The two women running to be mayor of Oak Grove met in a League of Women Voters debate forum Thursday night as they discussed their visions of the future of the city.
Teresa Jarvis is running for re-election to that seat and faces challenger Jackie Oliver on the November ballot, and they field questions concerning a variety of topics, including water rates and issues in Oak Grove. Oliver says the water system infrastructure badly needs to be updated, to determine what is causing high water rates and possible loss.
Jarvis says the plans to update that infrastructure are in place, and they recently upped the rates to help fund repairing the aging system further.
Both candidates agree that infrastructure of all types, including roads and internet access and more, is of vital importance in Oak Grove. Jarvis says she will continue to advocate for the city to get its own school and work for general upkeep of the area.
Oliver says she wants to see Oak Grove become more family oriented and really flourish going into the future.
Both also agreed that at least a partially paid fire department would be beneficial for the city, but the funds don’t currently exist to establish that—they also bragged on the volunteer fire department, saying they do a tremendous job keeping citizens safe.
Oliver says she wants to see more transparency and accountability come to Oak Grove government, and Jarvis says she wants to help further educate the community on how local government operates, while encouraging economic growth in the city.
Listen to the full debate below:
https://www.facebook.com/lwvhopkinsville/videos/1319286078815656