QUESTIONS About Austintown

20/20 -- Austintown is an effort to create a plan for the township's future. The effort is being coordinated by a steering committee of local residents. Here are answers to some of the questions the committee believes it will receive about the planning process:
Who's doing this? Austintown. The Austintown Growth Foundation is leading the way, but the vision and action plans that emerge will have been created by all Austintown stakeholders who participate.
Things seem pretty good as they are. Why bother? Good now doesn't mean good tomorrow. Effective communities work together to anticipate change and use resources to support an agreed-on future. They make smart choices. Planning helps us deal with change, which is constant and inevitable.
How will the process work? A team from Ball State University will analyze information about the township as well as the results of community meetings and they will present their findings in draft form at a public meeting. They will revise the draft based on community reactions, and then they will develop a set of action plans. Township officials and community leaders will review these plans for feasibility and appropriateness. At or near Aug. 15, the Ball State team will offer the final report at a community meeting. Is it part of Youngstown's new city planning project? No. Youngstown's project aims to help Youngstown. But obviously the two communities share a common boundary as well as a regional economy.
How can I learn more or get involved? A selection of community planning reports created by the Ball State team in the past is available on the Internet at www.bsu.edu/web/CBP. More information is available at www.austintowngrowth.com. To become involved, send an e-mail to agf@zoominternet.net or call Dr. Fred Owens, Austintown Growth Foundation president, at (330) 792-5557.
Source: 20/20 -- Austintown