Is this really about Fire Hydrants?
When I was asked by our local UW Extension to help plan a community meeting to respond to the recent notification that the City of Milwaukee would be cutting of Fire Hydrant use for Community Gardens, I wasnt convinced that we would have the political capital to adequately forge a path of solutions forward. We werent getting any real information about why this was happening from the city. The city representative who was sent to our committee had no real understanding of the issues from a technical or systematic approach. But then …. the press got involved… front page of the Journal Sentinel, in addition to other publications and suddenly we’re in business. This meeting will now be well attended with all the right people who can push forth a larger urban agriculture/water policy as well as a group for developing immediate strategies for water access alternatives.
Through this process a reporter asked me the ‘real reason’ that the hydrants were no longer being used. This was/is my response from the perspective of the community organizer who puts all the pieces together. However, Im not afraid to say it …. I did have to take pause, for a moment, to put down my metaphorical pitchfork and look at everything from the other side of the coin. Please dont feel as if you are required to set down your pitchfork:
There is a a considerable amount of confusion about the
‘real reason’ behind Milwaukee’s plan to no longer allow fire hydrant
watering of community gardens, because, whenever we are dealing with a
large system, its never all that simple.I believe it is valid to say all of the reasons that have been thrown
out there are factors – to the fire chief its about safety. Though, in
my limited research this is, statistically, a dead issue. Milwaukee
Water Works says its about metering water effectively as the urban
agriculture movement grows. For the City of Milwaukee – yes,
unfortunately it might simply come down to the budget, because we are
dancing a very fine budgetary line.Some representatives from the City of Milwaukee truly understand
global and local water issues, energy and sustainability issues and
how these issues relate to urban agriculture and community gardens.
Fundamentally, they want to lead with an understanding of these
issues. Though, like the rest of us, they are straddling this
knowledge in a world based on the myth of perpetual economic growth.
Corporate domination of our economy keeps the budget a precarious
balancing act for even the most well-funded municipalities.The City of Milwaukee is lead mostly by good people who want Milwaukee
to be a thriving metropolitan region. How to accomplish this is a
rapidly changing notion. We are very close to a time when slight
variations in fire response time will become an obsolete concern when
compared to food security. Growing food will be seen as the end goal,
rather then a means for participating in the economy. Corporate
control over our water supply will become, in the next few decades,
the most profound Human Rights issue that we will face as a city and a
species.All of these major paradigmatic shifts are brought to the forefront of
the medias attention via the one seemingly small issue of fire hydrant
usage for community gardens. Government and citizen groups must come
together at an unprecedented level to effectively address the shift
that needs to be made. If the City of Milwaukee says its a budgetary
issue, then I believe it is. But these citizens gathering tomorrow
will not let the city forget the larger conversation of the human
condition that is not based solely on economic indicators.This group of citizens is going to find solutions, with government’s
support, to secure water for community gardens. Based on the level of
heated response towards the city from gardeners about this issue, it
is pretty clear that, in spite of Mayor Tom Barretts very public
interest in community gardening—the people have little faith that the
City of Milwaukee is willing to ensure the success of community
gardens with clear action.The role the city needs to take right now is one of partnership and
community building – to respond to it’s grassroots strength. Not from
a corporate economic growth model that ensures tightly metered water
for Milwaukee Water Works to offer the cheapest rates to
water-guzzling corporations. This is blatantly a short-sighted
response to a long-term planet. Community gardening offers an
alternative to this economic growth model. Gardening makes
communities strong, resilient, vibrant, happy, sustainable, healthy,
dynamic, and peaceful. The people gathering tomorrow need to be
empowered by the city to succeed.In this moment, I am feeling quite hopeful that Mayor Barrett; our new
Director in the Office of Sustainability, Tim McCollow, also from the
Office of Sustainability; Alderman Nik Kovac; Alderwoman Milele Coggs;
Yves Lapier from the DCD; Carrie Lewis from Milwaukee Water Works;
Ghassan Korban from DPW; and many others who I’ve had personal contact
with and are foot soldiers towards creating a sustainable future, are
going to work with community gardeners to ensure that Milwaukee
remains on the forefront of creating sustainable, socially just,
resilient food systems.I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night, if I am correct in all of this.
Please attend the community meeting at 6 p.m.,
Wednesday Independence First ~ 540 South 1st Street.
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