Mayor gives his promise for ACTION

By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The mayor of this city has promised ACTION it will get action to fix blighted neighborhoods.
Among other steps, he will ask council to double or triple the amount of money for demolishing abandoned homes, Mayor George C. McKelvey told the group Saturday.
ACTION -- the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods -- made it clear last week that it wanted the mayor present at its third Holy Ground march. McKelvey obliged.
The members of the city and suburban churches in ACTION marched near Parkcliff and Firnley avenues to protest the lack of demolition and to ask that drug houses be closed.
McKelvey said ACTION members were his "faith partners" and that they had a "common mission to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods."
The mayor said he is 100-percent committed to the improvement efforts.
Group's demand
ACTION has demanded that the city eliminate blighted homes within 30 days, although the process to legally demolish a home takes much longer.
McKelvey said he explained that issue.
The Rev. Lewis Macklin II, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, one of ACTION's leaders, said the 30-day period was not so much a deadline for demolition but for some sign of progress on the issue.
"There is some tangible step that can be taken," he said.
The mayor noted that the city has a list of about 500 homes that need demolished. Still, he asked people to report dilapidated homes to the city in case the city was unaware of them.
People have been waiting for years to see some homes demolished, the mayor noted.
Status report
Those efforts should result in a status report to show where homes are on the demolition list.
McKelvey said there could be real progress with increased funding and an updated list of blighted properties.
The Rev. Mr. Macklin pointed at a house near his church that had some broken windows and long, uncut grass. He said the owner had offered it to the church for $11,000.
The minister said he had hoped to acquire that property and two others to help create a green space in the neighborhood. He would rather put any church funds into creating the green space, he said, noting that other nearby homes have been vandalized and one resident moved away after being assaulted.
"At some point, you have to say, 'Stop the madness,'" the pastor said.
wilkinson@vindy.com