Franklin, Sammarone Reflect, Look Ahead to 2013
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The mayors of the Mahoning Valley’s two largest cities prepare to enter the new year from two distinct perspectives – one reflecting on his first year running the city, the other weighing whether to seek reelection to the office he inherited with the departure of his predecessor.
Warren’s William “Doug” Franklin and Youngstown’s Charles P. Sammarone each served on their respective cities’ councils, as president of council and as department heads for their municipalities. But while Franklin took office only a year ago, Sammarone, who became mayor in August 2011 after his predecessor, Jay Williams, resigned to accept a post in the Obama Administration, already faces the question of whether to seek a full four-year term.
Sammarone says he expect to make that decision within the next two to three weeks.
“I’ve always said I doubt it but who knows?” he remarked. “Any decision you make as you get close to it, it becomes a harder decision.” Though he has been encouraged to run by people in City Hall, downtown business people and people in the city’s neighborhoods, he emphasizes the decision he makes will be a “family decision” involving his wife especially.
Regardless of who is Youngstown’s mayor in 2014, Sammarone said he hopes the course he has set since taking office will be followed. That course is guided in part by a study prepared by the PFM Group. “We paid the money for that PFM study and there’s some excellent suggestions in that study,” such as not replacing people as they retire, bidding out the loan for the Covelli Centre and seeking proposals for health insurance, he said. “It’s not that you’ve got to follow every word that’s in that plan, but you should follow the path to the best of your ability and what’s best for the city of Youngstown.”
The city is also looking at the possibility of selling or, as Sammarone says is more likely, leasing the city-owned Covelli Centre as well as possibly putting 20 Federal Place on the market as it prepares to work through a projected $5 million deficit. He noted that the city used to own assets such as Lake Milton, the former Youngstown Municipal airport and a parking garage, but it;s difficult for government to operate businesses. Instead, government’s job is to provide services such as plowing snow, police and fire protection, and making sure neighborhoods are clean, he said.
“If we don’t make our neighborhoods better to keep people living there and get new people to move in, our population’s going to keep dropping. As the population drops, you lose federal money. Also you lose your voting power,” so candidates for federal and state offices would be less likely to come to the city, he said. “As I make decisions, it’s not only for now and tomorrow but for 10 years, 20, 50 years down the road.”
Franklin, completing his first year as mayor of Warren, said one of the most challenging parts of his job is time management. “I had to wean myself off running the city with a hands-on approach to delegating a lot of those duties to department heads,” he said.
Franklin is pleased with discussions he has had with members of the business community. “Those were beneficial to me to see what we’re doing well, what we need to do better and how we can assist the business community,” he said.
The mayor is also pleased with developments in David Grohl Alley downtown, named for the Foo Fighters frontman born in Warren. “We were able to move beyond the speed of government and get a lot of improvements in that alley,” he said. “I’m excited when we have visitors from Australia, London, Montana [and] Rhode Island who come to see Grohl Alley. So it’s going to continue to get better.”
Other points of pride include the new Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center and the investments made by the Raymond John Wean Foundation and National Fire Repair on Courthouse Square. Additionally, a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s office will enable Warren to demolish nearly 300 homes, Franklin said.
“Most of the homes on our current demolition list will be able to be razed in the next year and a half, and with that we’re going to be able to, I perceive, stabilize property values and improve neighborhoods, and get into the meat of the true neighborhood revitalization strategy,” he said.
“It’s always about working with some of our partners -- Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, neighborhood associations and the [Youngstown/Warren Regional] Chamber,” Franklin continued.
“Opportunity. That’s going to be the operative word from here on out,” he said. “We’re sticking to our strategic plan to market our city and to let the world know, 24-7, whether it be through myself talking about the city or, more importantly, though social networks that this is the place for opportunity. We see great things on the horizon, particularly with the shale and the oil and gas boom and that industry coming to our Valley. We see a lot of great opportunity here and we’re poised and ready to accommodate anyone and everyone who wants to do business in the Valley.”
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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