Task Force Looks at Vacant Property

Reprinted with permission from The Business Journal

Task Force Looks at Vacant Property

October 23, 2007 7:17 a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A task force of city, county and state officials is pursuing a collaboration with the National Vacant Properties Campaign to get a handle on the vacant property problems facing Youngstown and Mahoning County. The local group is pursing a combination of public and private funding for this major initiative and has received several commitments.

The task force will work with the national campaign to assess the existing vacant property programs and initiatives in the city of Youngstown and Mahoning County. The assessment will result in a policy brief offering community leaders a holistic framework for reclaiming vacant properties and a strategic action plan for the prevention, acquisition and reuse of vacant properties countywide. The strategic plan will identify short- and long-term steps needed to adopt and implement the recommendations.

Wick Neighbors Inc. convened the task force this summer as part of ongoing talks with the NVPC following last year’s “Neighborhood Reinvestment Workshops: How To’s” series co-sponsored with Youngstown 2010. The workshop concerning vacant property and strategies for redeveloping them generated a huge response, officials said.

Task force members have explored the services the NVPC offers and researched the work the organization has done in other cities around the U.S. including Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo and Buffalo, N.Y. Representatives in those cities said the NVPC experts reviewed their city and county systems and processes for dealing with vacant land. Those cities reported that NVPC provided a number of productive recommendations tailored to each city that led to short- and long-term changes. Changes in those cities have included creating a vacant property information system, passing new city ordinances supporting vacant property reclamation and creating foreclosure prevention programs.

Task Force members include Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally; County Treasurer Lisa Antonini; Jamael Tito Brown, director of operations at the county Treasurer’s office; Bill D’Avignon, Youngstown Community Development Agency director; Jason Whitehead, chief of staff for Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams; Arnie Clebone, regional representative for the governor’s Economic Development Office; Debora Flora, executive director of Lien Forward Ohio; Realtor Donna Buzulencia; Richard Shafer, vice president of Mortgage Services at Home Savings & Loan; and Margaret L. Murphy, executive director of Wick Neighbors.

Wick Neighbors Inc. is an independent, nonprofit community development corporation serving the Wick District of Youngstown, Ohio, with the Smoky Hollow Development as its keystone project.