The golf course should be managed as a business . Council departments don't have the incentive or possibly the skill to provide new services that people are willing to pay for , or to provide them in the most efficient way .
I wonder how long it took police to get there ? How about the recent robbery at Burger King ( corner of Market & Midlothian ) . Or the 29 burglaries in Newport Glen ? I hope Mayor Williams & the new Boardman trustees are pausing to think that maybe , if they had just delivered what was promised 12 months ago - a police station at First Place on Market & Midlothian - the rash of crime we have seen since fall may not have occured .
It would have been better if they hadn't made a commitment & not kept it ; because then residents & owners could have made their own security arrangements . Business wants to come to Newport & bring with it higher sales, property & income taxes - but only when business feels safe .
Was it Youngstown OHIO that was among the top 10 best places to start a business ? (Entrepreneur Magazine ) . I guess they didn't speak to local politicians before making their assessment .
Dangerously , for the Valley's future , politicos are sending a message that outside capital & entrepreneurs are unwelcome in the Valley. They want to prop up existing institutions long after it is obvious those institutions are failing.
I appreciate that temporary funding may be necessary to ensure continued patient care should Forum be broken up, but the private sector is the one best incentised & resourced to build a new structure . In the medium term , the outcome should be better health outcomes, not worse .
The Youngstown 2010 Plan sounded great , but its vision could be being morphed into the "same old" .
I want to give credit to the City & Mr Novotny for getting some pilot projects going & doing research .
However , they shouldn't be trying to set up an industry which already exists on a huge scale elsewhere in the USA & abroad . The City should adverttise internationally for expressions of interest . They should look at demolitions as the sale of a resource & an opportunity to extract value . More demolitions will be done & more local jobs created if the City does this & gets the demolition costs down .
The current high cost demolition method is the main reason delaying demolitions . It may even be economic to sell some houses for removal to other cities .
Companies already doing deconstruction & demolition elsewhere will have have well established eficient recovery processes , insurance cover & distribution & marketing networks for salvaged material .
"Deconstruction" may be new in Youngstown & rare in the United States , but it is the "normal" way of removing a home in many other countries . Alternatively , in some countries , buildings not required on one site are moved on large trucks to another site .
Rising landfill costs & relatively cheaper labor costs have made deconstruction more economic & and demolition operators should be gearing up their operations to cope with it , either instead of or alongside their traditional wrecking operation .
Local government will always , of necessity , sacrifice some efficiency in the name of service delivery equity & democratic control & accountability .
However , this delicate balance needs restoring , as there is now Too Much ineffiency in all local government units in the Valley .When Youngstown's population peaked at about 170,000 in 1930-1960 . Now the City has less than half the population .If it is OK for one City to have a 170,000 population , then only 3 cities the size of the old Youngstown are required in the tri-County area - not the myriad of tiny municipalities, all competing with each other on small budgets to get good quality staff & elected representatives .
It's time for the Valley to move with the times & modernise its local government . By western world standards , the current Council & Township structures are a generation behind the times & that is an impediment to attracting capital & jobs . Thank goodness the Chamber of Commerce is filling the breach in the meantime , but it doresn't have as much of a development mandate as an elected body would have.
A sex shop may not be the biggest problem , in isolation , but it contributes to the degeneration of a neighborhood . I applaud these concerned citizens . The rest of the Valley is dumping its problems on the Southside - if those in good areas want a sex shop ; let them have it in their own neighborhood . Ditto for liquor stores - the Southside needs them like I need a hole in the head .
A potent mix of low expectations, poor schooling , poor urban planning & land uses, & racism causes blight. I'm oftem amazed at how "the suburbs" , knowing the living conditions on the Southside , expect Southside communities to be like theirs .
If concerned Southsiders , both residents & absentee owners get to know each other & work together to clean their neighborhoods , repair buildings , be a little more discerning in tenant selection , always report crimes , oppose the likes of sex shops & liqor stores etc; blight will flee .
people should at least be safe to walk on Market Street . It's time for the City to deliver on its claim a year ago that there is really a police station in the First Pace building at Market & Midlothian . The occasional policing blitz hasn't fooled anyone .
Posted on November 22 at 3:19 p.m.
The golf course should be managed as a business . Council departments don't have the incentive or possibly the skill to provide new services that people are willing to pay for , or to provide them in the most efficient way .
Posted on November 21 at 1:42 a.m.
Symbolically , this demolition is very important . So many media images of Youngstown show the depressing rusting YST hulk .
Posted on November 16 at 2:27 a.m.
I wonder how long it took police to get there ?
How about the recent robbery at Burger King ( corner of Market & Midlothian ) . Or the 29 burglaries in Newport Glen ? I hope Mayor Williams & the new Boardman trustees are pausing to think that maybe , if they had just delivered what was promised 12 months ago - a police station at First Place on Market & Midlothian - the rash of crime we have seen since fall may not have occured .
It would have been better if they hadn't made a commitment & not kept it ; because then residents & owners could have made their own security arrangements . Business wants to come to Newport & bring with it higher sales, property & income taxes - but only when business feels safe .
Posted on November 13 at 9:06 p.m.
Was it Youngstown OHIO that was among the top 10 best places to start a business ? (Entrepreneur Magazine ) . I guess they didn't speak to local politicians before making their assessment .
Dangerously , for the Valley's future , politicos are sending a message that outside capital & entrepreneurs are unwelcome in the Valley. They want to prop up existing institutions long after it is obvious those institutions are failing.
I appreciate that temporary funding may be necessary to ensure continued patient care should Forum be broken up, but the private sector is the one best incentised & resourced to build a new structure . In the medium term , the outcome should be better health outcomes, not worse .
The Youngstown 2010 Plan sounded great , but its vision could be being morphed into the "same old" .
Posted on November 7 at 6:26 p.m.
I want to give credit to the City & Mr Novotny for getting some pilot projects going & doing research .
However , they shouldn't be trying to set up an industry which already exists on a huge scale elsewhere in the USA & abroad . The City should adverttise internationally for expressions of interest . They should look at demolitions as the sale of a resource & an opportunity to extract value . More demolitions will be done & more local jobs created if the City does this & gets the demolition costs down .
The current high cost demolition method is the main reason delaying demolitions . It may even be economic to sell some houses for removal to other cities .
Companies already doing deconstruction & demolition elsewhere will have have well established eficient recovery processes , insurance cover & distribution & marketing networks for salvaged material .
Posted on November 6 at 5:18 p.m.
"Deconstruction" may be new in Youngstown & rare in the United States , but it is the "normal" way of removing a home in many other countries . Alternatively , in some countries , buildings not required on one site are moved on large trucks to another site .
Rising landfill costs & relatively cheaper labor costs have made deconstruction more economic & and demolition operators should be gearing up their operations to cope with it , either instead of or alongside their traditional wrecking operation .
http://bcw-congo.blogspot.com/2009/06/bl...
Posted on November 6 at 6:14 a.m.
Why amalgamate just Poland & Boardman . Include Southside as well & get a good population base .
Posted on November 6 at 6:07 a.m.
Local government will always , of necessity , sacrifice some efficiency in the name of service delivery equity & democratic control & accountability .
However , this delicate balance needs restoring , as there is now Too Much ineffiency in all local government units in the Valley .When Youngstown's population peaked at about 170,000 in 1930-1960 . Now the City has less than half the population .If it is OK for one City to have a 170,000 population , then only 3 cities the size of the old Youngstown are required in the tri-County area - not the myriad of tiny municipalities, all competing with each other on small budgets to get good quality staff & elected representatives .
It's time for the Valley to move with the times & modernise its local government . By western world standards , the current Council & Township structures are a generation behind the times & that is an impediment to attracting capital & jobs . Thank goodness the Chamber of Commerce is filling the breach in the meantime , but it doresn't have as much of a development mandate as an elected body would have.
Posted on November 5 at 3:48 a.m.
A sex shop may not be the biggest problem , in isolation , but it contributes to the degeneration of a neighborhood . I applaud these concerned citizens . The rest of the Valley is dumping its problems on the Southside - if those in good areas want a sex shop ; let them have it in their own neighborhood . Ditto for liquor stores - the Southside needs them like I need a hole in the head .
A potent mix of low expectations, poor schooling , poor urban planning & land uses, & racism causes blight. I'm oftem amazed at how "the suburbs" , knowing the living conditions on the Southside , expect Southside communities to be like theirs .
If concerned Southsiders , both residents & absentee owners get to know each other & work together to clean their neighborhoods , repair buildings , be a little more discerning in tenant selection , always report crimes , oppose the likes of sex shops & liqor stores etc; blight will flee .
Posted on October 27 at 2:22 p.m.
people should at least be safe to walk on Market Street . It's time for the City to deliver on its claim a year ago that there is really a police station in the First Pace building at Market & Midlothian . The occasional policing blitz hasn't fooled anyone .
Also , I wouldn't call 57 "elderly" .