WICK NEIGHBORS Panels present ideas

A planning expert said change must come from neighborhoods and not city hall.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Smoky Hollow should continue to be called Smoky Hollow.
That was the suggestion of a committee that was considering issues surrounding the redevelopment of the neighborhood near Youngstown State University.
Wick Neighbors, a group of churches, museums and organizations along Wick Avenue, want to revitalize the area that contains mostly vacant lots and a ball field owned by YSU.
YSU President Dr. David Sweet and the Rev. John Horner, pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church, dreamed up the idea.
On Wednesday, Wick Neighbors began to consider what they want to see in the area.
The Rev. Mr. Horner headed the committee that was asked if Smoky Hollow's name should go. That question and others were asked by Cityarchitecture of Cleveland, which has been hired by the Wick Neighbors.
The answer, said the pastor, was no.
"We think it has a very positive connotation," Mr. Horner said.
Other committees reported general plans for a racially mixed area with parks, a fountain or artificial waterway, and housing ranging from $60,000 to $200,000.
Diversity issue
Paul Volpe, the president of Cityarchitecture, said Youngstown specifically and the Midwest in general have the same problem when it comes to diversity.
"We find [achieving] economic diversity is far more difficult than racial diversity," Volpe said. "We go where our economic lifestyle calls us."
The committees also indicated that they see Smoky Hollow as part of downtown Youngstown, although Volpe acknowledged that he had viewed it as a neighborhood separate from the downtown.
Hunter Morrison, Cleveland's former city planner who is now working for YSU, assisting the city of Youngstown and working with the Wick Neighbors, said that such development projects come out of neighborhoods, not city hall.
The Wick Neighbors want to go into the final design stage and create a plan in early 2003.
Still, about 30 Wick-area entities haven't responded to a survey about their plans or interests. Volpe noted that the key entities in the project had responded.
"It's a bit of a disappointment," Volpe said. "We should have had a 100 percent response."
Talks to date and future talks are just the beginning of the definition of the pieces of the plan, the architect added.
Morrison noted that the Wick plan and plans for other portions of the city will eventually be combined.
The Wick Neighbors also said they would try to survey Smoky Hollow residents after two, Rose and Frank Worrellia, of 409 Walnut St., said no one from the group had ever contacted them. After the meeting, Frank Worrellia said he felt reassured.
Another Smoky Hollow resident, Ann Caizza, has been taking part in the Wick Neighbors meetings. She suggested the artificial waterway.
wilkinson@vindy.com