Romanian town launches public fundraising campaign to buy mineral water springs

The Town Hall of Slanic Moldova, a town in Bacau county – Eastern Romania, has launched a public fundraising campaign via which it aims to raise the necessary funds to buy the mineral water springs in the city from the company that currently owns them. The City Hall hopes that it will raise EUR 300,000 in donations, reports local News.ro. The city residents can make cash donations, or wire money into the City Hall’s accounts. Moreover, the local authorities plan to set up collection points near the water springs. “Those who will donate minimum RON 100 will receive a donor certificate as a token of gratitude,” said Slanic Moldova mayor Gheorghe Baciu. At the end of last year, the mineral water springs were evaluated at EUR 150,000 by the liquidator of the company that currently owns them. The City Hall already purchased three water springs last week, in a public auction. It paid RON 79,000 (EUR 17,500) for them. However, the Municipality wants to raise EUR 300,000 from donations, and the money will be used to buy the rest of the water springs, and to arrange them. Slanic Moldova is a spa town famous for its mineral water springs, which have been discovered around the year 1800. A national public fundraising campaign was organized in Romania this year, for Constantin Brancusi’s famous Cumintenia Pamantului (Wisdom of the Earth) sculpture. The state wanted to raise EUR 6 million during this campaign, which ended on September 30, but it only managed to raise some EUR 1.3 million. Romania’s Government will pay EUR 10 mln from the state budget for Brancusi sculpture Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Primariaslanicmoldova.ro)