Williams, wife to host mayor’s celebration

In his address, the mayor will
discuss two crime-fighting
initiatives.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — While the city has its challenges and problems, Mayor Jay Williams said it also has reasons to celebrate.

Williams and his wife, Sonja, will host the second annual Mayor’s Community Celebration on Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m., at Stambaugh Auditorium.

At the black-tie event, Williams will deliver his state of the city address and raise money for charitable organizations. Williams will also recognize nine organizations that received $1,500 each from proceeds from last year’s community celebration and from the mayor’s inaugural ball held in January 2006.

The address will focus on crime, economic development and quality of life issues, all which are intertwined, he said. The address will discuss the accomplishments and challenges of this year as well as what the mayor plans for the upcoming year.

The city’s accomplishments this year, Williams said, include:

UThe revitalization of downtown, particularly on West Federal Street, that has not only attracted business to the area but more than 50 public events there this year.

UThe demolition of about 400 vacant structures that has led to neighborhood improvement.

UThe establishment of new law enforcement partnerships with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Northeast Ohio Crime Consortium.

UThe creation of 120 new jobs at city-owned business parks through the Youngstown Initiative program that provides economic incentives to companies to build and expand at those facilities.

The city also continues to face serious challenges, Williams said, including a high murder and violent crime rate, one of the state’s highest unemployment rates. And while there’s been economic growth, it’s “not at the pace we’d like to see.”

As for looking ahead to next year, Williams wants to bring speakers to the city to discuss two crime-fighting programs he is considering implementing in Youngstown.

One is the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System, which senses and detects the location of gunshots — allowing officers to quickly respond to such violence, Williams said. ShotSpotter’s Web site states it uses sensors deployed over areas from a half-mile up to several square miles.

The system is “extremely expensive,” but the city could buy the system one or two square miles at a time, starting in the areas with the highest concentration of violent crime, Williams said.

To go along with that program, Williams wants to look at installing surveillance cameras in those same areas.

The mayor also wants to implement CeaseFire, a gun violence intervention program first implemented in Boston. The program uses the involvement of police and faith-based leaders, community mobilization and outreach to get involved in conflicts before they escalate to violence and change the behavior of those in the community to crime.

“These aren’t cure-alls, but it’s an additional level” of crime fighting, Williams said.

Also, the mayor will discuss two initiatives he’d like to implement in 2008.

The city needs a human resources department, something Williams has discussed for more than a year. The department would serve as a central location for current and future employees as well as developing and implementing worker policies.

A landlord registration program, the other initiative, has been in place for years, but not implemented. The program would require landlords to register their property with the city and pay a registration fee. City officials would monitor the quality of rental properties in the city and owners of those found in violation of city housing codes would face fines.

The proposals will be outlined during Williams’ Saturday address.

The mayor’s celebration is an outgrowth of the inaugural ball held in January 2006, when Williams took office as mayor, said Scott Schulick, the event committee’s co-chairman and a Butler Wick Trust Co. vice president.

Recognizing the city faces obstacles, Schulick said it’s important “to celebrate the positive.”

The inaugural ball drew a crowd of 800 with last year’s community celebration attracting more than 600 people, Schulick said.

The goal this year is to have 500 to 600 people, he said.

Williams was initially reluctant to hold last year’s celebration.

“I just wanted to have the inaugural ball and that was it,” he said. “But members of the committee and the community twisted my arm to do it again. With a lot of persuasion, I agreed to have it annually as long as it benefited the community and charitable causes. People look forward to getting dressed up and having a good time.”

Tickets are $50 each and, along with sponsorship information, are available at the Stambaugh Auditorium box office at (330) 259-0555 or at stambaughonline.com — the facility’s Web site.

Realizing not everyone can attend the event or afford a ticket, Williams plans to give shorter versions of his state of the city address at other functions during the four to six weeks that follow the celebration.

The mayor also plans to post the speech on the city’s Web site — cityofyoungstownoh.org — and on his blog — mayorjaywilliams.blogspot.com — in the coming weeks.

skolnick@vindy.com