it and I will continue to do it. But to keep the rest of our tax payers out of a lawsuit, they will have my vote also,” said Commissioner BJ Fletcher.
Commissioner Postell asked to table the matter before it was approved but there weren’t enough votes for it to happen
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