by Marty Proctor, Article and Photos
It all started with concerned citizens Lisa Holland Martinez and Mascotte City Council candidate Pamela Terry complaining about the state of the city-owned Mascotte Cemetery, located on the west side of Mascotte at the intersection of Hwy 50.
They have spoken up about this at several City Council meetings during the public comments section. During the last meeting, the Council agreed to direct Staff to come back with options. Area resident Lisa Holland Martinez has long voiced concern about the condition of the cemetery. She shared that, “our loved ones are not there by our choice or theirs. A City contract pays to take care of their final resting place, the City needs to make accountable the people they hire to take care of the City property.”
Rather than wait for the formal action and process, the citizens, energized by Pamela Terry, scheduled an impromptu community clean up day for the cemetery. Starting before 8 AM Saturday, October 10, almost 50 neighbors, residents with family members interred at the cemetery, and other local residents started showing up. Two trucks and crews from Big Tug Lawn Care arrived shortly after with much-needed hauling capacity, strong landscape professionals, and equipment. Pam Terry shared, “I was raised to believe that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” She continued, “So after I brought the problem to the attention of the City Council, we asked the citizens for help solving the problem.” Lisa added that, “she credits Pamela for the community gathering for the cleanup. She has done more and is running to get things done and I really appreciate that.
In 3 short hours, the transformation from overgrown, dark and shady cemetery to open bright place of remembrance was complete. The overall feeling of sharing, remembrance, and community was visible throughout the day and all around the cemetery. People of many races, ages, and even politicians put aside their differences and pulled together to make a real difference. Pam Terry added, “I am honored to be a part of this community. A community that pulled together as a team and worked hand in hand to clean up our cemetery.“
Former mayor Barbara Krull was present working and emotionally remembered “losing my 
husband this year. He’s right here and when my time comes, I’ll be right next to him.” Mascotte Police Department Community Outreach Director officer Kenia Abreu came by several times to offer support and remind everyone to attend the “Cruiser For A Cause” event at the Tedder Civic Center. Mascotte City Council was also represented and worked all morning. Council Person Brenda Brasher commented, “dozens of Mascotte residents and families worked together to bring some beautification to the Mascotte Cemetery.”
It seems that the City of Mascotte is quickly overcoming the recent turmoil of terminating the contract of their City Manager. The City has begun to move forward scheduling extra council meetings to conduct workshops on many issues residents have brought up at Council meetings. Ms. Brasher added, “the residents of our beloved City will no longer sit back and accept. I want to thank each and every person today.”
The next big order of business will be the execution of the hiring process for a new City Manager. This will be a tremendous amount of work for the Council and Staff over a period of months. The former manager had been in place for over 9 years. The process and players are vastly different from then. The entire process will be created openly during City Council meetings and workshops, including rewriting the contract. The public is encouraged to be a part of that process.
