HUD official meets with community organizers

By David Skolnick

YOUNGSTOWN — The No. 2 official in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development met with Mahoning Valley community organizers to discuss the need for federal assistance to address the area’s housing market.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and members of the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative spoke late Thursday to Ron Sims, HUD’s deputy secretary, and about a half-dozen officials from that federal agency.

The meeting, in Washington, D.C., was part of an ongoing effort of nine communities to help secure about $32 million in federal stimulus funds for housing demolitions, rehabilitation and property-acquisition efforts in the Mahoning Valley.

The program has $1.93 billion available. HUD is expected to decide by late October which communities will receive funding through the program.

The communities involved include Youngstown, Warren, Niles, Girard, Campbell, Struthers, Lowellville, Newton Falls and McDonald.

“It helps that it’s a nine-city collaboration,” said Kirk Noden, MVOC’s executive director. “It is among only a handful of applications with that many communities.”

The local group also invited Sims to visit the Mahoning Valley so he can get a firsthand view of the area.

Sims gave “an initial commitment” to visit the Valley and Cleveland in the spring, Noden said.

The locals were in Washington to attend the Building One America Summit that discussed regional policies, programs and strategies to combat concentrated poverty, residential and school segregation, and urban sprawl.

Of the 400 people attending the Wednesday and Thursday conference, about 60 were from the Valley, Noden said.

skolnick@vindy.com