I am a part owner of a local, family-run greenhouse located at The NECIC Urban Farm on Bowman St.
We depend on city water to grow plants that turn into meals for our community.
When I learned about the poor condition of our Water Mains, I could see that a failure would be a true crisis for our urban, small-scale farmers who provide our community with fresh produce.
Even a short interruption could result in total crop loss.
Our century-old water mains are not a potential problem, but a reality with the potential to debilitate our city.
The threat is not only to our economy, but to our safety.
There are 385 fire hydrants are currently out of order, jeopardizing thousands of citizens; who with a fire would have to wait while firefighters scramble to connect to an operational hydrant.
As a life-long working-class member, I understand feeling squeezed for cash and tempted to oppose any tax, but this is OUR community, water, businesses and lives at stake.
City government isn’t going to swoop in and save us, we must save ourselves from this impending water crisis.
Vote YES for the Mansfield Water Main Initiative and not sellout the viability and great potential of our city to save a few dollars on our taxes.
Kelly Neef
Mansfield, Ohio