After years of legal and financial entanglements, a solution for the upkeep and ownership of Cullman Memory Gardens appears closer.

At a hearing in Tuscaloosa more than a week ago among attorneys in the bankruptcy case of the cemetery’s owner, DeArbor LLC, state Rep. Randall Shedd said the judge in the case indicated that once the case is settled, negotiations could begin with Cache Private Captital, a Salt Lake City-based real estate corporation that holds the mortgage on the property.

“A report is coming from the court in up to 90 days, and if that is favorable that would allow us to negotiate with the company in Utah for the future of Cullman Memory Gardens,” Shedd said. “I met with them a few years ago and it was a good meeting.”

The significance of the case coming out bankruptcy, is that a successful negotiation with the real estate company over the ownership would allow legislation Shedd sponsored two years ago to go into effect concerning the governance of the cemetery.

“We can establish a legislator-appointed board at the local level to oversee the cemetery, but that can’t be done to any effectiveness while it remains in bankruptcy,” Shedd said.

In recent years, local residents with family members buried at Cullman Memory Gardens have watched as the mausoleum deteriorated as the owner sunk into bankruptcy. A series of volunteers have maintained the grounds as well as they could over the last several years.

While the cemetery has been in bankruptcy and under a guardianship based in Tuscaloosa, many cemetery plot owners have complained about the cost of opening graves for funerals and the quality of the work.

“I don’t have any family buried there,” Shedd said. “I got involved because this a tragedy and the families need help.”

Shedd said instead of the cemetery being sold again, he would like to see the property come under control of the local board to establish a plan for keeping the grounds and fees suitable for the plot owners.

“If the control of the cemetery can be placed at the local level, there will be a lot to be examined. But the best part of that is local people with concern and appreciation for the families who invested there and had loved ones buried there would be cared for,” Shedd said. “This is a nice setting, the location, but it has been heartbreaking in recent years to know what has happened.

The cemetery has been through two owners in the last decade. The land is located at 1516 Bolte Road.