Vicksburg businessman Harry Sharp on Friday officially took control of Green Acres Cemetery for a cash payment of $135,000, the Secretary of State’s Office said in a press release.

Sharp’s bid also include 10 percent of the pre-tax profits of the cemetery up to $100,000, $51,000 in improvements to the existing facilities and a 30 percent discount on memorials, opening charges and vaults.

Sharp, who owns Duff Green Mansion, had been tapped in 2009 to manage the 43-acre burial site off of U.S. 80 after the state was appointed the receiver of the business.

The state had found the cemetery’s trust account to be deficient approximately $375,000.

“When our Agency was first named as receiver of Green Acres, our outlook for this property was dismal at best,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said in the release. “However, thanks to the hard work of our staff, we have completed our goal of placing the cemetery into credible, private ownership.

“Harry Sharp did a tremendous job of rehabbing Green Acres as co-receiver of the cemetery and will no doubt continue his good work as owner of the property.”

Sharp, who managed a cemetery in Florida before moving to Vicksburg in 1985, will operate the cemetery as a private business.

“This is a positive step forward for the future of Green Acres,” Hosemann said. “No doubt the families of the individuals buried at the cemetery will find some relief after more than a year of uncertainty.”