Friday, March 29, 2019
YOUNGSTOWN
About 350 public officials and others working to revitalize the region attended Eastgate Regional Council of Governments’ annual meeting Thursday morning at Stambaugh Auditorium.
Jim Kinnick, Eastgate executive director, said this year’s summit focused on opportunity in the region. He cited more than $75 million in projects committed to the area in 2018, including a proposed autonomous vehicle corridor that received $10.8 million in federal BUILD grant funding, restoration and dam removal work along the Mahoning River, the state Route 46 and 82 interchange project and others.
The meeting featured speakers Tim Mayle, an economic development director in the Findlay-Hancock County area, recognized as the No. 1 “micropolitan” area in the country based on capital investment and new construction and jobs within the last five years, and Jason Kenyon, municipal services manager for a Flint, Mich., firm that worked to revitalize the Flint River in the wake of the city’s water crisis, which impacted the community’s ability to develop and draw investors.
“The perception of the Flint River is similar to your river,” Kenyon said. “Over the past, it was a dumping ground. … We’ve been trying hard to clean it up and get people to use it but [the water crisis] was another 10 steps in the wrong direction.”
Flint River restoration funding totaled about $36.8 million, which is now halfway spent, Kenyon said. Remediation started in 2017 and included dam-removal work.
Kinnick said the meeting focused on bringing together community and business leaders.
“It really starts with focusing on quality-of-life issues, involving young people in the decision-making process in an effort to retain young people and grow your city,” he said.
Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st, 38, said he’s most looking forward to Mahoning River restoration work that could open up new potential for recreation.
“When they take down these dams in the Mahoning River and they start to clean it up – we got the amphitheater, we got the Covelli Centre. We put in that river walk, then you’ll start to see more industries, more restaurants, more developments start to come to that back area of the amphitheater,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing project.”