Township's plan being formulated

The AGF is willing to work with the citizens board to improve the township.
AUSTINTOWN -- The Austintown Growth Foundation is hoping it will be able to move forward with a community plan for the township this spring.
Dr. Fred Owens, growth foundation president, said planners at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., are putting the final touches on the latest draft of the 20/20-Austintown plan. The draft is expected to be ready for the growth foundation to review at its March 1 meeting, and the plan should be implemented in the spring, Owens said.
"I think it's really important to get it out to the community," he said.
The growth foundation began working on the plan in 2002, and a series of public meetings was held in March 2003 to collect township residents' ideas on the future of their community. At first, the foundation had hoped to have the plan done last summer.
Owens said that since then, the community's focus shifted from the plan to the township's political and financial troubles. Residents wanted to know how township trustees would address an unexpected budget deficit, and they were waiting to see if longtime Trustees David Ditzler and Bo Pritchard and new Trustee Lisa Oles could work together, he said.
"That so consumed the focus, it detracted from the plan," Owens said.
The growth foundation had hired a group of students and instructors at Ball State to write the plan based on residents' comments. Owens said the growth foundation chose Ball State because it has the best program for writing the plan.
What's happening
Dr. James Segedy, who leads the Ball State effort to write the plan, said the creation of the plan was delayed further because the students got distracted by other commitments.
"We're scrambling to pick it up," he said.
When the plan is complete, it will be a "cookbook" with step-by-step proposals to improve the township, Owens said. Some of the issues residents said they wanted to achieve through the plan include cleaning up community blight and finding a township center.
Owens added that the plan will be designed to withstand township financial problems or political changes.
"Officials come and go, budgets come and go, but the community needs to grow in ways the community wants to grow." he said. "This will be the Austintown community's plan and it will be done by the people of Austintown."
Owens also noted that the growth foundation is willing to work with the new Austintown Citizens Advisory Board to improve the township. The board, which has met twice, also was created to improve the township.
It has put forth several ideas for the community's future, including buying water from the city of Niles instead of Youngstown, purchasing Austintown Middle School for community use, and broadcasting school board meetings on Channel 19, the community television station.
"I do believe the advisory board has discussed a number of projects that are a direct benefit to the community that they want to implement. There's always room for it," Owens said.
He also stressed, however, that the growth foundation will not be deterred from implementing the plan.