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Youngstown's 6th Ward group discusses concerns
YOUNGSTOWN
Residents in the city’s 6th Ward on the South Side are banding together.
The 6th Ward Neighborhood Association will meet for a brainstorming session at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Metro Church-Connection, 2536 South Ave.
The topics for discussion range from blight to youth programs to crime. Residents are asked to bring their ideas and concerns to the meeting, said Gerald Waterbeck, 67, who is helping organize the association.
“Empowering people is the key,” he said, adding that the ward has not had an association before.
Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th, said she has heard about plans for the association.
“I’m excited for it,” she said. “It’s something that’s been missing for numerous years, and I hope it gets started.”
Tarpley also said she hopes the association includes homeowners and renters.
Waterbeck said it will be an inclusive group, open to all 6th Ward residents.
Local business-owner Jim Connor said one of the association’s early projects will be to acquire and beautify vacant lots near Southern Boulevard and Boston Avenue.
The area also could serve as a memorial, perhaps with a sign that dedicates the space “To all those needlessly lost” to violent crime, Connor said.
Connor and Waterbeck said they know many residents who maintain vacant lots. The association could help coordinate those efforts.
Mayor Jay Williams said the city relies on partnerships with neighborhood groups. He said the city spends more than $100,000 annually through the street and parks department to level vacant lots and seed them, but in many cases, neighborhood associations then take responsibility for them.
Waterbeck said the three stages for the association are strategy, or brainstorming, planning and then putting everything into action.
“There’s so much goodness that resonates in people. I hope the association will bring out the good,” Waterbeck said.