LOWELLVILLE — The village, nestled along the Mahoning River in eastern Mahoning County, is the kind of place where everybody knows everybody and people look out for one another.

Residents of all ages come together for Friday night football, an annual festival featuring a giant, dancing baby doll and weekly car shows that all draw a big crowd.

For this reason, officials here say they’re serious about keeping up with projects to improve the quality of life for residents and to maintain its appeal for visitors.

Work is underway or already complete to make improvements to roads, storm and waterlines, the wastewater treatment plant, a bike trail and parks, officials say.

Village administrator Joann Esenwein and Mayor James Iudiciani, both part-time employees, share office space at city hall, 140 E. Liberty St. There, they bounce ideas off each other and do the necessary work that often includes securing funding and grants for various projects.

Esenwein, born and raised in the village, retired 15 years ago from the Ohio Department of Transportation, where she worked in the capital planning department.

She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in business and came out of retirement in 2023 to take on the role for Iudiciani, who is her first cousin.

“It’s a lot going on at one time and much of it has been in the works a long time,” she said, explaining that getting funding in place often prolongs the process. “We do everything we can to keep it looking nice.”

Widening and resurfacing for a portion of the Stavich Bicycle Trail that runs from West Liberty Street to Youngstown-Lowellville Road began in June and is scheduled to be complete by Sept. 19.

A pedestrian bridge over Gray’s Run, a tributary that runs into the Mahoning River, has also been replaced.

Esenwein said improvements are ongoing at Riverfront Park. Work started in 2013, she said, when a damn was removed, and bathrooms and a boat launch were added.

A pavilion, parking lot and sidewalks were installed thanks to funding from Mahoning County Community Improvement Corp. and the Youngstown Foundation.

The next phase of the project will include adding picnic tables, benches, a playground, basketball and pickleball courts, more parking, sidewalks and lighting.

Esenwein said this is being funded by the Ohio Department of Development through an Appalachian Community Grant, made available through the governor’s office.

Work to replace a siphon at the village’s wastewater treatment plant will begin as soon as plans are complete.

“It’s a huge project,” Esenwein said, explaining former Congressman Tim Ryan secured $549,600 to help fund it.

Work will also begin in late August or early September for a sanitary sewer line replacement on Parson’s Avenue on the northwest side of the village.

Iudiciani said he’s grateful for public and private investments in the village and that funding agencies for this year’s projects include Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Ohio Public Works Commission, Mahoning County Commissioners, ODOT, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), former Congressman Ryan, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the American Recovery Act.

“We are so appreciative and blessed for all the grant money that has been allocated to the village this year and all the previous years,” he said, adding he’s thankful for his administration “for sharing the vision and having the savvy to make Lowellville a better community.”

The 2020 census shows there are 996 people living in the village. There’s a small convenience store where you can buy select groceries, a lottery ticket or some hardware items, but no gas station or library.

When Esenwein was young, the river was polluted from toxins from nearby mills. “We weren’t allowed to go near it,” she said, explaining that cleanup, handled by the Ohio EPA, ensured that people have been able to fish, canoe and kayak on the river.

The Mt. Carmel Society Festival, which started 130 years ago in the village, wrapped up recently. It’s steeped in tradition, featuring Italian food, music, games, a bocce tournament, fireworks and the legendary “Baby Doll Dance.”

During a few nights of the festival, a giant doll made from paper mache parades through the streets, loaded with fireworks that shoot from its body.

“It’s a tradition from Italy,” Esenwein said. “It’s to ward off the evil from the past year.”

Roslyn Torella lived the first 25 years of her life in Lowellville and moved away for 30 years before returning to her childhood home four years ago.

Many consider her the town’s unofficial historian, and she is a member of the Lowellville Enrichment Group, which raises funds and plans events such as movie nights, Easter egg hunts and visits from Santa.

Torella, who wrote a book about the village, also is a member of the Lowellville Community Improvement Corp., a nonprofit that brings investors and development to town.

She has deep ties to Lowellville, her family putting its roots down here more than 100 years ago.

“You know, our motto here is ‘The Best Kept Secret in Mahoning County’ and I really believe that’s accurate,” she said. “There’s a nice community feel here.”