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Opposition leader Art Bullock, head of AshlandConstitution.org, passed out leaflets charging, "The proposed charter gives city the power to sell Lithia Park to developers "¦ empowers city to sell Ashland's water to corporations without charter restrictions on quantity or purpose."A one-word change about Ashland's water, saying it may be sold to "residents," rather than "inhabitants," as stated in the present charter, was read by opponents as removing safeguards against marketing to corporate interests. Councilman Eric Navickas said the present charter assures water "can never be privatized, in perpetuity.A resident can be a private business, but an inhabitant is an individual citizen."But Chapman disputed that, saying, with that interpretation, local breweries and coffee shops wouldn't be able to use city water to make and sell their products.
"And anyway, we don't have enough water to sell to Coca-Cola.
It ain't gonna happen."A "blunder" in the new charter process omitted protections against sale of Lithia Park, Chapman said, but state law prohibits sale of parklands unless they're no longer used for a park.While Councilwoman Cate Hartzell acknowledged the much-visited Lithia Park likely would not be sold, she said there are properties in the upper park, surrounded by desirable homes, that could be sold if the city needed the money.
She put North Mountain Park and Oredson-Todd Park in the same category, noting the city w...
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