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City, YSU to Seek $250,000 Planning Grant
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – City Council is expected to vote this week on partnering with Youngstown State University to apply for funds from the Obama Administration to develop an economic strategic plan for the Youngstown area.
The city and YSU will seek $250,000 through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s economic adjustment assistance program to be used to examine current economic activity, inventory assets, analyze potential industry clusters, analyze the effectiveness of current incentives, identify emerging opportunities for the area and develop a marketing plan, according to the ordinance council members will consider this week. The city would provide a $75,000 in-kind match,
Scott Smith of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the city’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities program fellow, recommended the city seek the funds and develop the plan, Mayor Chuck Sammarone said. “He feels it will be very helpful to the city,” he said. “Not only here but everywhere around the country, jobs are the key.”
HUD and EDA contacted YSU and the city about the grant opportunity, said Thomas Finnerty, project manager with YSU’s Center for Urban and Regional Studies. The agencies were “working with the city on other stuff and thought this grant would be a good opportunity for both of us,” he said. “Once it’s formulated, instead of reacting to opportunities, the city could be more proactive in its economic development strategy,” he remarked.
According to Finnerty, the application for the grant must be submitted by June 13, and funding will be announced as it become available.
The goal is to identify the city’s competitive advantages and to develop a marketing plan and materials to support attracting companies, said DeMaine Kitchen, Sammarone’s chief of staff. “This is not just data. It’s substance as well,” he said. Kitchen said the effort also would tie into the city’s efforts to develop a plan for its neighborhoods.
The process will identify expanding industries that would fit in the city, look at the city’s opportunities and how the city can help, and target companies that would fit with the city, he continued. “The first phase is to identify expanding industries that fit not just with Youngstown but the region,” he said. The plan would not be to steal companies from elsewhere in the Mahoning Valley but to recruit firms from outside the area, he emphasized.
Cutting through bureaucracy and strengthening cooperation and partnerships between local and federal governments is what participating in Strong Cities, Strong Communities is all about, Kitchen said. He credited Smith with helping the city and YSU navigate the process.
Copyright The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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