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Descendants urge Johns Creek to release allocated funds and restore Macedonia Cemetery
Summary
Descendants and local historians told the Johns Creek council the city has not used funds set aside to preserve Macedonia Cemetery, asked that remaining dollars be transferred to descendants’ stewardship, and called for ground-penetrating radar and modest annual funding to protect graves and interpret history.
Residents, descendants and local preservationists urged the Johns Creek City Council to release and commit funds for restoration of Macedonia (Macedonia Methodist) Cemetery, calling the site sacred and asking the city to work with descendants on a long-term stewardship plan.
"This ground is sacred," Mohammed Shahid told the council, speaking for more than 40 living direct descendants of April Waters and asking officials to transfer funds already designated for cemetery work and to commit modest annual investment to honor and restore the site. Shahid said the headstone of April Waters had been stolen for years and that the site shows ‘‘long neglect.’’
The request was echoed by Kirk Canaday, a board member of the Johns Creek Historical Society, who described earlier volunteer-led restoration work and said roughly $60,000 remained from a $100,000 allocation originally set aside for the cemetery in 2022. Linda Starks Andrews read a letter from Ashley Sher(s), director of preservation at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, asking the city to release $57,000 that was left from the 2022 budget and to consider a $10,000 annual restitution to fund monument preservation, interpretive signage and ongoing maintenance. "These requests are simple," the letter read, adding that descendants should decide how the money is spent.
Other speakers—including Demita Owsley, who identified herself as a descendant whose grandfather helped build the cinder-block church at the site—asked the council to remove punitive reverter clauses that make long-term stewardship difficult and to collaborate with families on a preservation plan. Owsley requested $200,000 over 10 years to support restoration and public benefit elements tied to the site.
Supporters framed the effort as a civic duty and educational opportunity. "Preserving the cemetery should be just as important" as parks and amenities, Tyler Chenault said, and he called the work a partnership rather than a handout. Historical-society volunteers and students have recovered and repaired headstones and produced a documentary, speakers said, but they told the council that more funding is needed for ground-penetrating radar to identify unmarked graves, to remove improperly placed fences and to set clear boundaries.
The council did not take an immediate vote or adopt a specific funding change for Macedonia Cemetery during the public-comment period. Assistant City Manager Love and staff previously acknowledged cemetery funds in budget materials, but residents told the council they have not seen the money put to use. Descendants asked the council to transfer the already-designated dollars and to collaborate on a stewardship plan in the coming weeks.
The council later adopted the FY2026 budget as presented; speakers who had urged action on the cemetery said they will continue to press the council for a formal commitment and for follow-up on how the remaining allocations will be spent.
