SOUTH SIDE At meeting, residents push property issues

The demolition of a run-down school in the neighborhood drew support.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A single slide told the South Side neighborhood's story.
The collection of four pictures on the slide showed:
* An abandoned apartment building.
* A block of newly built homes.
* A dilapidated house between two well-kept homes.
* A tax-delinquent lot that a nearby resident had landscaped with flowers.
"It sums up the challenges and the opportunities," said Jay Williams, moderator for Tuesday's Youngstown 2010 neighborhood meeting and director of the city Community Development Agency.
About 80 residents who live in the heart of the South Side gathered at Hillman Middle School. They came to focus city officials on such property issues.
Demolishing a vacant, run-down school in the neighborhood drew strong applause.
"We second that emotion," said Erica Jackson of East Evergreen Avenue.
Looking for improvements
Margretta Pierce of Bernard Street said the city needs to make improving the streets off Glenwood Avenue near Mill Creek Park a priority. Pierce said Glenwood is a major artery that should be an extension of the park's beauty.
Nathan Bell of Summer Street said the city needs to awaken its dormant landlord registration program. Rental owners must be accountable for the condition of their properties, he said. Marty Ellington, who owns property on High Street and several other spots in the area, said tenants need to do their parts, too. Youngstown rental properties are in worse shape than spots like Warren, Liberty or Austintown, he said.
There also were questions about the city's land bank, where new businesses would locate, and the future of Oakhill Renaissance Place.
The Rev. Edward P. Noga, pastor of St. Patrick Church, said transferring vacant tax-delinquent land to residents is a practical step that helps homeowners and the neighborhood.
Pamela Freeman of Pineview Avenue said the northern section of Glenwood Avenue should be where any commercial development happens in the area. Residents need a grocery and a pharmacy so they don't have to drive across the city or to the suburbs, she said.
Mulling a move
Mahoning County commissioners are considering moving 400 workers in the Job and Family Services department from the East Side to Renaissance Place, the old Southside Hospital.
John Weed Powers, a Renaissance Place board member, urged neighborhood residents to lobby commissioners to make the move happen. The county offices would move the building from a shaky to solid financial status, he said.
Janet Tarpley of West Florida Avenue asked that South Side Park be better used to give kids ages 12 to 18 things to do. The 2000 Census said the neighborhood had about 3,000 young people age 19 and under, about 30 percent of the area's population.
The next neighborhood meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. July 13 on the East Side. The meeting at East Middle School, 1544 E. High Ave., is particularly for residents living in neighborhoods bounded by Wilson Avenue, Crab Creek, Kimmel Street and Early Road.
rgsmith@vindy.com