Group Opposed To Funeral Home: "Fight Is Not Over"

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The group comprised of residents opposed to a business plan by a Cherokee County commissioner to build a funeral home at a busy intersection in Towne Lake is not backing down from their quest to defeat the proposal.

Heads Up Woodstock on Saturday released a statement in response to an announcement made late last week by State Sen. Bruce Thompson that District 3 Commissioner Brian Poole agreed to a deal that would impose a deed restriction on the property.

That restriction would prevent the construction of a crematory on the property.

Thompson is an investor in Poole’s business plan, which involves the construction of a funeral home at the corner of Rose Creek and Eagle drives.

The group, which said it was not involved in the agreement and its lawyer has not reviewed the deed restriction, said ”we cannot rely on hope and promises to let up (in) our fight against the Poole Funeral Home and crematory.”

Heads Up Woodstock also accused Thompson of back tracking on his plans to withdraw his support as an investor in the deal. With that in mind, the group said it does not trust this latest agreement or any future statements made by Thompson to be true.

The group also contends that the current zoning would allow a crematory to operate as a permitted use, and there is nothing in place that would prohibit a future business owner from building a crematory.

“The Towne Lake and Woodstock community are adamantly opposed to the Poole Funeral Home and crematory and will continue to exercise all legal and ethical means to prevent both from going in at Eagle Drive and Rose Creek,” the group said. “The fight is not over.”

In a statement, Thompson said it’s been his pleasure to serve residents in District 14, which includes Bartow and Cherokee counties. His office has received over 100 requests from his constituents, asking “to help facilitate that no crematory be built at this location, and the announcement we made Friday accomplished that request.”

“I’m unaware of the true motive of Heads Up, but I believe their original concerns and initiative to ensure a crematory is not located on this site has been resolved,“ he added.

When reached by phone, Nate Cochran, Poole’s attorney, also took issue with the group’s most recent statement and past demands.

Cochran pointed out that residents are demanding that Poole meet with them “under some guise that he owes this meeting to them because he’s a county commissioner.”

That’s not the case, as this business venture is a private endeavor by Poole, Cochran added. He also pointed out that these residents did not demand to be involved with the plans proposed by nearby businesses such as NTB or McDonald’s when they chose to build in the area.

He stated his client chose the Rose Creek Drive-Eagle Drive location so he would not have to bring the proposal to the county commission for approval.

Choosing property that’s already zoned in the appropriate category for a funeral home ensures the proposal would “not intermingle with his duties and job as a commissioner,” Cochran added.

With the deed restriction announcement, Cochran stated he hopes this issue will “be put to rest,” and that the threatening phone calls to his client and disruption of County Commission meetings will also come to an end.

“He has listened (and) has been a good member of the community,” he said. “Now it is time for them to be good members of the community and respect his position (just like) he has respected theirs.”

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