YOUNGSTOWN 2010 E. Siders want to keep it green

The East Side is blessed with abundant green space, speakers say.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Building, zoning and anti-dumping enforcement, preservation of green space, storm water drainage improvements and assurance of adequate shopping opportunities at Lincoln Knolls Plaza are among the priorities for the future expressed by East Side residents.
The residents made their comments at a neighborhood planning meeting on the Youngstown 2010 community improvement plan Tuesday at Mary Haddow Elementary School. With about 40 people present, attendance was considerably lighter than at three previous neighborhood meetings on the plan.
"Many people live on this side of town because we like the green space, and I think our No. 1 priority should be to preserve the green space," said Kathleen Johnson of Colby Avenue. Building code enforcement and drainage improvements should also be high priorities, she said. "Those are fundamental to whatever we want to do," she added.
Unlike other sides of the city, the East Side possesses "hundreds of acres of green trees and green grass and a body of water (McKelvey Lake) that is preserved and untouched," said Jay Williams, meeting moderator and director of Community Development Agency.
Williams said he can envision a bicycle path along a green corridor that would follow Dry Run, linking Lincoln Park, which is undergoing renovation, with McKelvey Lake.
Dumping
"The problem is that people look here to dump" and wrongly assume residents won't complain about it, Johnson said, referring to the perennial problem of littering and dumping of debris on the East Side.
"In this room you have people who have for 50 years fought for the East Side -- to keep it clean, to invest their money in their houses and their properties," said Karen McGarry of Colby Avenue. "We are all willing to do more than our part" to improve the community, she said. However, she added that zoning enforcement is critical to maintaining neighborhood quality.
Kim Darden of Eliot Lane said she wanted to see more retail shopping opportunities at Lincoln Knolls Plaza for East Side residents.
Seven more Youngstown 2010 neighborhood planning meetings are planned between now and Aug. 24. The next one will be at 7 p.m. June 1 at OCCHA (Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana), 3660 Shirley Road, for the Brownlee Woods, Buckeye Plat and Lansingville areas.
Question
Johnson wanted to know what city officials engaged in Youngstown 2010 planning will do "to make sure that this ball is not dropped. The ball has been dropped too many times. We plan, and then everybody forgets."
The best way for city residents to make sure the plan isn't forgotten "is to continually involve yourselves in this process" and regularly attend city council meetings and hearings, Williams replied.
City officials embarked on Youngstown 2010 because the last city plan was written in 1952 and updated in 1973, said Councilman Rufus Hudson, D-2nd, who represents the Lincoln Knolls area.
"City council thought that it was imperative that we put a stake in the ground and begin planning for our future. Without a plan, you can't get anywhere," he added.