Alabama: Veterans' cemetery moving forward
By Jenn Rowell • January 10, 2009
Veterans in south Alabama are a step closer to having a state cemetery in the region.
The State Board of Veterans Affairs voted Friday to move forward with the initiative to build a veterans cemetery in Baldwin County.
About 200 acres have been purchased or donated to create a final resting place for the estimated 204,600 veterans who live within a 75-mile radius of the site near Blakeley State Park. That figure includes 71,000 in Alabama, 65,600 in Florida and 68,000 in Mississippi that would be served by the proposed cemetery.
The average construction cost for a state cemetery is $5.6 million, with an annual operation cost of about $350,000, according to the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
Federal funds are available for the development, construction and equipment costs through a grant program that could provide up to $9 million, depending on the size of the cemetery. Congress has already earmarked another million dollars for a state cemetery in south Alabama, Clyde Marsh, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, told the board in July.
The national veterans cemetery in Mobile has been closed to new burials since the 1960s. The cemetery at Fort Mitchell has more than 100,000 gravesites available, but it's far from south Alabama. Another national veterans cemetery is unlikely for at least another decade since one opened at Montevallo in July.
The cemetery is a legislative priority for ADVA this year, and Marsh gave the board a draft of legislation.
State Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, is the lead sponsor in the House and state Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler, will promote it on the Senate side, ADVA's legal counsel Sandy Speakman said.
The fourth veterans home is also progressing. The design contract for the $40 million home was approved this week and the architect firm Williams Blackstock is proceeding with the design and construction documents, Marsh said.
But, the federal match dollars will not be available in fiscal year 2009, Marsh said. If the funds are available next year, the expected completion date of 2011 won't change. But a delay in funds would delay the completion date, Marsh said.
"If we had $40 million in our pocket, we could build it on our own and get reimbursed," Marsh said. "But we don't."
Earlier this week, ADVA released a statement regarding a U.S. Department of Justice report that was critical of the William F. Green home in Bay Minette. The report, released in December, was based on a site visit in February 2008. Federal investigators cited numerous conditions and practices at the home that violated residents' rights and caused risk or harm. But, Marsh said, during the team's exit brief, the lead inspector didn't mention any major concerns at the home.
Marsh told the board Friday that he thinks the findings are exaggerated and include "rampant speculation and flat out assumptions and conjecture that is not grounded in medical evidence, which grossly distorts and misrepresents the healthcare conditions at the home."
The home has been inspected multiple times in the past year and recently regained full licensure from the state.
The Alabama Department of Public Health found some deficiencies at the home last year and required that the home submit a corrective plan. Human Management Resources Government Services Inc., ADVA's health care provider, corrected those deficiencies and last month the home was operating with a regular license again.
The report carries no immediate penalties or implications, but a resolution is required within 49 days or the U.S. Attorney General is authorized to initiate a lawsuit.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Alabama: Veterans' cemetery moving forward
