COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTS 20/20 Austintown plan impresses

The plan will be posted on the Web in the coming weeks.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Township residents got a glimpse Tuesday night of what could be the future of their community, and they liked what they saw.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Nashua Drive resident Helen Wilcox said after seeing a presentation on the 20/20 Austintown plan at the Austintown library.
Tom Fizet of Norquest Boulevard added, "I think it's a big project, but I think it's something we need.
The 160-page plan lists several recommendations about how township residents, business owners and officials can improve the community. The recommendations, which include creating a town center and revitalizing the Wickliffe and Wedgewood neighborhoods and Austintown plaza, were created using ideas discussed at a series of public meetings and forums last year.
Encouraging words
"You will be amazed at the wonderful things you guys can accomplish," Dr. James Segedy, a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., told a group of about 80 residents and officials attending the presentation.
Segedy was hired by the Austintown Growth Foundation to direct the effort to create the plan.
"You've got to believe it. I believe in this thing. I think you guys can do it," he said.
Segedy stressed that the plan is designed so residents can follow the recommendations and meet their goals without having to rely on township government. He noted that residents can work to find grants and private funding, which are available to help pay for projects like those in the plan.
"The feds and state will help you pay for it, almost all of it," Segedy said.
Starting small
He also advised the residents to start small and pick a project that could be relatively easy to accomplish, such as planting a Memorial Grove of trees to honor township soldiers, police and firefighters who died in the line of duty.
"I think it's great if it can work," said Wickliffe resident John McAndrew.
Residents seemed to agree that starting small and achieving success could help build support for bigger projects in the future.
McAndrew suggested forming a committee to ask businesses along Mahoning Avenue to clean up their properties.
Sandra Schroder, also a Wickliffe resident, said she believes residents also should encourage their neighbors to keep their homes and land clean.
Fred Owens, growth foundation president, said residents will soon be able to read the plan on his organization's Web site and determine what issues they want to address in the community. Residents should then contact him and discuss how they can reach their goals for the township.
Bruce Paulette, co-chairman of the Austintown Citizen's Board, noted that his organization is willing to work with the growth foundation and other residents to meet the goals in the plan and improve the community.
"If we can help, we'll work together with them to get it done," Paulette said.
The plan will be posted in the coming weeks on the growth foundation's Web site at www.austintowngrowth.com.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;