Neighborhoods

The Centers for Disease Control has a new tool to help cities, including Youngstown, pinpoint their major health concerns.

It’s the first time that Youngstown Health Commissioner Erin Bishop has city-wide data to analyze. She said she believes that the CDC’s 500 Cities Project will be a great benefit, instead of having to rely on county-wide data.

The report shows at the neighborhood level which parts of the city are having problems with obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and other health issues.

500 CITIES PROJECT: YOUNGSTOWN DATA

YOUNGSTOWN’S COMPARISON TO NATIONAL RESULTS

Bishop said there are a few things that stood out from the report.

“In the same neighborhood where I’m seeing the high incidences of diseases, I’m also seeing lower incidences of people that have health insurance, that get their screenings,” she said.

Bishop said problems can be found on the north and east sides of the cities, but the study shows that the southwest side of Youngstown is free from many instances of diseases and obesity.

According to the study, there is a higher prevalence of most health issues in Youngstown than across the nation. Those include arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, cholesterol and even tooth loss.

The study also found that there were more Youngstown residents in poor mental and physical health than the nationwide average.

One positive — cancer rates are lower in Youngstown than the national average. Bishop said these numbers may reveal a different conclusion, however.

“Or, we have a lot of people that are undetected. That’s what kinda concerns me. When I think of breast cancer, and they’re not getting their mammograms and they’re not getting the prostate exams, they’re not getting their PSA tests,” she said.

The city has programs like the African American Walk in August, which has a goal of getting 150 men screened for PSA (prostate-specific antigen).

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and Goodness Grows want to provide options for those places which have no access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The data from the 500 Cities Project will help the city write grant proposals to target where to spend the money wisely.

“People often think, ‘Why is it in the same neighborhoods? Why are they getting the money?’ That’s because that’s the highest need and where we have the most people that we can help change,” Bishop said.

Starting in May, the city will be part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It started in the 1960s, and this will be the first time Youngstown has been included to get screenings for people and collect more relevant data.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

The Youngstown Design Review Committee approved proposals Tuesday for two of the five installations funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The committee, at its monthly meeting, approved the design for the Wedge at Hazel Hill, a pocket park to consist of a rain garden, a stage, placemaking art and signage, and a revised design for decorative lighting of an abandoned railway viaduct over Mahoning Avenue.

Last year, NEA, through its Innovative Plan for Leveraging Arts Through Community Engagement – or Inplace — program provided a $100,000 grant to Youngstown State University. The five installations – each allocated $20,000 — were chosen from among 15 proposals submitted.

The pocket park won the green infrastructure category, said Annissa Neider, an architect with MS Consultants, Youngstown. Neider is one of two MS employees – along with Courtney Boyle, senior environmental project manager — who donated their services to the project.

The park will be on property next to the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. It will collect runoff from Wood Street and channel it to the rain garden.

Signage on the site will tell how the rain garden is improving the space and provide information on the Inplace project, Boyle said. Another sign will address the role of the Mahoning River in supporting the steel industry and the future of the river, Neider said, and she and Boyle are working with the museum on that.

Another aspect of the project, a small performance stage, will create “a destination” for small community events, Neider said.

“We’re reaching out to a lot of potential partners right now, YSU being one,” Boyle said. Potential activities include yoga in the park and other wellness programs, she said, and Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley has agreed to stage public health events.

“So we’re trying to have that education and performance arts aspect,” she continued.

“It’s already catching interest,” Neider said.

A contractor will be secured and materials purchased in April, excavation and construction to get underway in May, according to a timeline presented at a public event last week. Work is slated for completion by the end of June.

The committee also approved the revised design for the Mahoning Avenue railroad viaduct.

David Tamulonis, who spearheaded the project along with Ian Beniston and Eric Carlson, outlined changes to the design since the committee met last month. Members asked him to explore changes in the lighting, including a solar power supply.

Instead of LED lighting directed straight down from the top interior of the viaduct, hanging from airline cable, the lights will be mounted on the top to diffuse on the sides of the walls, Tamulonis said. Joe Dickey Electric will hang the lights inside and on the exterior of the viaduct, and coordinate with Ohio Edison to establish a power connection.

According to Tamulonis, Dickey said using a solar array would be “cost-prohibitive.” There also was a concern about vandalism should solar panels be used, he said.

Last month, the committee approved the design of a third Inplace project, “Solar Screen,” a curved wall composed of 3-D printed ceramic bricks on the lawn next to 107 Vindicator Square. A fourth, a shipping container bus was also approved by the committee who directed an alternative site instead of in front of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

The fifth Inplace project, a shadow art project by Valley Christian School’s Lewis School for Gifted Learning, is yet to come before the committee.

To read the full story from the Business Journal, click here.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

In January of 2017, seven South Avenue business owners were awarded small grants, ranging from $1,000-$2,000, to make safety-related improvements to their buildings following the principles of CPTED, or Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.

CPTED seeks to prevent crime through increasing surveillance, controlling access, reinforcing territoriality, and improving maintenance. CPTED is based on the theory that individuals are less likely to commit crimes when there are higher risks to being seen and caught or when crimes are more difficult to commit. The seven South Avenue businesses used CPTED grant funding to install additional lighting, increase property surveillance, repair and install fencing, and improve signage. Funding was provided through the US Department of Justice Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation project, which analyzed Youngstown Police Department data to identify crime hotspots and engaged community members in developing and implementing evidence-based research strategies to reduce crime. *This project was supported by Award No.2015-AJ-BX-0012 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, US Department of Justice.

For those who would like to learn more about CPTED, representatives from YNDC, YPD, YSU, and the City of Youngstown will hold a "CPTED Training" at Homestead Park, on Saturday, March 25 from 9:00am-1:00pm, in which participants will learn about CPTED principles, complete an assessment of the park itself and develop a plan to improve the park. A small amount of funding will be available to implement some of the recommended improvements. The training is free and anyone is welcome to attend. It is strongly recommended that attendees arrive at 9:00am and stay for the duration of the training. A flyer with more information about the training is available for download below.

To watch the full video from Vacant Properties Research Network, click here.

Friday, March 10, 2017

On Wednesday, March 1, the spring session of YNDC’s Bright Idea to Business Plan course kicked off, with 35 aspiring entrepreneurs enrolled.

Participating in the class are a baker, a woodworker, interest in opening a sporting goods store, interest in entering the warehouse business, and more! Students entered the class to learn about basic business planning, meet service providers from other organizations, and to take advantage of opportunities to speak with small business owners about how they got started. Topics include cash flows, financial statements, marketing, and how to plan your personal finances as a business owner. Credit counseling and microloans are also available to support new and existing entrepreneurs in Mahoning County.

Friday, March 10, 2017

In February and March, YNDC hosted two free garden workshops in the Mercy Health Foundation demonstration kitchen.

The workshops were open to all gardeners from beginner to advanced. Farm Manager Corey Maizel discussed basic gardening topics, from soil amendments to planning crops to extend the growing season, and answered questions. Sixty people were in attendance and left with garden kits and seeds to help start their gardens this year.

Friday, March 10, 2017

YNDC is offering the second round of the Youth Greening Grant as part of a 3-city study of youth violence and vacant land reuse run by the University of Michigan.

This opportunity will fund vacant land reuse projects that center around youth across the city. YNDC has held 3 technical assistance workshops and many one-on-one meetings to help groups and individuals across the city get their project applications ready. YNDC anticipates making 10-15 grant awards in 2017, to be announced in early April.

City council will consider moving ahead Wednesday with a memorandum of understanding to have an Army National Guard unit demolish 15 to 20 vacant houses on the South Side.

The agreement with the guard’s 112th Engineer Battalion, based in Brook Park, would have about 40 members of the unit and its equipment in the city between July 8 and 22 demolishing dilapidated houses in and around Hudson and Idlewood avenues, said Abigail Beniston, the city’s code enforcement and blight remediation superintendent.

“The idea is they want to test this project out and do 15 to 20 homes,” she said. “If this project works, they’ll use other units next year [to demolish] 100 to 200 homes. They want to get through this first phase.”

The assistance from the unit “will be a huge benefit to the city,” Beniston said.

The agreement must be finalized by the city’s board of control.

Last summer, members of the Air Force Reserve’s 910th Civil Engineer Squadron, based out of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, helped the city street department take down about 80 houses on the South Side, Beniston said.

The difference is the Army National Guard unit will be doing the work on its own with its own equipment, she said.

Also, council will consider authorizing the board of control to approve a 75-percent, 10-year real-property tax abatement with Gasser Chair Co. on Logan Way.

Gasser, a 71-year-old company, plans to spend up to $923,700 to convert a warehouse into a manufacturing facility and hire 20 full-time employees. The project would be finished by the end of this year.

Gasser would save $46,675 in property taxes and pay $15,558 over the 10-year life of the abatement.

The company makes chairs for casinos, restaurants and hotels.

In November, council agreed to let Gasser borrow up to $923,700 for the project for up to 18 months at 0.25 percent interest and to give $50,000 to the company for water and wastewater improvements. None of that money has been given to the company to date.

To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

On Wednesday, March 15, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team Maple 7 arrived in Youngstown to fight blight with YNDC for the next six weeks.

The team is composed of Team Leader Jamie Coladonato, Ikea Johnson, Chris Tollefsen, Jack Shock, Ashley Hayden, Christian Dienes, Tali-ona Switzer, and Oluwatosin Grace Jekayinfa. The team will be boarding up vacant homes across the city and complete vacant home clean outs in preparation for the vacant home rehabilitation process. FIGHT BLIGHT.

Drastic changes to the federal budget that President Donald Trump proposed Thursday would have a significant impact on programs and services in the Mahoning Valley, local officials say.

The $1.15 trillion federal discretionary spending proposal for 2018 would slash the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department, Agriculture Department and other federal agencies. The president also seeks outright elimination of 19 agencies’ funding, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and Defense would see increases under Trump’s plan.

Here’s how Trump’s proposal – which the Congress can choose to incorporate into the budget it ultimately approves – could affect the Valley.

Mike Iberis, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, is concerned about the overall impact of Trump’s proposal on the people his organization serves.

“We are certainly concerned that there are a number of budget cuts to people that are in poverty,” he said.

About 15 percent of the food Second Harvest distributes comes from The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

“I don’t see that on the chopping block,” Iberis said. He noted the proposed elimination of the Community Development Block Grant program’s funding. That program funds initiatives such as affordable housing and infrastructure development.

Ian Beniston, executive director of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., said his organization uses CDBG funds to fix dozens of occupied homes in the city each year. He said the funds are a critical tool for people doing urban development work, and the cuts would have the largest effect on low-income families.

“The most impacted entity is not YNDC but the thousands of homeowners who can’t afford to make necessary repairs to their houses,” he said.

Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said a loss of federal Community Development Block Grant funding would be a “detriment” to the city and to community organizations that rely on that funding to operate.

That includes funding for health clinics, the United Way, Goodwill Industries and lead-paint assistance, he said.

Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, is concerned about the myriad programs from which his organization helps local governments secure funds. Eastgate oversees transit services in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties and is the metropolitan planning organization for Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Kinnick noted, for example, the proposed elimination of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s funding. Kinnick said Eastgate typically helps local communities obtain about $800,000 annually in grants from that agency.

“That would be devastating,” he said.

GOOD NEWS FOR AIR STATION

Guy Coviello, vice president for government and media affairs for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said he thinks the news out of Washington “bodes well for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station and Camp Ravenna.”

Coviello said he thinks increases in military funding in the next budget might help YARS in two areas — ancillary support associated with the acquisition of C130-J aircraft at the base and support for the aerial spray units the base operates.

Even more important for the area might be funding for the East Coast Missile Defense system for which Camp Ravenna is one of three finalists.

“The system will cost about $4 billion to construct, which means lots of long-term construction jobs there and when it’s done,” he said. “It results in about 600 to 800 employees that are the vast majority very high-level scientists and engineers, very highly educated, very high salaries. We haven’t had anything like that here for a very, very long time.”

The Arts

Louis A. Zona, director of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, said the museum depends on federal funding.

“Over the years we have received project support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute for Museum and Library Services,” said Zona. “Paintings have been restored through NEA granting. Importantly, the Ohio Arts Council receives NEA support, which in turn, helps museums like the Butler with annual operating support assistance.”

Zona expressed concern over the possibility of cuts. “It would be a shame if such a tiny part of the federal budget, the National Endowment for the Arts, an institution that does such good, would be eliminated.”

Patricia Syak, president of the Youngstown Symphony Society, which owns and operates the DeYor Performing Arts Center, also expressed concern.

“The Youngstown Symphony Society receives funding from the NEA through the Ohio Arts Council,” said Syak. “The funding assists the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra to engage in educational activities that reach children in high-poverty and rural areas of the Mahoning Valley.”

EDUCATION

Trump recommends cutting the Department of Education’s budget by 14 percent. He would cut $3.7 billion in grants for teacher training, after-school and summer programs, and aid to low-income and first-generation students, The Washington Post reported. The budget also would reduce federal work-study assistance for college students and increase funding for charter schools.

Youngstown City Schools CEO Krish Mohip worries about the ramifications even beyond education.

“I think the research is clear: Reducing the investment in education has consequences,” he said. “Society pays for it down the road many times over.”

Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel said it is important to understand these are challenging times at the state, federal and university level and “tough decisions have to be made.”

Neal McNally, vice president for finance and business operations, said the university would be affected in terms of student loans and federal aid including grants for research projects.

Tressel said he was unsure as to how specific the cuts in education are and how they’ll affect higher education, so it’ll be a wait-and-see situation.

POLITICIANS REACT

Reactions from the Valley’s elected officials were mixed.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, said Trump’s budget would put the U.S. on a “ruinous path.”

“This budget is a nonstarter, and I stand ready to get to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a realistic budget that properly funds these important programs, and gets Americans back to work,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, also voiced opposition to Trump’s budget, with one exception. He supports the portion of the budget blueprint that addresses trade policy, such as tougher trade enforcement.

Brown decried Trump’s proposed elimination of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a cleanup fund.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of the Cincinnati area also supported the fund: “I’m committed to continuing to do everything I can to protect and preserve Lake Erie, including preserving this critical program and its funding.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, expressed support for Trump’s budget.

“America is over $20 trillion in debt, and I’m glad we now have a president who understands that we can’t keep spending money we don’t have,” Johnson said. “This budget will kick-start an important, and overdue, debate about the need and effectiveness of many federal programs.”

To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.