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Another council meeting expected for redistricting vote
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
It will take at least one more meeting for city council to vote on a new map of district wards.
The vote was expected at a special council meeting Monday, which followed a Wednesday meeting in which council members made some changes to a map of the wards proposed by the Mahoning County Board of Elections and agreed on the revised version.
Law Director Martin Hume said his department needed more time to make the changes, so the revised maps weren’t ready for Monday’s meeting.
Council is on summer recess, but he expects another special meeting to be called before the next regular meeting Sept. 18.
Council began talking about redistricting more than a year ago, after city voters approved a charter amendment about redistricting.
The city is supposed to redistrict after every 10-year U.S. census but hasn’t done so for more than 30 years.
A new map would be in place for the 2015 council races and would take effect after that year’s election.
The populations in the wards currently range from 7,227 to 12,130, using 2010 census numbers.
The proposed map makes the wards more even in terms of population.
In other business, council approved $10,000 in sponsorship funding to support the Youngstown Maker City Initiative. The event, which showcases advances in 3-D printing technology, runs Thursday through Sunday at the America Makes facility on West Boardman Street.
“The money will be to provide assistance to host the event,” said T. Sharon Woodberry, city economic-development director.
Mike Hripko, deputy director for workforce development and education outreach at America Makes, said about 40 judges, many from the San Francisco area, will be at the event to judge the 3-D printing projects.
The Maker Fair includes a 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday session that is open to the public.
Among the weekend’s activities is a “3-D Printer Shootout” hosted by Make: magazine.
Earlier this month, Mahoning County commissioners approved spending up to $20,000 from hotel bed-tax proceeds for travel and lodging expenses of the California-based magazine’s staff, who will conduct the “3-D Printer Shootout.”
Also at Monday’s meeting, council moved to its community-development committee an ordinance from Mayor John A. McNally asking the legislative body to put a charter amendment on the November ballot to combine the economic-development and community-development offices.
It was a campaign issue for McNally when he ran for mayor last year and is a recommendation in a 2012 study from the PFM Group to make the city’s government operations more efficient.
The economic-development office is in the city-owned 20 Federal Place office building, while community development is in the city hall annex.
McNally wants the two to work closely together and also coordinate planning, zoning and demolition under one roof in city hall.
The deadline to get the measure on the ballot is early September, so it also would have to be taken up in a special meeting.
If approved, the charter amendment would give McNally the power to appoint someone as an at-will employee to oversee the combined departments.