TRUMBULL COUNTY Downtown database is near completion

City council passed an ordinance to get bids for managing Union Cemetery.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Warren Redevelopment and Planning is nearly done with the first phase of a project to develop a master plan for downtown.
"We're trying to build a comprehensive plan for the revitalization of downtown Warren," said Michael Maggiano, who is heading the project for WRAP.
The project started last August, and in about a week, the first phase, development of a database of downtown buildings, will be complete, WRAP Director Anthony Iannucci Jr. told council members Wednesday.
When that's done, the design phase will start.
"We'll start with the building owners around the square and expand to other buildings and business owners in the central district to get their input," Iannucci said.
Scope of district
The central business district is bordered by Atlantic and Fulton streets and Tod and Chestnut avenues.
The project also will involve public forums to get residents' input.
The downtown survey found 260 buildings, 22 of which were vacant; 247 businesses; and 28 vacant storefronts downtown, Maggiano said.
Iannucci said the agency has received a lot of positive feedback from design consultants and other communities about the idea.
"One thing we've heard consistently when we've talked to design consultants and people in other communities is that 'you've got a jewel down there,'" Maggiano said. "All we have to do is polish that jewel up."
Councilman Felipe M. Romain Jr., D-at large, said the state of downtown must be addressed immediately.
"Get to these businesses now, before another one leaves," he said. "We need this now."
Cemetery management
In other business, council members passed an ordinance to get bids for management of Union Cemetery and Oaklawn Mausoleum. The mausoleum, one of two at the Niles Road cemetery, closed in 1998 after it was damaged by vandals.
A Florida company whose owner has city roots has expressed interest in leasing the cemetery and repairing the mausoleum.
Councilman Gary Fonce, D-at large, cast the lone dissenting vote, saying there were too many unanswered questions in the three-year management contract.
"I asked for a business plan," Fonce said, adding that one wasn't forthcoming.
He said he wanted to know what was going to be accomplished during the term of the contract so city officials would have a way to evaluate whether progress was being made.