BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Baldwin County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized Commission chairman Frank Burt to sign final documents for acquisition and construction of a state veterans cemetery north of Spanish Fort.

The Commission has been working more than a year to obtain mineral rights for the property, which is a requirement to access  $7 million in federal funds to construct the cemetery.

 Final ownership of mineral rights at the site must be completed before funds are released.

Burt said Tuesday that owners of those rights are “100 percent” behind the project and that paperwork should be finalized in days.

Construction should begin this year.

The cemetery, a 103-acre tract situated on State Road 225 across from Historic Blakeley State Park, will be designed to accommodate veteran burials for 75 years.