Big News About The Downtown Area

[Towntalk]

Rick, that document was not to inform the average citizen of Youngstown, but simply to conform to federal law so that when they go after money from Washington and Columbus they will have a nice thick book to ship off to them ... shoot, even the pinheaded bureaucrats just do a once over review to insure that they don't just have a lot of blank paper, then they stamp the cover YES or NO then toss it on the ever growing pile of documents they get every day, and go back to sleep.

[Rick Rowlands]

As I read through this new plan, the one thing that I am seeing is that they added a lot of meaningless fluff just to puff up the page count.  Too many photos, quotes, fancy graphics, section heading pages etc. and not enough meat.  If they would have just stuck to the pertinent information it would be easier to follow.  As it stands now I can't really figure out what the "plan" is.  Way too cluttered of a document. This is why you just can't give the graphic design team free reign, as they will add stuff that they think looks cool but in reality just serves to lose their audience.

I am also confused as to the area covered by this plan.  It says downtown, and a map in the front of the plan shows an area bounded by the river and Rayen Avenue, but then you get further in and they are talking about YSU, Riverbend Rayen and other areas outside of their own definition of downtown.  This also adds to the confusion.

Overall, this is a very poorly executed document and the bells and whistles completely overwhelm the content.

[Youngstownshrimp]

I can always depend upon Rick to speak the same language.  What a waste of energy.  If they took the money they wasted and got off their butts and just did a little project, we would have seen some production.  I'm going back to the Veteran Farming project, it is funded and populated, I'm excited.

[Towntalk]

I was interested in the way that the Citizens Advisory Board of EDATA worked back in the '70's and accumulated about 15 "Plans". Add to that about 10 "plans" from other agencies. I asked the former Politics Editor Clingen Jackson?" at work: "How many of these reports are actually read?" After he stopped laughing, he said: "None of them."

[AllanY2525]

The last major master plan (that actually came to fruition) was around 1950,
when times were good and the mills were going full blast.  The economic
forecast was for continued growth, and they had no reason to believe
it would change in the forseeable future.

Besides all that, the city and county had full coffers and plenty of tax
revenues to IMPLEMENT their plan at that period in time.  Obviously
it's a brave and scary new world today, with scant resources and
dwindling tax revenues and deficits everywhere.

City givernment needs to step up their efforts to attract new business
to the city, and be VERY aggressive in their tactics.  Invite company
executives to come and see what's happening in Youngstown, wow
them with stuff like the incubator, America Makes, etc.  SHOW them
the very best the city has to offer - if I were mayor, I'd give them the
tour PERSONALLY.

[Towntalk]

   ALLAN, HOW ABOUT ANSWERING THE MESSAGE THAT WAS JUST SENT TO YOU! 

[Rick Rowlands]

Yes Allan. Youngstown was not originally developed according to some grand plan.  It was developed because of the individual decisions made by thousands of people as they pursued their own paths in life.  Each one, acting in his or her best interest, used their pieces of land for businesses, industries and homes and the spontaneous order created our towns and cities.

Today, we want to try to plan out and predict what happens everywhere, and it never works.  Youngstown's rebirth did not result from a master plan.  Nobody predicted the additive manufacturing institute in any master plan.  Downtown will become what it is to become not based upon a plan, but based upon what individual property owners and businesses decide to do as they strive to serve their customers and pursue their happiness. 

[AllanY2525]

I agree with both of you.  Some of what was in the 2010 plan came to pass, but
not much.

It's the private sector that is resurrecting downtown Youngstown, for the most
part.  The Dominic Marchionda types, Federal building rehab and reopening,
the Realty building reopening, the proposed hotel, the Small Business Incubator,
Faniro Architects resurrecting the Davis Building, Strollo Architects resurrecting
the Wells(?) building, and - hopefully - the Wick Building resurrection will come
to pass as well.

America Makes [ 3-D Printing Institute ] will pay off in the longer term, once it
gets up and running.  MY biggest hope is that new businesses will locate here
because of if and that it will grow - especially D.O.D., the holy grail of private
sector jobs serving government.

Ron has said repeatedly that the private sector is basically where it's at, and he is
correct as well......

[Towntalk]

I've been saying that ever since the Ecumenical Council wanted to buy the closed Campbell Works. The reports that have come down the pike since then made a mighty big pile when you toss in all the reports that came out of EDATA. More than one pencil pusher went on disability suffering from writers cramp or Carpel Tunnel Syndrome writing all those reports that no one ever read once they were passed out.

[Rick Rowlands]

Same meaningless nothingspeak that I have seen in every other "strategic plan".  What a waste of time.  It will now take its place next to all the other plans on the shelf at the main library, including Youngstown 2010. 

These plans are made so that people who sit behind desks can feel like they are doing "something".  Meanwhile, those who actually get things done don't pay attention to the plans, they just jump in and get things done.

[Towntalk]

 https://lintvwkbn.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/dtv-executive-summary.pdf

[Towntalk]

 http://wkbn.com/2015/03/17/downtown-youngstown-vision-and-action-plan-unveiled/

Watch the news on 27 or 33 this evening for more details and go to the Vindicator for further information.