McNally Prefers Local EDA Effort to Pittsburgh’s
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The seven-county coalition pursuing a federal designation that would give it a leg up in securing funding from Washington should stay on its own course, not join Pittsburgh’s effort, Mayor John McNally said Friday.
The Western Reserve Port Authority is preparing an application to be designated one of 12 "Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnerships"
The U.S. Economic Development Administration determines the designees. A coalition of seven counties -- Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula in Ohio and Mercer, Lawrence and Beaver counties in Pennsylvania -- is seeking the designation.
If approved, such status would provide preferential treatment from 13 federal agencies to fund the advanced manufacturing sector in the region and pay for a technical adviser to coordinate and execute such a plan. Promotion of additive manufacturing has been identified as the primary focus, with energy production cited as a potential secondary focus.
The applications are due March 14 and representatives of the coalition preparing Pittsburgh’s application have courted the local group. McNally, keynote speaker at today’s Good Morning Youngstown breakfast presented by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, believes it better to “go it alone” than join the Pittsburgh effort.
“I think it’s a sign that Pittsburgh needs us versus us needing Pittsburgh,” McNally remarked. “While that might be a little territorial, I think we have to showcase what we have at this particular time.”
Sarah Lown, senior economic development manager for the port authority, said that the Pittsburgh effort has continued to reach out to the local group. Although she said last month that it was better to confine the application to the seven counties, she acknowledged today, “We’re keeping our options open” regarding joining Pittsburgh.
McNally also informed his audience that the city economic development office, the federal Strong Cities, Strong Communities program, and the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at Youngstown State University are working together on developing an economic development marketing program for the region. A $200,000 grant from the EDA is funding their planning efforts.
McNally reported he will participate Monday in a discussion about how downtown businesses, education and research institutions can work together more closely. The discussion, presented by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, is part of a two-day Strong Cities, Strong Communities Bootcamp at the Covelli Centre.
Additionally, the mayor said he has asked the city finance department to look into how to proceed in selling the 20 Federal Place building. “I’ve never really thought the government is a great landlord,” he said. Youngstown has invested “significant sums” into the building, he said, and “I’m not really interested in that continuing over the long term.”
He hopes to hear from Vallourec by the end of next week on whether its VAM USA LLC subsidiary plans to move forward on building a new $81 million finishing mill here. “Nobody has suggested that to me but the time period seems to be dwindling each time my finance director talks to representatives from VAM,” he said. Vallourec last year celebrated the opening of its $1 billion pipe mill in Brier Hill.
The city is working on an initiative to get more businesses to go online, something that came out of the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Statistics released at the conference indicated businesses with an online presence could increase their receipts by around 48%.
During his address, the mayor also touted the success of the Covelli Center and pointed to other signs of progress, including the demolition of the former Wean United building. The McNally administration and City Council “are committed to creating the right environment” for business, he said.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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