I’m troubled by this city’s decision making and what it means for this city. Two years ago the mayor raised water rates by almost 200% because Coca-Cola said it was leaving; the increase was wildly disproportionate to what was the projected loss. Coca-Cola is still here and water bills remain higher than they should be. It’s taken months for some potholes to be filled while many of the city’s streets are still dangerously pitted. The city ultimately dismissed valid concerns and alternatives to its plan for Main Street. While the city states a commitment to affordable housing, that’s in theory only as condos, priced at half a million or more, are put up all over the downtown/Ward 3 area, an already densely populated neighborhood. All this while we can’t get the city to make our sidewalks accessible and walkable.
More and more this is yet another city becoming unaffordable for far too many of its population. Progressive politics that do not meaningfully work to make a city viable for all are not progressive at all.
Tina Sanchez
Northampton