Foundation wants to place future of township in hands of residents

Anyone interested in helping implement the plan should contact Owens.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Austintown Growth Foundation is taking steps to implement a plan for the township's future.
Foundation President Fred Owens said the foundation is forming a management committee to help direct the implementation of the 20/20 Austintown plan. The foundation unveiled the plan at a public meeting last month.
Owens said the committee will be designed to guide the plan "to the point where it's able to walk on its own.
"Clearly, it's in its infancy. We want to be sure it's given support and direction," he said. Owens stressed that the plan belongs to the community, not the growth foundation, and that in the future the community should be able to implement the plan without direction from the foundation.
The 160-page plan lists recommendations on how township residents, business owners and officials can improve the community. Those recommendations include creating a town center and revitalizing the Wickliffe and Wedgewood neighborhoods and Austintown plaza.
Planners and students from Ball State University in Indiana created the recommendations using ideas discussed at a series of public meetings and forums last year.
Committee
Owens noted that the growth foundation also is looking to create a committee to implement the plan's "lead" recommended project, which hasn't been selected yet. He stressed that the committee will need to take its time and select a lead project that can be successful, as it will serve to build momentum for the rest of the plan.
The Ball State planners have suggested the committee start with improving the entrances to the township or planting a "Memorial Grove" of trees to honor township residents who died while serving as soldiers, police officers or firefighters, Owens said.
He added the lead project and management committees could include local residents, school staff, business owners, young people, and "stakeholders of all kinds."
Other ideas
Owens also noted that in the weeks since the 20/20 plan was unveiled, the growth foundation has discussed:
* Creating a newsletter and pamphlet for the plan.
* Using the foundation's Web site and Channel 19, the township's community television station, to help implement the plan.
* Developing a road show presentation that can be used when speaking about the plan to community groups.
* Meeting with local elected officials, including State Rep. Ken Carano of Austintown, D-59th, to talk about the plan.
* Considering how home rule, a limited form of self-government, could be approved in the township to allow for easier implementation of the plan.
Owens said residents interested in serving on the management or lead project committees or helping to implement the plan should contact him at fowens@zoominternet.net.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;