Humble City Council approves city ownership of cemetery

Humble City Council unanimously approved an affidavit of ownership at the Feb. 13 council meeting, making way for the city of Humble to take formal ownership over the land associated with the Humble Cemetery.

The cemetery, which sits on 3.213 acres of land at the intersection of North Houston Avenue and Isaaks Road, has been under the care of the city for more than a decade, Humble City Manager Jason Stuebe said.

"We have been openly maintaining and continually maintaining the property for well over 10 years, which gives us ... ownership of the land under adverse possession," he said. "We are not buying the property; we are essentially taking ownership of the property."

In response to citizens' concern, Mayor Merle Aaron explained the history behind the city's involvement with the cemetery.

"Years ago, the cemetery had been neglected and grown-up," Aaron said. "Several years ago, we took on the task of keeping it mowed and started to edge around the tombstones. We found out that we have no title to it at all."

Previously, the land had been under the ownership of the now-dissolved organization Humble Cemetery Association, which has no surviving members, Stuebe said. He said the organization initially approached the city in 1967 about deeding the property to the city; however, the deal never went through.

“Our parks department has done an outstanding job of taking care of [the cemetery],” Aaron said. “A lot has gone into this—a lot of thought and a lot of work.”

Other agenda items:

• Details for the May 2 general election to elect members to City Council Places 3, 4 and 5 were officially approved by a unanimous vote. All voting will be conducted at Humble City Hall, located at 114 W. Higgins St., Humble. Early voting will run April 20-24 and April 27-28. Places 3, 4 and 5 are currently held by Norman Funderburk, Allan Steagall and David Pierce, respectively. The deadline to submit an application to run is Feb. 14.
• City Council approved a $50,000 agreement between the city and Dunham Engineering for the rehabilitation of a 125,000 gallon elevated water storage tank at the Humble Public Works Facility.