Resident To Poole: Do The 'Ethical' Thing, Relocate Funeral Home

Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor.

First, thank you for bringing this fight to the attention of not only Towne Lake citizens, but also the attention of all Cherokee County residents.

This is a concern that all Georgians should be aware of and working to pressure our elected officials to change the current laws about crematories. I dare say that the average Georgia citizen is not aware of the current laws. I wasn’t until this became a reality for me.

O.C.G.A. § 43-18-72(G) states (crematories shall) “not be located within 1,000 feet of a residential subdivision platted and recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of a county in which such residential subdivision is located.”

Which politicians would want to live next to a crematory and have their children attend school nearby? None of them! State Senator Brandon Beach plans to file a bill addressing the distance requirements between crematories and neighborhoods.

Thank goodness for a politician who cares, but we need help now.

See also:

• Towne Lake Residents Continue Push Against Funeral Home
• Amid Outcry, Poole Seeks Another Location For Crematory
• Towne Lake Residents Fight Proposed Funeral Home, Crematorium

Locally, however, this crematory and funeral home is the work of Cherokee Commissioner Brian Poole. It is planned to be built less than 1,000 feet from my subdivision, Wellesley, and our community pool. It has been proven that the emissions from a crematory, unregulated by the EPA and monitored by a handful of state of Georgia regulators, has numerous harmful effects to the health and well-being of those in proximity. There are many documented studies that prove this fact.

In addition, it is across the street from a church preschool and about 1,200 feet from Etowah High School and its football stadium, tennis courts and baseball field where children will be playing and practicing. A nearby highly-profitable grocery store, Aldi, who proclaims to have fresh food, needs to be fighting this crematory.

Property values? It’s also been proven that they drop 18 to 40 percent if a crematory is built nearby. Realtors are already reporting that potential buyers are not interested in living in Wellesley.

Commissioner Brian Poole, an elected official who took an oath to protect the citizens he serves, has not given the citizens the right to discuss the project. He was invited to a meeting with my homeowner’s association and cancelled at the last minute because he said that his lawyer told him that he “didn’t have to” attend.

He agreed to meet with our HOA president and one other person, but all agreed that he faces the all residents or no meeting will take place. Commissioner Poole, who most certainly knew the outcry of the community, continues his plans for both the funeral home and crematory.

A large contingent of Towne Lake citizens attended last week’s commission meeting and fervently shared our outrage with the entire Cherokee County Commission. Commissioner Brian Poole sat there without saying a word.

Commissioner Brian Poole, do the moral and ethical thing for the citizens of Towne Lake and don’t build the funeral home and crematory.

Debra Herzig
Towne Lake resident

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