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Public commenters urge outreach for unhoused people, criticize data‑center plans and seek safer signage near neighborhood playgrounds
Summary
During public comment, a volunteer urged outreach to people experiencing homelessness, a resident warned about water and grid impacts from proposed data centers, and a community volunteer asked the city to work with the traffic commission to add signage near multiple playgrounds on Pearl Avenue.
Several members of the public addressed the council during the June 1 meeting.
Maurice Filson, who identified himself as working with local recovery centers and Lawrence County programs, urged a faith- and outreach‑based approach to homelessness services. Filson told council "we need to go to them, not them come to us," and said social programs alone will not reach some people.
Later in the meeting, Chris Hammer criticized data-center projects and the process that brought them to the city. Hammer said such facilities would consume large amounts of water, strain the grid, and could trigger emergency-generation and infrastructure changes that residents would not want. "Data centers are going to take your water... they're going to use millions of gallons every day," he said, and questioned whether residents had been given an adequate voice in approval processes.
Corey Fisk, a volunteer with God's Resort, asked the council to raise driver awareness and study traffic-calming options on Pearl Avenue, between 14th and 20th streets, where God's Resort operates multiple playgrounds and a future youth center. Fisk said drivers cannot readily see the playgrounds and requested staff coordination with the traffic commission to evaluate signage, stop patterns and other calming measures. Staff said they will refer the request to the traffic commission for evaluation and noted the city follows a traffic-calming policy that includes engineering assessments.
Council thanked speakers, confirmed staff follow-up with the traffic commission on the playground signage request, and acknowledged the different viewpoints expressed on data centers and homelessness outreach.
