A $7.5 million settlement approved by the city of Clearwater looks to end a years-long legal dispute over hundreds of graves in a historically Black cemetery downtown.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency unanimously approved the payment to FrankCrum, a human resources firm whose property at 100 S. Missouri Ave. sits on the former site of St. Matthews Baptist Church Cemetery.
A 1998 agreement between the company and a previous developer stated the cemetery had been transferred elsewhere and that the remains had been moved.
FrankCrum, which purchased the property in 2004, said it was unaware that graves remained there.
Archaeological researchers used ground-penetrating radar in 2020, identifying about 70 possible graves, according to the St. Matthews cemetery archaeological report.
The report was prepared by the Florida Public Archaeology Network and the University of South Florida Department of Applied Anthropology.
Later excavations confirmed that human remains were still present, contradicting earlier assurances that the cemetery had been cleared.
The company sued the city and its CRA in 2023, alleging the agreements about removing the remains were false. The company later dropped its claims against the city, leaving the CRA as the remaining defendant.
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A circuit court judge ruled in favor of the firm on three contract claims in March 2025, according to the CRA’s litigation summary.
An appeals court upheld a related ruling earlier this year, and the parties reached a resolution on Oct. 1, just four days before they were set to meet in court, according to 10 Tampa Bay.
The CRA approved the $7.5 million settlement during the city’s council meeting Oct. 12. But the agreement still requires court approval before it becomes final.
What the settlement covers
The settlement resolves the legal dispute between Crum Properties and the CRA.
It does not compensate descendants or require the city or CRA to create a memorial, address the graves or meet with families. Because the property is privately owned, decisions about the graves rest with the firm.
The agreement also does not constitute an admission of fault by either party, according to the redevelopment agency. A court must approve the settlement before it becomes final.
“I’m not here to assign blame or fault, but I am asking you to take responsibility for bringing the right people to the table, establishing a process, and ensuring that this issue does not disappear into another year of inaction with the community.”The Rev. Lee Hall Perkins, pastor of Mount Zion United Methodist Church
Payment will come from Downtown CRA reserves gathered in previous years, according to information provided to the St. Pete Catalyst by city spokesperson Allie Chandler Baier.
Baier told the Catalyst that the settlement will not delay or reduce downtown improvements because the money had not been committed to active projects.
The settlement is separate from around $382,000 in litigation-related expenses, bringing the total public cost to just under $7.9 million.
The CRA board will view a budget amendment in Jan. 2027.
Community members seek recognition
At the Oct. 12 meeting, community advocates urged city leaders to work with descendants on how to honor those buried at St. Matthews.
The Clearwater Colored Cemeteries Society, also known as the 3C Society, has been researching historical records and talking with descendants to identify people buried in Clearwater’s former Black cemeteries.
The group has confirmed more than 800 people buried across the sites, though the number of people still buried on the former St. Matthews site remains unclear.
Diane Stephens, president of the 3C Society, said the community wants its history recognized and the people buried at the site honored.
She asked city leaders to revisit the community’s requests now that the litigation is nearing resolution.
“We’d like to see them honored,” Stephens said during public comment. “We’d like to have our community made whole.”
The society's founder, Carlton S. Childs Sr., said records from death certificates and descendants suggest the number of graves at the various cemeteries has grown to about 1,000.
He urged officials to stop debating how many graves there are and focus instead on working with the community.
“I think we need to stop playing the numbers games and... playing games with the words and make a decision to come alongside this community,” Childs said. “Because we’re not going nowhere. I’m not going nowhere.”
The Rev. Lee Hall Perkins, pastor of Mount Zion United Methodist Church, said the issue is personal to his congregation because its founding pastor, the Rev. Arthur Lane Jackson, was buried at St. Matthews.
Perkins called on the city to bring descendants, community members and FrankCrum officials together to establish a transparent process and clear timeline for addressing the graves.
“I’m not here to assign blame or fault, but I am asking you to take responsibility for bringing the right people to the table, establishing a process, and ensuring that this issue does not disappear into another year of inaction with the community,” Perkins said.
Officials recognize the importance
City leaders acknowledged that the settlement does not resolve those questions.
Mayor Bruce Rector said the vote was limited to the legal claims and did not determine what would happen to the property or the remains.
Council members expressed differing points on how they want to speak with the community.
Councilman Mike Mannino said he hoped the settlement would not end conversations with the community.
Mannino acknowledged there were no promises about what a resolution would look like, but said city leaders could continue exploring options.
“I hope that you believe and trust in the leadership of our team as well as this dais that in passing this agenda item and finding a litigation way out of this, that the conversation doesn’t stop there,” he said.
Councilwoman Lina Teixeira said the question of how to honor the remains was deeply personal and difficult.
“I don't know what to do with all those remains that have no voice. They have their family's voice but not their own,” she said. "So if you would ask my mom what to do if I was buried under a 7-Eleven, she would say one thing. If you would ask me, I would say another thing.”
The 3C Society has discussed a possible memorial garden honoring Clearwater’s pioneering Black families.
FrankCrum has said it plans to meet with community members in the coming months to discuss how to move forward, though a specific plan for the remains has not been announced.
