MAHONING VALLEY Regional unity is focus of talk

Look at the big picture and think regionally, dialogue participants urge.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- For the Mahoning Valley to be successful, its communities must think of themselves as a unified region, participants said during a dialogue on community improvement.
"This region is in competition with regions like Columbus, Indianapolis, Montgomery County for jobs, for business, for education. We can't compete as 72 small jurisdictions," said Ray DeCarlo of Youngstown.
DeCarlo and others made their comments during a session called "Beyond Parochialism -- A Community Vision" Monday at St. Luke Church.
The session was one of several "listening sessions" conducted by ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods) -- a faith-based community improvement organization. Other simultaneous sessions concerned "Youngstown -- A City Worth Saving" and "Dismantling Racism and Prejudice -- Repairing the Breach."
The township boundaries and many of the county boundaries date 200 years to a time when transportation and communication were much slower than today, DeCarlo observed.
School districts
"What a savings that would be to have one school district for the entire county. We have 17 plus the Catholic schools" in Mahoning County, he said.
"There are groups of people in the surrounding communities to Youngstown that really don't want to have anything to do with Youngstown," observed Richard Marsico, Mahoning County engineer. He noted, however, that nearby suburbs have depended on Youngstown's sewer and water infrastructure for their growth.
Austintown residents complain about being surcharged for Youngstown water, but they didn't pay for the construction of the city's water system, he added.
"There needs to be an awareness that taking care of what we have is good stewardship," said Jim Converse of Vienna.
In an area such as the Mahoning Valley, which has been experiencing an area-wide population decline, a house in a neighborhood is typically abandoned every time a home is built in a new suburban development, he explained.
'Thinking regionally'
"I share some of the same concern about lack of thinking regionally," said Judy Blue of Austintown, who called for more education of the public and community leaders about regional issues.
The Youngstown 2010 planning effort focuses on the city, but also needs to include the suburbs, observed John Berg of Boardman.
ACTION will conduct similar meetings at 7 tonight at Union Baptist Church, 528 Lincoln Ave., on Youngstown's North Side, and at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Christine Church, 3165 S. Schenley Ave., on the city's West Side.
milliken@vindy.com